During their coverage of the Memorial, the Golf Channel has been running ads promoting Michelle Wie’s appearance at the LPGA’s Ginn Tribute.
Someone should tell them that Wie is out with an injury. She withdrew after shooting 14 over on the first 16 holes.
What makes it suspicious is that she was just two bogeys away from getting banned from the LPGA for a year. The ladies tour has a rule that says that a non-tour player that shoots an 88 or higher can’t return for a year.
That would have put a real kibosh on Team Wie’s money machine plans.
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The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that SOMEONE let her know. It’s inconceivable to me that someone on Team Wie didn’t know, and that, knowing, they didn’t try to get the word to her.
That said, it’s obvious that she’s still suffering the effects of the injury. She took a TEN on a par 5. I don’t take tens on par 5s. Of coruse, I don’t know how she got the ten, but I’ll bet it wasn’t putting.
But if she’s suffering the effects of the injury, then it’s inexcusable for Team Wie to let her go out there in the first place. And when it was obvious that she was suffering after nine, she should have withdrawn there.
Was this Michelle’s first round in six months? Had she not gone out and played before this?
When her manager talked with her on 17, and then she departed, he had to be telling her that she needed to drop out then. He had to know, or it is possible that Nike let him know right before that. Nike and Sony probably would not have been too happy if they were paying her all those promo dollars and could not get her into a tournament. It would also make it just a complete joke (if it isn’t already) with her playing in PGA events after being suspended from LPGA play for the rest of the season.
In fact, I wouldn’t have put it past a Golf Channel pro, or even an LPGA official instructing Wie’s manager of the rule. Neither would be too happy if they had to go without Wie for the next 30 weeks. On the other hand Ochoa, Annika, Creamer, Gulbis, and all those players they don’t show in the LPGA are all probably a little sad they didn’t rid themselves of the camera hog for a while. Ok, maybe not Ochoa, she always seems happy, and certainly isn’t losing too much TV time herself to Wie; she is so great.