Despite Criticism, Wie Vies for U.S. Open

May 25, 2006 — -- May the best man win -- except if it's a woman.

That's the case for Michelle Wie, the 16-year-old female golfer who enters her final U.S. Open qualifier on June 5, at the Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, N.J.

The U.S. Open, a traditionally male competition, has never before seen a woman reach the final qualifying rounds. The average age of golfers in the Open ranges from the late 20s to the early 30s. So the fact that Wie is female and roughly half the age of the other competitors might make her presence doubly threatening to them.

As time draws closer to the competition, some golfers have expressed their discomfort with the anticipated media throng that will likely follow Wie along the 36-hole golf course and have suggested they would prefer to avoid the distraction.

"She is a very well-known golfer and will attract a lot of media attention," said Jay Mottola, executive director of the Metropolitan Golf Association, an organization of more than 500 golf clubs in the New York metropolitan area, including Canoe Brook. "Normally, we would have eight to 12 members of the media. Now we expect double or triple this year, if not more."

Canoe Brook golfers may want to avoid the crowd because it could disrupt their concentration during the game. Nelson Silverio, a spokesman for the PGA Tour, said that media visibility was not a valid argument for golfers being upset about Wie drawing fans and media to the Canoe Brook qualifier.

"If you make it to the U.S. Open, you will have very large crowds anyway," Silverio said. "So if you are worried about the crowd during Canoe Brook, you can expect three or four times that amount at the U.S. Open."

Controversial Exemptions

There has been plenty of controversy about Wie having been granted exemptions to be allowed to play in PGA Tour events, but the teenager earned her starting time at Canoe Brook based on her past performances. She took the lead over 40 male golfers by shooting a par-72 in the previous round of qualifications in her native state of Hawaii.

During the last two seasons, Wie had been granted exemptions by Sony and John Deere that allowed her to participate in several sponsored events of the PGA Tour without having to endure the traditional qualifying methods.

Golfers given exemptions in the PGA Tour are selected based on whom the sponsor wants playing for it. Wie's exemptions may be a great personal achievement, but overlooked golfers may believe she benefited from favoritism.

Mottola said that perhaps Wie's participation in the PGA Tour, which is not connected to the U.S. Golf Association-run U.S. Open, had influenced competitors' opinions.

"Most of the discussion has been about her playing in PGA Tours, where she was given sponsor exemptions over other qualified players," he said. "Regarding her competing in Canoe Brook, there is not a lot of controversy. It's more about her exemptions for the PGA Tour than the U.S. Open."

Marketable Talent

Wie is an athlete sponsors will court because of what makes her unique from other golfers. She is young, female, and probably the most rousing golfer since Tiger Woods. These factors have sparked scrutiny from other golfers who may be just as talented, but do not share her background.

But can Wie's treatment by sponsors of the PGA Tour be enough to cause animosity from other U.S. Open qualifiers? Shouldn't being the first female golfer to reach this level of the U.S. Open competition speak for itself? United States Golf Association spokesman Marty Parkes thinks it should.

"It's an open competition," Parkes said. "You set the parameters, and then people go out, tee the ball up, they play, and may the best player win. That's the philosophy of the U.S. Open. We get 8,000 applications every year. Every single person has the same opportunity to play and win."

That doesn't mean Wie won't have to win over some competitors.

"For some people, it may be that she is female," Parkes said. "For some people, it may be her age. Some people don't want to be part of the hoopla. I'm sure there are different reasons."

No matter the outcome at Canoe Brook, Wie still stands to be the highest-ranking female golfer in the history of the U.S. Open. However, Parkes said, her qualifying game in Hawaii should silence critics.

"She played the exact same course as all the guys on that site," he said. "She didn't get any breaks there."