The Back Nine: August 2009 Archives

U.S. Solheim Cup captain Beth Daniel insisted Wednesday that the event was not going to be the "Michelle Wie Solheim Cup."

That said, Daniel also knows what type of attention the talented 19-year-old brings, and as the media swarmed over her pick, Beth Daniel tried to temper the hype. She said Wie can't win the match against Europe by herself, and that it's a team event.

Which it is.

But most of Wednesday's media day centered around Wie.
So why did Daniel pick her?

"I've said from day one that I'm looking for the players who are playing the best coming into the event, and Michelle being a rookie finished 13th in the points playing in less tournaments than anybody else," Daniel said. "And as of late, she's been playing extremely well. That's the reason why I picked her. She's also just a tremendous talent."

To illustrated that talent, Daniel referenced a greenside bunker shot that Wie hit last week at the British Open that she said not many people on the planet could execute.

"She hits so many unbelievable golf shots and you're looking at her in awe," Daniel said. "She can hit any shot. I think where she's gotten better, her short game is incredible. Her shots around the green -- she can hit some shots. At Lytham last week she into a bunker and she hit a shot that you wouldn't see many human beings being able to hit. She's a remarkable talent."

Daniel then mentioned how Wie missed the ensuing putt,to still card a bogey.
Ah yes.
The Big Wiesy is not perfect. Far from it. But with an average tee shot that measures just under 270 yards, she's a big hitter with an improving short game, which will make her an excellent teammate once they tee it up for real in a couple weeks.

Aside from Wie's selection, the other news of the day centered around the treatment she received from teammates. There's been a perception - most of it based in reality - that many LPGA players don't care for the way Wie has handled her career to this point, or the attention she has received.

So all eyes weren't just on Wie, but how her teammates responded to her.

Said Daniel: "I'm an insider, obviously. I played with Michelle when she was 14 years old and I played with her when she was 15. From an insider's view, being in the locker room with her, she's always been great kid. But she got so much media attention by playing in the men's events and there was all this debate about is she doing the right thing, is she doing the wrong thing, is she getting too much, is not getting enough. People have debated that for years and I think they'll continue to debate that but she's always been a great kid and I've liked her."

While that may be true - Daniel couldn't speak for the rest of her team, and even Rich Harvest Farms owner and architect Jerry Rich observed some moments of detachment from the other players and the rookie early in the week.
"I had the opportunity to watch her over two days now and you could tell she wasn't one of the peers, and now they're giving high fives and patting each other on the back and they're really coming together as a team," he said. "She feels she's part of that team now."

Teammate and longtime friend Christina Kim then offered this up on Wie:
"It's remarkable to see her grow up into such an incredible young woman. We're really good friends and I think people have really started to embrace her and people have been able to get to know her.

"People, the media I guess, or whoever you want to say, always have these assumptions as to who we are as human beings and its really nice to see people really seeing Michelle for who she really is -- which is an incredible human being with a huge heart and one of the most fun loving, free spirited people you'll ever meet."

Read on for some quotes from Wie herself....