It’s not uncommon, but it amazes me every time a pimple-popping teenager invades the sports world. I wonder if they are really that good at what they do, or if the other professionals with whom they compete are not as gifted as we think. Either way, it’s happening again, this time on the LPGA Tour. Fifteen-year-old phenom Michelle Wie has decided to turn pro sometime within the next two weeks.
When the announcement becomes official, Wie, who doesn’t turn 16 until Oct. 11, will instantly become the highest-paid golfer on the women’s tour. Reportedly, the Hawaiian teenager has already signed three endorsement deals worth around $8 million, the most lucrative with Nike. With the addition of tournament fees and other endorsements, Wie’s compensation for her first year on tour is expected to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million, not counting the winnings she will earn on the course.
A multimillion dollar teenager is scary, but what’s scarier is that that’s all she is, a transcendent figure in the game whose hype is centered on her potential. Besides the money, Wie has nothing. She has come close, but she has never won a tournament on tour. Her performance to date does not warrant the money she is about to make, especially when other teenagers have competed against the same golfers with better results. Morgan Pressel just won the U.S. Women’s Amateur, while Paula Creamer helped the United States to victory in the Solheim Cup.
So why is Wie going to be the one cashing all the checks? Simple. Not only is she young, she’s marketable. In a country where we eagerly anticipate the next O.C. or what dress Paris Hilton will wear tonight, it should be no surprise that Wie made this move when she did.
She is a 6-foot-1 Korean-American teenager who can drive the ball almost 300 yards and has a golf swing fashioned by the gods. More importantly, Wie is not satisfied to compete only against women. She hasn’t proven she can beat Annika Sorenstam just yet, but she is already eager to take on the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els. As long as Wie continues to blaze a trail and push her limits, there will always be a market for her. She could miss every cut on the PGA Tour, but on the red carpet that the world has rolled out for her, that could be considered a success.
In today’s unconventional world, conventional wisdom does not hold up when children are capable enough to successfully challenge people their parents’ age. In the coming years we will see whether Michelle Wie is the real deal, or if she is the next Anna Kournikova. She will become an icon for many and a scapegoat for some, but either way she will gain the money and popularity her unique persona demands. But she had better be careful. My 17-month-old niece can swing a pretty mean 3-iron.
