Born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Korean-born parents, Wie began playing golf at the age of four. Upon turning professional at age 15 she said, "The first time I grabbed a golf club, I knew that I'd do it for the rest of my life."
In the summer of 2000, at the age of ten, she became the youngest player ever to qualify for the Women's U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. In 2001, at the age of 11, she won both the Hawaii State Women’s Stroke Play Championship and the Jennie K. Wilson Women’s Invitational, the oldest and most prestigious women’s amateur tournament in Hawaii. Also at age 11, she shot a personal-best 64 from the 5,400-yard tees at the Olomana Golf Links course in Hawaii. That year, Wie became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship and advanced into match play at the Women's U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.
In 2002, Wie won the Hawaii State Open Women's Division by thirteen shots over LPGA player Cindy Rarick. In 2002 she also became, at age 12, the youngest player to qualify for an LPGA event, the Takefuji Classic where she missed the cut. The record stood until 2007 when it was broken by 11-year-old Ariya Jutanugarn.
In 2003, she became the youngest player to make a cut in an LPGA event at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, shooting a 66 in the 3rd round, tying the amateur record for a women's major championship, and placing her in the final group alongside Annika Sörenstam and eventual winner, Patricia Meunier-Lebouc. A few months later, Wie earned a historic victory at the Women's Amateur Public Links tournament, becoming the youngest person ever, male or female, to win a USGA adult event. She also became the youngest player to make the cut in the history of the US Women's Open, where she placed 39th.
In 2004 Wie became the fourth female, and the youngest ever, to play in a PGA Tour event at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Playing on a sponsor's exemption, she shot 72-68 to finish at even par, missing the cut by one stroke.
That year, Wie became the youngest woman ever to play on the victorious U.S. Curtis Cup team. She went on to finish fourth in the Kraft Nabisco Championship. If she had played the 2004 season as a professional, she would have earned over US$250,000 from her tournament results.
Wie has long attracted attention for her height, which reached 6 foot 1 inch by her mid teens. Both her parents are above average height, her mother, Hyun Kyong is 5 ft 7 and her father is 6 ft 2 inches. Garnering equal attention is the rare length of her drives as well as the form of her golf swing. When Wie was fourteen, professional golfer Ernie Els remarked, "Give her another couple years to get stronger, she can play on the PGA Tour."
At sixteen, Wie had an average drive of about 280 yards. Her size and use of Els as a model have led sports media to call her The Big Wiesy, a play on Els' nickname of The Big Easy. Fred Couples said, "When you see her hit a golf ball … there's nothing that prepares you for it. It's just the scariest thing you've ever seen." Arnold Palmer stated in 2003 that "she's probably going to influence the golfing scene as much as Tiger, or more. She's going to attract people that even Tiger didn't attract, young people, both boys and girls, and families."
Wie started her 2005 season by again accepting a sponsor's invitation to play in the PGA Tour Sony Open in Hawaii where she again missed the cut. She then played the LPGA Tour, finishing second at SBS Open at Turtle Bay. That June, she placed second at the LPGA Championship. She became the first female golfer to qualify for a USGA national men's tournament, when she tied for first place in a 36-hole qualifier for the U.S. Amateur Public Links.
At the U.S. Women's Open, she finished the third round in a three-way tie for the lead, but scored an 82 in the final round, and finished tied for 23. The week after, she played in the John Deere Classic in her third attempt to make the cut at a PGA Tour event, missing the cut by two strokes.
In the Men's Public Links, Wie made the top 64 in the stroke play rounds to qualify for match play. She lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Clay Ogden. She then played in the Evian Masters, a major on the Ladies European Tour and a regular LPGA event, and finished in a tie for second. The week after, she finished tied for third at the Women's British Open, the fourth and final major of the year.
On October 5, 2005, a week before her 16th birthday, Wie announced in Hawaii that she was turning professional, reportedly signing sponsorship contracts with Nike and Sony worth more than US$10,000,000 per year. At the same time she announced a pledge of US$500,000 for Hurricane Katrina relief.
Michelle Sung Wie Golfer
Michelle Sung Wie Golfer
Michelle Sung Wie Golfer
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