Bear
02-04-2009, 12:31 PM
Ron Kroichick, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
She's plodding along like most college students in some respects - juggling four classes, contemplating her choice of majors, and bypassing the library to study (and maybe socialize) in a loud, bustling campus cafe. Then again, Michelle Wie is unlike her classmates in many other ways, from her golf swing to her lucrative endorsement deals.
Wie, 19, has spent a good chunk of the past year and a half living in the Bay Area, quietly attending Stanford during the fall and winter while pursuing her much-scrutinized career in the spring and summer. Now, fresh from earning full-time LPGA playing privileges at Qualifying School in December, she will return to her native Hawaii next week to play in her first event as a tour member.
Safe to say, most other LPGA players did not first meet with a professor to arrange a makeup midterm exam, as Wie did. But that reflects her dual life these days, an uncommon mix of elite academics and professional golf.
"I have a really nice balance," she said.
Wie was alternately amusing and introspective during a rare, 25-minute phone interview this week. She said she's enjoying her sophomore year at Stanford more than her freshman year, if only because she knows which classes to take, knows more people and doesn't get lost as often on the sprawling campus.
matter of time management
She also described herself as more mature than when she began college in September 2007, a result of learning to manage her time and balance her schoolwork and sporting ambitions.
"I know who I am better," Wie said. "I'm to the point where I don't care what other people think of me, if they think I'm weird or something. I've accepted the fact I'm weird. ... You've just got to live life, put in your hard work, relax and see what happens."
Wie occasionally fields wide-eyed questions from freshmen who recognize her, but most students leave her alone. She's taking classes in humanities, engineering, writing and Korean drama this quarter, and she's leaning toward majoring in East Asian studies.
This track toward a college degree, seemingly conventional at times, will be interrupted when the winter quarter ends in mid-March. As she did last year and plans to do in the future, Wie will skip the spring quarter to devote her attention to golf. (She expects to take six or seven years to graduate.)
As she put it, her year is divided into six months of "pure golf" and six months of "a normal life." Asked if she views the life of a tour pro as abnormal, Wie said, "It's just six months of being alone all the time."
her college routine
Wie's life at Stanford follows a clear routine: She works out every morning at 8:30, attends classes from 10 until noon or 1 p.m. and then practices every afternoon. She practiced in the mornings during her freshman year, only to discover Bay Area winter mornings are nothing like those in Honolulu.
Wie works on her game mostly at Boulder Ridge, Coyote Creek or San Jose Country Club. She favors those three courses because they offer a variety of challenges - elevation changes and fast, undulating greens at Boulder Ridge, for example.
James Monroe, the head pro at Boulder Ridge in San Jose, said Wie has been playing there about three days a week for the past six months. She always plays alone, with her parents following in a cart with her clubs. Wie usually plays from the championship tees, where the course measures nearly 6,900 yards, or from tees with a total distance closer to 6,500.
Club officials gave Wie an honorary membership, allowing her to use the facilities whenever she wants. Monroe described the Wies as very friendly, though he's still taken aback by Michelle's 6-foot height.
"It's a little intimidating when she walks into the pro shop and she's towering over everybody," he said.
David Leadbetter, the renowned Florida-based instructor, is still Wie's coach, even after publicly questioning the family's decisions about her career. Leadbetter seldom sees Wie in person while she's at Stanford, instead relying on swing videos sent by her father, BJ Wie, along with an online golf instructional program and frequent phone conversations.
Wie's parents staying involved
It seems clear Wie's parents, who live in a house not far from Stanford, will remain heavily involved in Michelle's career. She insisted she still has some independence as a college student (she lives in campus housing), though she enjoys an occasional home-cooked meal.
For now, Wie eagerly anticipates her homecoming in next week's SBS Open, officially launching her rookie season. Wie still wants to enter an occasional men's event, but her focus in 2009 will be on the LPGA, in which she hopes regular appearances will wipe away the frustration of the past two years.
"I see the LPGA card as a play-whenever-you-want card," she said. "I'm excited to play a lot - it gives me a better chance to play well. ... I hope it's going to be a good year. I have a good feeling about it."
I hope she gets her act together before it is too late.:beerbang:
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
She's plodding along like most college students in some respects - juggling four classes, contemplating her choice of majors, and bypassing the library to study (and maybe socialize) in a loud, bustling campus cafe. Then again, Michelle Wie is unlike her classmates in many other ways, from her golf swing to her lucrative endorsement deals.
Wie, 19, has spent a good chunk of the past year and a half living in the Bay Area, quietly attending Stanford during the fall and winter while pursuing her much-scrutinized career in the spring and summer. Now, fresh from earning full-time LPGA playing privileges at Qualifying School in December, she will return to her native Hawaii next week to play in her first event as a tour member.
Safe to say, most other LPGA players did not first meet with a professor to arrange a makeup midterm exam, as Wie did. But that reflects her dual life these days, an uncommon mix of elite academics and professional golf.
"I have a really nice balance," she said.
Wie was alternately amusing and introspective during a rare, 25-minute phone interview this week. She said she's enjoying her sophomore year at Stanford more than her freshman year, if only because she knows which classes to take, knows more people and doesn't get lost as often on the sprawling campus.
matter of time management
She also described herself as more mature than when she began college in September 2007, a result of learning to manage her time and balance her schoolwork and sporting ambitions.
"I know who I am better," Wie said. "I'm to the point where I don't care what other people think of me, if they think I'm weird or something. I've accepted the fact I'm weird. ... You've just got to live life, put in your hard work, relax and see what happens."
Wie occasionally fields wide-eyed questions from freshmen who recognize her, but most students leave her alone. She's taking classes in humanities, engineering, writing and Korean drama this quarter, and she's leaning toward majoring in East Asian studies.
This track toward a college degree, seemingly conventional at times, will be interrupted when the winter quarter ends in mid-March. As she did last year and plans to do in the future, Wie will skip the spring quarter to devote her attention to golf. (She expects to take six or seven years to graduate.)
As she put it, her year is divided into six months of "pure golf" and six months of "a normal life." Asked if she views the life of a tour pro as abnormal, Wie said, "It's just six months of being alone all the time."
her college routine
Wie's life at Stanford follows a clear routine: She works out every morning at 8:30, attends classes from 10 until noon or 1 p.m. and then practices every afternoon. She practiced in the mornings during her freshman year, only to discover Bay Area winter mornings are nothing like those in Honolulu.
Wie works on her game mostly at Boulder Ridge, Coyote Creek or San Jose Country Club. She favors those three courses because they offer a variety of challenges - elevation changes and fast, undulating greens at Boulder Ridge, for example.
James Monroe, the head pro at Boulder Ridge in San Jose, said Wie has been playing there about three days a week for the past six months. She always plays alone, with her parents following in a cart with her clubs. Wie usually plays from the championship tees, where the course measures nearly 6,900 yards, or from tees with a total distance closer to 6,500.
Club officials gave Wie an honorary membership, allowing her to use the facilities whenever she wants. Monroe described the Wies as very friendly, though he's still taken aback by Michelle's 6-foot height.
"It's a little intimidating when she walks into the pro shop and she's towering over everybody," he said.
David Leadbetter, the renowned Florida-based instructor, is still Wie's coach, even after publicly questioning the family's decisions about her career. Leadbetter seldom sees Wie in person while she's at Stanford, instead relying on swing videos sent by her father, BJ Wie, along with an online golf instructional program and frequent phone conversations.
Wie's parents staying involved
It seems clear Wie's parents, who live in a house not far from Stanford, will remain heavily involved in Michelle's career. She insisted she still has some independence as a college student (she lives in campus housing), though she enjoys an occasional home-cooked meal.
For now, Wie eagerly anticipates her homecoming in next week's SBS Open, officially launching her rookie season. Wie still wants to enter an occasional men's event, but her focus in 2009 will be on the LPGA, in which she hopes regular appearances will wipe away the frustration of the past two years.
"I see the LPGA card as a play-whenever-you-want card," she said. "I'm excited to play a lot - it gives me a better chance to play well. ... I hope it's going to be a good year. I have a good feeling about it."
I hope she gets her act together before it is too late.:beerbang: