Michelle Wie Needs to Shut It Down

Maybe it's the unbridled optimism of youth that keeps her pushing. But someone, anyone aside from my fellow members of the media, needs to pull her aside and just say 'No, maybe it's not such a hot idea to grind until you're 100 percent healthy.' Perhaps her parents will finally do that instead of saying they're giving her the option to make the decision.

Leadbetter, her long-time teacher, would be wise to take a bold step -- possibly even risk being replaced -- and advise his star pupil to ease off the pedal of that Ferrari and stay in the garage.

Wie also could use a bit of public relations advice from all the handlers she has around her: the publicist in New York, the agents from William Morris. Maybe she doesn't realize it, but Wie has already managed to alienate a large number of women on the LPGA Tour. It's possible she doesn't care, but she should.

A veteran player I've known for a number of years pulled me aside one day during the tournament last week and said she was appalled by Wie saying she had "nothing to apologize for" to Sorenstam after pulling out of the Ginn event Sorenstam hosted for the first time.

"That's the problem here," she said. "In my mind, it's always been a privilege to play on this tour. The Wies attitude is the tournaments and the sponsors should be privileged to have Michelle at their event. That's not good."

Someone might have been wise to tell Wie to seek out Sorenstam early in the week and tell her she regretted what happened at the Ginn and any hard feelings it might have engendered. She could have said so publicly at her own news conference after Sorenstam had taken a shot at her, but instead Wie said 'so sorry, but I'm not sorry.' But one of those agents/publicists in her employ should have told her to make nice instead of haughty and further alienate one of the most respected players in women's golf.

Certainly there are lesser players who are somewhat envious of the $20 million a year Wie earns off the course or the attention she receives any time she shows up at an event. But Wie earned that money and the acclaim that goes with it by playing at a world class level for the last two years as a teenage prodigy who even came close to qualifying for the men's Open just a year ago.

But at the moment, Wie is simply a shell of that player, a young woman who hasn't broken par in an LPGA event since last August. And with all those soaring scores, a crisis in confidence may also start to become a factor, easily the worst affliction any world-class player can face.

Personally, I'm rooting for her and rooting hard. She's a sweet kid, a smart kid, a magically gifted player who comes along about once every twenty years, if not longer. She still has the ability to become the greatest player of her generation, but at the moment, she'd have a hard time winning the club championship at her home course.

So shut it down, Michelle. Throw the clubs in the closet and get healthy.

Hit the beach, hit the books, go over to the Sigma Chi house and yell like hell for the Stanford football team, then come back healed and mentally refreshed and give us your best shot at the Kraft Nabisco in March.

Having said all that, what about Phil Mickelson, who also has a sore wrist that forced him to withdraw from last week's tour event in Memphis?

Mickelson almost certainly will play this week, but I don't expect him to contend. He's a big boy, and if he sees he can't play when the gun goes off on Thursday, you know he'll do the right thing and simply pull out and try to get better. But if he plays, he won't win, and you heard it here first, and never mind that old golfing clich? about beware the wounded player. Maybe at the Podunk Classic, but not in a U.S. Open with five-inch rough and warp speed greens.

Who will win?

Tiger Woods seems about due, sort of like his very pregnant wife, and as regular readers of this space know by now, I almost always pick him to win majors if only because that makes me right about once in every four. He did start to play better on the weekend at The Memorial, and obviously must be considered the favorite to win his 13th major.

I also fancy Jim Furyk, now listed as No. 3 in the world rankings. He's already got a U.S. Open and as a Pennsylvania native, he'll have plenty of home state backing. Ernie Els, who won here in '94, surely will summon some memories from that breakthrough first major win, and his game also seems to be in decent form coming in.

Most of the same usual suspects should be mentioned -- Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott and Geoff Ogilvy, among others. If you're looking for a long shot, consider Rory Sabbatini or young Sean O'Hair, who keeps popping up on leader boards over the last six weeks.

Leonard Shapiro can be reached at Badgerlen@hotmail.com or Badgerlen@aol.com.