Teenage golf star, Michelle Wie has turned pro! She's only 16 but has already become a household name by battling against some of the top players on both the LPGA and the PGA tour. The six-foot tall golf star is still a junior in high school but will be making more bling than all of her teachers - after agreeing to endorsement deals with Nike and Sony for more than four million dollars a year! Find out more about Michelle Wie with Kidzworld's biography.
Michelle Wie's Golfing Start
Michelle Wie started golfing when she was just a little over four years old in her home state of Hawaii. Her father, B.J. Wie, started teaching her. By the time she was 11, Michelle was regularly winning most of the amateur tournaments she played in and was even playing better than most men. She decide she wanted to become a pro-golfer after watching Tiger Woods play. Wie has pictures of Tiger all over her bedroom and also hopes to go to Stanford University, just like Tiger did. Michelle Wie loves playing against the guys on the PGA tour but that's where her fascination for boys ends - for now. "I don't like boys," she says. "They're kind of annoying."
Michelle Wie - Before the PGA
On March 1, 2002, Wie played in her first LPGA tour event. She failed to make the cut at the Takefuji Classic in Hawaii but still managed to turn some heads with her 280-yard drives and her understanding of the game. "I'm not disapppointed. I'm just happy to be here. There's free food and free drinks and nobody bothers you on the practice greens," said Michelle after shooting six strokes over par in the first two rounds. In June 2003, Michelle Wie became the youngest winner in the history of the Women's Amateur Public Links, with a 1-up victory over Virada Nirapathpongporn at Ocean Hammock.
Michelle Wie - Female PGA Player
Michelle Wie became the youngest person, and just the fourth female, to play in a PGA tour event when she teed off at the Sony Open on January 15, 2004. Wie missed the 36-hole cut by just one stroke, but finished with a higher score than 47 grown men! Michelle Wie didn't look at all out of place at the event, with her average drive being a whopping 271 yards. However, Wie was still a bit disappointed at not making the cut. "Just one more shot, and I would have made it," she said after finishing with birdies on two of the last three holes. In her first tournament as a pro on the LPGA tour, Wie was disqualified for making an illegal drop during the third round of the Samsung World Championship - after a reporter from Sports Illustrated, who was following her on the tour, snitched her out!
Michelle Wie - Did U Know?
- Michelle's nickname on the golf tour is the Big Wiesy.
- Wie's caddie is her father, B.J. Wie.
- Michelle Wie is the youngest winner of the Women's Amateur Public Links.
- Michelle Wie wears a size 10 men's golf shoe.
Michelle Wie Says...
"I don't like going to the mall. I just like to go out on the golf course and play. Golf is fun and feels really good."
