Morgan Pressel - LPGA Brat

Michelle Wie continued her impressive performance at LPGA events this weekend at the Fields Open in Hawaii. Michelle shot a solid 66 in the final round, just missing getting into overtime by a stroke. Wie finished 3rd, in front of some hefty competition including Creamer, Kerr, Gulbis, and Ochoa. Considering that Creamer is probably the hottest LPGA golfer for the last year, it's amazing that Wie continues to dominate her with a head-to-head record of 9-3-1! But more importantly, Wie also put that brat Morgan "The Pouting" Pressel in her place.

Pressel has been earning a reputation for being a loud-mouth, especially when it comes to the topic of Wie. After Pressel finished ahead of Wie at last year's U.S. Open, Pressel sounded off on Wie, "she's proven she can't win in pressure situations going into the final round...The biggest tournament in women's golf, she shoots 82...She falters at the end." Pressel continued her jealous-tinged shots at Wie after learning about the latter's endorsement contracts with Nike and Sony saying, "She's going to make something like $10 million? For what? For winning one tournament?!" The Wie-dissing surfaced most recently during a conference call for the Fields Open, when Pressel said that Wie should have to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open instead of getting an exemption.

Pressel is often compared to Dottie Pepper because of their similarly fiery personalities and body types. However, I don't recall that Dottie ever directed her animosity towards an individual for an extended period. Clearly Pressel has a lot of beef with Wie and there's no sign that she will let it go. To say that it's past tiring is an understatement.

Pressel had an opportunity to back up her words by beating Wie this weekend. She even got her wish to be paired with Wie in the final pressure-packed round. But ironically, it wasn't Wie that "falters at the end", it was Pressel. Wie spanked her soundly by 5 strokes. Just like any other spoiled little brat who doesn't get what they want, Pressel could only pout and cry about it...wah wah wah! Wie could have used this opportunity to take a shot at Morgan, but she took the high road saying, "She (Morgan) is a nice girl. She played good, kind of struggled a bit at the end, but she's a very talented player. I think she'll do really well this year."

Let this be a lesson to Morgan Pressel and the other brash and immature golf upstarts: just shut your trap and let your game do the talking. Oh, by the way Morgan, you are now down 1-3 head-to-head vs. Wie. Talking smack works a lot better when you have a winning record.

Don't Hate the Player, Hate the Game!

The speculation about Michelle Wie turned into reality this morning as she announced her decision to turn professional. Already, I've read a lot of opinions about it. Interestingly, many of them are negative, especially on the golf message boards.

Quite frankly, it's a shame that people are so down on Michelle. Really, what has she done to draw such ire? Her public image is nice and pleasant. She's about as clean-cut as they come. She's a 15 year-old girl for crying out loud! People who bash a good-natured young girl who's a straight A student need to schedule some time with a therapist.

This is simply a girl who has big dreams - dreams of playing golf for a living. She's fortunate to realize those dreams at a young age and people hate her for it. It seems to me that much of the anti-Wie sentiment is rooted in jealousy and envy. If anything, these Wie-haters should redirect their animosity at the things surrounding Ms. Wie's pro announcement. While I don't think that it's deserved, go ahead and criticize Wie's parents, her agent, her sponsors, her coach, her dog, etc. - just don't hate on her.

Morgan "The Pouting" Pressel will have plenty to say about Wie turning pro. When asked about Wie's endorsement deals, Pressel exclaimed, "She's going to make something like $10 million? For what? For winning one tournament?!" This is just the latest in a long-running whine about Wie. At this year's U.S. Open, Wie shared the lead with Pressel after three rounds. After Pressel finished ahead of Wie, Pressel sounded off on Wie, "she's proven she can't win in pressure situations going into the final round...The biggest tournament in women's golf, she shoots 82...She falters at the end." When asked when Wie would join the LPGA, Pressel shot back, "Never. OK, maybe not never, but not as long as she wants to do her 'woo-woo' thing against the men." Meeyow!

But there are mature and intelligent individuals among Wie's peer group.

As Curtis Cup teammates, Paula Creamer became acquainted with Wie. "We are very good friends," Creamer said. "We have a lot in common. We both love golf and we are both young. We talk a lot, (but) on the golf course everybody is trying to beat everybody. It is all fun, I think, (but) for me I try to win."

When asked about Wie turning pro, Natalie Gulbis said, "I think it's very positive. The publicity that she [Wie] has gotten for herself and also gotten for the LPGA has been extremely positive because more people are talking about Michelle Wie in accordance with the LPGA. And she has raised the bar and also shown how much a female golfer can be paid from an endorsement standpoint."

Paula and Natalie are two of my favorite LPGA pros because they have great attitudes to accompany great games (OK, that's not the real reason I like Natalie). Together with Wie, the LPGA has nowhere to go but up. I know that I'll be watching.