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 Cry about getting beat in a playoff at a junior tournament, not shooting a high round in high winds against players who are far superior to you. Does that further her career? Does it give her confidence the next time she is in a position to win? I doubt it. Wie’s father, B.J., said he carries two pictures in his wallet, both of Tiger Woods. He should use the model Woods’ parents employed in their son’s development, not only as a golfer, but as a human being. Woods played in junior events. They weren’t beneath him. He played against kids his own age and beat them. When he faced them in amateur events, he had a mental advantage before they even teed off and usually won convincingly. When he did face older competition, like at the U.S. Amateur, he had victories in the U.S. Junior Amateur to bolster his confidence. The number of professional tournaments Woods played as an amateur could be counted on one hand, and his first was the L.A. Open when he was 16. Woods never accepted a sponsor’s invitation to a major championship. He waited until he earned it. Wie has won a few state tournaments in Hawaii and the U.S. Women’s Public Links Championship in 2003. Now that she has turned professional, the chances to play amateur events are gone and more opportunities to win against girls her age are also lost. A perfect example of that was the 2005 U.S. Women’s Open. Going into the final round, Wie and fellow amateur Morgan Pressel were tied for the lead. Pressel nearly won, tying for second, while Wie shot an 82 and finished tied for 23rd. When the two meet again, Pressel has that memory and will use it to her advantage, while Wie will wonder if she is good enough to be there. Wie is indeed a talented golfer, but talent, desire and training all need to be there for her to succeed. I don’t think they are, and instead of a Tiger Woods, we could be looking at golf’s version of Anna Kournikova. NISSAN INCREASES PRIZE MONEY The Nissan Open has increased its purse this year to $5.1 million, with $918,000 going to the winner of the tournament, set for February 16-19 at Riviera Country Club. Last year’s purse was $4.8 million, and Adam Scott won $864,000 — and he only had to play 37 holes in the rain-shortened event. Prize money has been increasing the past 10 years, and the Nissan Open is no exception. Craig Stadler, who won in 1996, earned $216,000. Kirk Triplett won $558,000 in 2000. Of course, the one who should be jealous is Harry Cooper. He won the inaugural event in 1926 and took home $3,500. RUMOR OF THE MONTH The Skins Game is in need of a new location. Proposed sites include Baja and Scottsdale, with the latter winning out if a sponsor for the event doesn’t want to travel south of the border over the Thanksgiving weekend. TELEVISION WINNERS AND LOSERS There were some obvious winners and losers with the PGA Tour’s new television deal set to take effect in 2007. The big winner is CBS, which increases its presence even more, picking up the Nissan Open and a few other events during the season. The biggest losers were ABC and ESPN. The two companies, both owned by Disney, got shut out on the negotiations, choosing not to bargain with the PGA Tour. That left The Golf Channel as the sole provider of all cable televised rounds, including the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Every round of that tournament will be on The Golf Channel, which can’t make tournament officials very happy. John Reger has been covering professional golf since 1995. If you have a question or comment, e-mail him at cascribe@aol.com. |
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