Listen, I'm all for women playing against the men. In anything. Honest. I'm 100% behind it. I rooted for Annika Sorenstam when she ventured onto PGA tour. I rooted for Danica Patrick when she emerged on the Indy scene. I even rooted for Joey Harrington when the Lions weren't playing the Bears.
And I was all about Michelle Wie doing the unthinkable and playing against the men as a teenager. I thought it was a fantastic story. Many said she was rushing things. I said, "Hey, let the kid try! Why not?"
But enough is enough.
After Wie's latest embarrassment, at the European Master's, this is an experiment that has run its course. Who exactly keeps pushing this? Is it Wie herself? Is it her father? Is it her endorsement deals and sponsors? Whatever it is, it's reached the point of being ridiculous. She's not only missing cuts - she's missing them badly. It's quickly and sadly becoming a running joke. You better believe that the hushed laughter is growing at each stop she makes. Oh, you better believe there are plenty of male golfers enjoying her every failure with an I-told-you-so air about their satisfaction. It's obvious that she cannot play with them (at least at the moment), and until she actually wins a women's event, it remains to be seen what sort of mettle she has against golfers of her own gender.
I think Wie will be a fine golfer - against other women. While she has yet to win a women's event, she has come close. Very close. It's only a matter of time before she lands her first win. Hell, it may only be a matter of time before she's the most dominant woman on tour. I wouldn't doubt it. She seems to have that sort of potential. And hey, maybe someday down the line she can try her luck against the men again. When she's properly ready.
In the meantime, however, let her chase greatness where greatness is attainable. Let her be great.
And stop making her a laughingstock.
