Wie Accepts Invite To 84 Lumber Classic

Does anyone else think it’s weird that, as Tiger Woods announces that he’s cutting back on his PGA Tour schedule, Michelle Wie announces that she’s increasing hers?

Wie will play in the 84 Lumber Classic this year, for her third PGA Tour event of the 2006 season. She already has played in the Sony, and also will play in the John Deere.

There’s been a lot of griping about her taking a “real” players’s spot, but the sponsors get to do what they want with the exemption. It’s no different than offering an exemption to the local golf pro, or the local amateur champion. In fact, it’s even better: Wie will generate a lot of publicity, and thus, increased ticket sales.

On the other hand, I have no idea what Team Wie is up to. How many cuts on the PGA Tour can she miss before her act becomes stale? And wouldn’t she be better off by playing in events that she can win. She’s limited on the LPGA but she surely can get into some Euro Tour Women’s events, or into some other countries’ National Women’s Opens.

I’d think that her sponsors would like it better too. Right now, they show Michelle Wie—winner of nothing. How much better to have her holding a Nike Club in an ad, with a long list of titles running down the side: French Women’s Open Champion, Italian Women’s Open Champion, Australian Women’s Open Champion, New Zealand, etc. (Do all of these places even have Women’s Opens?—the must, I saw that Nigerla has one).