For Michelle Wie to skip a major in the LPGA tour to play an event on the PGA tour is just plain stupid.  Her parents are doing a terrible job of running her career and what started out as promising and intriguing, has quickly turned stale and boring.  Until she starts winning some LPGA events, she needs to stay away from playing PGA events.  All she is doing now is taking some deserving golfers spot in a tourney, all so she can fail to make the cut in a PGA event. 

You (along with Annika Sorenstam) don't seem to understand Wie's situation.  She currently has just one more exemption to play in LPGA events this year and has already committed to play in the Canadian Open in August.  Thus she's not "skip[ping] a major in the LPGA."

She likely would have won the last LPGA tournament in which she competed had she not made the mistake of not signing her card within the time frame of the technical rule.  Then what would you have said about her?

"You know, I really don't know why Michelle continues to do this," Sorenstam said. "I mean, we have a major this week, and if you can't qualify for a major, I don't see any reason why you should play with the men."

That doesn't sound like she is hating on Wie, IMO.  It just sounds like she is stating the obvious.  But I do agree with her.  Has Wie even won a LPGA tournament yet?  I don't understand why she wants to play with the men anyway.  She hasn't proven herself yet and she gets plenty of money for endorsements.  I don't get it.

You're right, you don't seem to get it.  Wie couldn't have played in the Women's British Open (unless she broke her commitment to the Canadian Open in August) because she has only one exemption left to play in LPGA events this year!

Wie drives the ball consistently longer than Sorenstam, thus she probably would have a better chance competing against men than even Sorenstam.  That's really all that matters.  Dominating the women's tour doesn't prove that you should play with men.  That's the argument I don't get.  Isn't that logic similar to assuming that if I dominate on the playground basketball courts I can likely compete in the NBA?

People need to use their minds and think about the abilities that allow one to compete.  In men's versus women's golf the primary advantage men have over women is driving power and distance.

By the way, Michelle Wie shows signs of having the ability to dominate the women's competitions.  She hasn't played a full LPGA schedule in any year and is not even an official member of the LPGA tour (thus the shortage of exemptions this year and perhaps next year).  If not for her disqualification in the State Farm event, she may have won and was at least very likely to finish in the top 5.  If that had happened (some) people would be trying to find ways to say she was going to choke in the British Open rather than criticizing her for trying testing her skills against a higher level of players!

:)

Asinine?  Some of the most accomplished individuals can still be jealous.  You think Jordan isn't jealous of the attention and accolades that, say, Kobe Bryant gets?

First of all, Sorenstam probably feels like many people seem to express, that Wie is getting way too much attention, publicity and money for someone who hasn't accomplished nearly what Sorenstam has.  It's understandable if she's a little jealous.  What's sad is that she can't keep those negative feelings to herself or at least avoid sharing them with the general public.

Just beat her when you have the opportunities and let that speak for itself.  Wouldn't that be the way Tiger Woods would handle a similar situation?

Finally, who are you to tell someone what options there can be in a poll question?  I attempted to give a range of options to get responses that reflect how people feel.  Make your own poll and then you can worry about what choices to give people.

But Wie hasn't dominated the LPGA.  Showing the ability doesn't prove that she deserves to be there.  That's my point.  Driving the ball far doesn't mean you compete well.  Look how good John Daly is doing.  He is one of, if not the, longest driver on the PGA tour, but he hasn't sniffed the top of the leader board in a long time.

I love your polls Quentin, and I love a good debate as well.  But if you think the ability to drive the ball far is what makes a good golfer, then I think this might be the wrong discussion for you.  70% of golf is a short game.  Driving the ball far looks good and puts you in a position to do well, but the middle range  and short shots is what wins tournaments.

She is playing in PGA tournaments because she is marketable and the PGA likes to make money.  Sorry man, but she hasn't earned any right to be picky.

Great topic, but I have to disagree with you this time.

Thanks for the poll appreciation, tpowell25.

Having said that, if you review my comment about driving distance, the point is this is the primary area where men have an advantage over women.  The further point is that whether you dominate while competing with women doesn't have a logical connection to how you will perform against men.  It seems more logical that how your driving distance compares with that of the professional men would be more of an indicator and LPGA events are set up to accomodate female driving distances, not male.

Perhaps men have an advantage in the short game as well.  Maybe we'll have a chance to further analyze the possibilities if Ms. Wie has her way and can consistently compete with the "boys."

:)

I just don't get why some people want to hold a woman back from trying to do her thing!  The LPGA players who speak against her efforts should be happy she's not content to just play their events as it likely translates into less money she hoards out of the tournaments they are playing!

No offense, but if she only has one exemption left and she chose the Canadian Open over the British Open, then she did infact skip a major.  I guess I'm misinformed about what exactly Ms. Wie's goals are when it comes to golfing.  I assumed it would be to try and get into the LPGA and then dominate....kinda like Tiger has done.  From there, the next progression would be to consistently continue to dominate and then take the next step....which would be to play a couple of PGA events to see how she matches up.  It seems to me that he mom and dad are setting her up in a no win situation where she is doomed to fail at the start.  You cant expect her to come in right off the bat and consistently compete with the best golfers in the world.  She has yet to prove in 7 attempts that she can go head to head with the "boys" and I'm afraid that if she continues down this path, she'll be burnt out by the time she reaches her mid 20's. 

She committed to the Candian Open months ago and I'm not certain exactly how the exemptions work, but I believe she had to be invited to attend the British Open.  Michelle has not joined the LPGA at this point in her career so every event she participates in is a special set of circumstances.  Once a woman plays in an LPGA event and performs to a certain level she may play her way into automatic invitations to major tournaments.  This would have been the case for the British Open had she not made the scorecard miscue and finished at a certain level in the State Farm tournament from which she was DQ'd.  If she had won or finished in the top five it is very likely she would have accepted the invitation to play in the British Open and wouldn't have had to consider other options.

If she officially joins the LPGA she will be required to play in a minimum number of events.  Again, not sure what that number is, but I believe this is one of the main reasons she has not done so.  She's trying to manage her schedule with school and being able to accept invitations to events outside of the LPGA.

People keep blaming Wie's parents, while Wie gives every indication that these decisions are being largely left up to her.