The LPGA as the Minor Leagues

That's Michelle Wie's parting gift to the LPGA. And by parting gift, I mean she has no intention of being a major presence on that tour.

Wie missed earning a berth at the U.S. Open, but for most of the day she played magnificently (her putter, as it has before before, let her down). If she wants it, it's only a matter of time.

Where does that leave the LPGA? Women as a group are not and never will be as strong or as fast as men, absent some kind of artificial engineering. Probably the best reason to segregate men's and women's sports is to push aside otherwise pointless comparisons.

But Wie will force those comparisons--makes them herself all the time. In her post-round interview on The Golf Channel, she said she expected things to be easier in the LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock. And they will be. On many occasions she's said in so many words that the women's tour is not where the world's best golfers play--and she wants to play with the best. Some of the great LPGA players understand what she's saying, and eventually the rest of the world will, took.

Here's Mercer Baggs, a commentator on The Golf Channel website in part of a long defense of Wie:

The final point of interest that was expressed by a few readers was: if women can play in men’s events then men should be able to play in women’s events.

That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. I’d sooner believe that reality TV is real, that Barry Bonds’ head is a normal size than to believe that. As I said to one e-mailer, you don’t demote yourself from one tour to another just to better your odds of winning. A weak field full of professional men is stronger than the best field full of professional women. The field against which Wie competed in South Korea didn’t have one recognizable name it, but it still had more skilled players than the field for the upcoming McDonald’s LPGA Championship....

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