Michelle Wie to LPGA Qualifying School

News

After years of controversial dalliances with men’s and women’s professional tours around the globe, it looks like Michelle Wie is about to settle down and do the practical thing.

She’s finally entering LPGA Qualifying School — not like she had many options.

Wie is already in the Palm Springs area practicing for the first-stage event at Mission Hills Country Club on Sept. 16-19. The deadline for entry is Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

A source close to the Wie camp who asked not to be identified said it was unclear whether the family would make a formal announcement about Michelle’s new career path.

“You know the Wies, they like to make a big splash,” the source said.

After two largely checkered seasons wracked by injury and mostly disappointing play, some of the exemption opportunities for Wie had begun to dry up. As a non-member of the tour, she was limited to six LPGA tournaments a year on sponsor exemptions.

The first-stage qualifier will be held at the same facility where the first women’s major of the year is staged, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, an event Wie nearly won in 2006.

If she advances, the finals are Dec. 3-7 at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla.

A second first-stage qualifier is set for Venice, Fla., on Sept. 30-Oct. 3. Players who pay a $5,000 Q-school application fee can enter both first-stage qualifiers if they don’t advance out of the Palm Springs event.

It was unclear whether Wie, believed to be the highest-paid athlete in women’s sports, paid the extra $1,000 that would allow her to take two cracks at the first stage if she fails to advance in California next week. Otherwise, the entry fee is $4,000.

If Wie makes the Q-school finals, the tidal wave of resulting publicity would almost certainly eclipse the media barrage of three years ago when eventual medalist Ai Miyazato drew droves of media from her native Japan.

Her 2008 season included a disqualification in July. In all, she played nine events in three tours, including the Reno-Tahoe event on the PGA Tour. In addition to the disqualification, she missed three cuts and her best finish came on the second-tier Ladies European Tour, where she finished sixth in the Ladies German Open in June.

Her best finish on the LPGA was at the Canadian Open last month, where she tied for 12th, although she finished eight behind the winner. She won $62,763 on the LPGA.

She turns 19 on Oct. 11.

Source: CBS Sportsline