Michelle Wie is back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons -- again. After finishing the third round of the State Farm Classic with sole possession of second place, the troubled teen was DQ’d for failing to sign her scorecard on Friday. Wie reportedly left the scorer’s trailer without signing her card but volunteers ran after her and she returned and signed the card. LPGA officials didn’t learn of the episode until Wie had already teed off on Saturday. After asking her and her caddie what transpired, Sue Witters, the LPGA director of tournament competitions, issued the DQ because Wie apparently had left a roped off area outside the scorer’s trailer. “She was like a little kid after you tell them there's no Santa Claus," Witters told The Associated Press. You may recall that Wie was DQ’d in the 2005 Samsung World Championship (her first tournament as a pro) for taking an improper drop.
Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Tammie Green.
2 comments:
Dear Mr. Fairway,
As the former Executive Director of the Wisconsin PGA and Tournament Director of the former GMO, I ran a lot of golf tournaments.
Michelle Wie clearly made a mistake, to which she has accepted blame.
However, as a tournament director, I can tell you that my instructions to the volunteers in the scoring tent was first and foremost to be sure they got two signatures on the card. If a player got up to leave before signing, they were to quickly call them back to sign.
Unless I am mistaken, this is the instruction given to the volunteers at all major events.
So, it breaks my heart for Michelle, who has taken a lot of criticism in the last year that she was a flash in the pan, etc. Well, the three rounds she got to play in Springfield certainly show that she is a player to reckon with.
Realizing it will never happen, I just wish the LPGA and the directors of the State Farm Classic would stand up and admit that they also failed in taking care of this player.
Sincerely, your friend..
Tony Coleman, PGA
Chief Operating Officer
Bishops Bay Country Club
Tony,
You make an excellent point that the LPGA bears some responsbility in Wie's scorecard fiasco. And they took an uncalled for cheap shot at her when they said she looked like a kid who found out there was not Santa Claus when they informed her of the DQ. However, she certainly has played in enough golf tournaments to know that you MUST sign your scorecard before you leave the trailer.
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