Golf News: British Open (Open Championship), Michelle Wie

My Golf Observer colleague John Huggan has his preview of the Open Championship.

Thomas Bonk writes this preview of the week’s championship.

Here’s another good British Open piece.

Steve Czaban reports on the grim reality of Michelle Wie’s failed week at the John Deere.

Czabe writes: “She came in not just talking about the “cut” but about making the British off a potential Top 10 finish.”

Whoa, now this has gotten out of hand. She goes in thinking about the British Open, she goes out with a WD. If Michelle’s enablers are filling her head with these dreams of competing at a major, they better let her mature a few years before sending her into the teeth of the maelstrom. They are hurting her development. Nothing good came out of this week – not to her game, her confidence or her popularity.

Look people, she is having no luck trying to make the cut in the lowest of the PGA’s low-rent districts. Is there any reality whatsoever to the gimcrack phony pipe-dream of her being competitive in a major? Especially RIGHT NOW? How about letting this young girl have some of her stolen childhood?

Look, we all know this isn’t about Michelle Wie, it’s about people forcing this politically charged gender agenda to convince the public that women globally can play golf as well as the men down people’s throats.

But he advancement of women’s golf is not measured by the success of ONE woman, but the success of ALL women. At Tall Grass Country Club this weekend, the entire Grill Room was rivoted to Natalie Gulbis vs. Paula Creamer. (Even though both fell short.) They were cheering raucously.

Women’s Golf has perennially been number 1 or 2 in all women’s sports and is one of only two televised women’s sports to perennially enjoy cross appeal to male viewers. (The other is tennis…everything else is seasonal to the Olympics.) Don’t you believe for one minute that there is a crisis of confidence, money or popularity with Women’s golf. If there is women’s golf on and women’s softball on, which do you watch? How bout volleyball (Ha!) Or basketball? (Please…) No – Women’s golf is the flagship of women’s sports on television. EVERYBODY knows when Annika wins a major, but quick! Who won the Women’s NCAA softball tournament? People still remember Birdie Kim’s crazy bunker shot from last year, but who was MVP of last year’s WNBA Championship?

Name eight LPGA players in the top 20. Now name eight WNBA franchises and their nickname’s and divisions…

I thought so.

As for playing with the men, it’s Paula Creamer’s turn. Or Natalie Gulbis’. Do you actually think either of them would draw FEWER people to the tournament? Especially now that Michelle is 0 for 5? People are really disappointed with Michelle Wie not even getting close, so it’s time to temporarily pass the torch to another woman. I’ll bet you a dollar to a donut that if you invite spunky Morgan Pressel or the LPGA’s version of wrestler “The Rock” – every red-blooded guy’s fave Paula Creamer – or any one of the fiery competitive Asian players such as Se Ri Pak, they would draw as many or more spectators. There is a ground level, visceral reactionary response to Michelle’s repeated failures…more so because of the alomost haughty way in which her entourage marches around. There is a much stronger cross appeal to some of the other players….which means more patrons and a warmer reception. Give someone else a turn and count the money rolling in. Follow the money – it will say that other girls have just as much draw and star-power.

Either that, or the winner of the Women’s U.S. Open gets a bid to the U.S. Open. For goodness sake, the winner of the Amateur Public Linnks gets a bid to the Open – do you really think he is THAT much better than Annika? Or Karrie Webb? Or try this, the winner of the LPGA Championship gets a bid to the PGA Championship.

By the way…is there really anything “classic” about the John Deere Classic? In fact, is there ANY important tournament left that calls itself a “classic?”