Golfer Michelle Wie has gained worldwide attention for her attempts to compete in the men's PGA Tour, about how she has come so close (one stroke short of qualifying for the 2004 PGA Tour Sony Open) yet never quite made the cut. .But let's not forget that she also deserves our attention for her outstanding golf prowess and for her remarkable accomplishments to date. She may not yet have what it takes to compete with the big boys, but Michelle Wie is the real deal.



Witness the amazing records that the 16-year-old prodigy has set in such a short time: youngest player ever to qualify for an adult USGA-sanctioned tournament -age 10 years, 9 months, 24 days (2000 Women's U.S. Amateur Public Links); youngest player ever to qualify for an LPGA tournament - age 12 (2002 LPGA Takefuji Classic); The youngest winner (male or female) of an adult USGA-sanctioned tournament - age 13 (2003 Women's U.S. Amateur Public Links); youngest player to make a cut in an LPGA tournament and major - age 13 (2003 Nabisco Championship); youngest player to play in a PGA Tour event - age 14 (2004 Sony Open);lowest round by a female in a PGA Tour event (also the first female to score a sub-70 round in PGA Tour history) - 68 (2004 & 2006 Sony Open)l youngest player to play in Curtis Cup history - age 14 (2004); youngest female to make a cut in any professional male tour event - age 16 (2006 SK Telecom Open); first female medalist in a men's US Open qualifying tournament - age 16 (2006 US Open Local Qualifying at Turtle Bay Hawaii).

Wie was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on October 11, 1989 and is of Korean descent. Like most great golfers, she began playing the game of golf almost as soon as she could get around on her own two feet, at age four. At age 10, she shot a personal-best 64 in 18 holes at the 5,400-yard Olomana Golf Links, one of Hawaii's most difficult courses. That year (1999), she became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship and also advanced into match play at the Women's U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship using her grandmother's clubs.

Clearly, Wie has already accomplished much, but the general consensus is that the world has yet to see the best that Michelle Wie has to offer.