MICHELLE WIE Biography - Famous Sports men and women

 
 

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MICHELLE WIE

Name: Michelle Wie                                                                                 
Born: 11 October 1989 Honolulu, Hawaii U.S.                                                       
                                                                                                   
Michelle Sung Wie (born October 11, 1989) is an Korean-American professional golfer. In 2006,     
she was named in a Time magazine article, "one of 100 people who shape our world."                 
Since September 2007 she has been a student at Stanford University.                               
                                                                                                   
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Korean-born parents, Wie began playing golf at the                     
age of four. Upon turning professional at age 15 she said, "The first time I                       
grabbed a golf club, I knew that I'd do it for the rest of my life."                               
                                                                                                   
In the summer of 2000, at the age of ten, she became the youngest player ever                     
to qualify for the Women's U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. In 2001, at                     
the age of 11, she won both the Hawaii State Women’s Stroke Play Championship                   
and the Jennie K. Wilson Women’s Invitational, the oldest and most prestigious                   
women’s amateur tournament in Hawaii. Also at age 11, she shot a personal-best                   
64 from the 5,400-yard tees at the Olomana Golf Links course in Hawaii. That                       
year, Wie became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship                   
and advanced into match play at the Women's U.S. Amateur Public Links                             
Championship.                                                                                     
                                                                                                   
In 2002, Wie won the Hawaii State Open Women's Division by thirteen shots over                     
LPGA player Cindy Rarick. In 2002 she also became, at age 12, the youngest                         
player to qualify for an LPGA event, the Takefuji Classic where she missed the                     
cut. The record stood until 2007 when it was broken by 11-year-old Ariya                           
Jutanugarn.                                                                                       
                                                                                                   
In 2003, she became the youngest player to make a cut in an LPGA event at the                     
Kraft Nabisco Championship, shooting a 66 in the 3rd round, tying the amateur                     
record for a women's major championship, and placing her in the final group                       
alongside Annika Sörenstam and eventual winner, Patricia Meunier-Lebouc. A few                   
months later, Wie earned an historic victory at the Women's Amateur Public Links                   
tournament, becoming the youngest person ever, male or female, to win a USGA                       
adult event. She also became the youngest player to make the cut in the history                   
of the US Women's Open, where she placed 39th.                                                     
                                                                                                   
In 2004 Wie became the fourth female, and the youngest ever, to play in a PGA                     
Tour event at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Playing on a sponsor's exemption, she                       
shot 72-68 to finish at even par, missing the cut by one stroke.                                   
                                                                                                   
That year, Wie became the youngest woman ever to play on the victorious U.S.                       
Curtis Cup team. She went on to finish fourth in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.                   
If she had played the 2004 season as a professional, she would have earned over                   
US$250,000 from her tournament results.                                                           
                                                                                                   
Wie has long attracted attention for her height, which reached 6 foot 1 inch by                   
her mid teens. Both her parents are above average height, her mother, Hyun Kyong                   
is 5 ft 7 and her father is 6 ft 2 inches. Garnering equal attention is the rare                   
length of her drives as well as the form of her golf swing. When Wie was                           
fourteen, professional golfer Ernie Els remarked, "Give her another couple years                   
to get stronger, she can play on the PGA Tour." At sixteen, Wie had an average                     
drive of about 280 yards. Her size and use of Els as a model have led sports                       
media to call her The Big Wiesy, a play on Els' nickname of The Big Easy. Fred                     
Couples said, "When you see her hit a golf ball … there's nothing that prepares                 
you for it. It's just the scariest thing you've ever seen." Arnold Palmer stated                   
in 2003 that "she's probably going to influence the golfing scene as much as                       
Tiger