All the Wie!
Count me among the folks who are fascinated by Michelle Wie's successes on the golf course.
But fascination is one thing, understanding the challenges posed by her wading into the world of men's professional golf is another.
Currently Wie is participating in the Amateur Public Links Championship, with hopes of winning said event and earning a spot in the Masters. Now it's a tall task for a 15-year-old - boy or girl - to win such an event, and I don't necessarily think Wie has what it takes now to do so. I could be wrong, and I do think in time she will be able to compete for crowns like this one.
Arguably, her participation in this event has given it considerable more press coverage and public attention than it has received in the past. Partly because she is, quite frankly, a girl playing in a men's arena ... and partly because she's a girl who is smacking the ball 290 yards off the tee and shooting close to even par from the men's tees.
Not everyone is over-joyed with her presence:
"I don't think she should be here," said Danny Green, who tied for second in medal play after matching the tournament low with a 65 for a 2-under 138. "I think she should play in the women's tournaments because they don't let the men play in women's tournaments. I just don't agree with that, but it's not my call. She qualified and she is going by the rules. She's here and she is a great player. I've got nothing against that."
Now Green does have a point, even if he's not making it completely clear. There are two things to consider when it comes to not letting Wie, or other women, participate in men's events. First, as Green alluded to, men are not allowed to compete in women's tournaments. The LPGA has a strict policy that forbids men from competing in women's events, while the PGA has no such policy. This, on the surface, is unfair.
Second, as some others have suggested, Wie's participation in these types of events are done purely as a ratings-grabbing ploy. Realistically, she has little chance to win these tournaments (she hasn't won on the LPGA yet, and folded in the final round of the U.S. Women's Open recently), and her spot in the tournament takes up a spot that could be used by a professional male golfer who has struggled on the PGA Tour and has a more realistic chance to win.
I think both are valid arguments against Wie's participation, but I think both also have strong rebuttals and practical solutions.
With regard to the double-standard of allowing women to play in men's events - amateur or professional - but not the other way around, I am quite sympathetic to this view. I have no problem with women playing in men's tournaments, but I think it is only fair if men of a similar skill set play on the women's circuit. That is, isn't it possible that a male golfer who isn't a scratch golfer (like pros are) - one who typically shoots 80-85 - could compete on an even level with professional women golfers? Granted sticking Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson on the women's tee at the Nabisco Classic would be a tad unfair, which is why slightly worse than professional male golfers would be needed for the women's circuit.
Considering the second argument, it's not an easy black-and-white decision. With regard to the Public Links Championship, Wie signed up and qualified for this event. She didn't earn a special invitation like she did for the Sony Open, but rather went out and earned it the old-fashioned way. So I think she has every reason to participate in this event.
Special invites, are a tad tricky. I'm sympathetic to the argument of leaving out 'more deserving' male golfers, but only so much. Wie has more than enough physical talent to compete with the men. She drives the ball close to 300 yards, has been in the running for major titles on the LPGA at the age of 15 and, in a few years, will emerge as the most dominant female golfer on the planet. Physically, she can hang with the boys and deserves to be out there.
Plus, if you a tournament director running a tournament, you definitely want to make as much money as you can and garner as much attention as you can. It's important, than, to find ways to bring people to your events ... and someone like Wie has that ability. The same thing happened when Tiger Woods turned pro and picked up some special invites ... same goes for Charles Howell III after he captured the NCAA title.
As a result, while I do respect those who are suspect of the special invite rule, I find it too inconsistent to be used as a reasonable argument against Wie's participation.
The girl's good. Let her play I say.
But fascination is one thing, understanding the challenges posed by her wading into the world of men's professional golf is another.
Currently Wie is participating in the Amateur Public Links Championship, with hopes of winning said event and earning a spot in the Masters. Now it's a tall task for a 15-year-old - boy or girl - to win such an event, and I don't necessarily think Wie has what it takes now to do so. I could be wrong, and I do think in time she will be able to compete for crowns like this one.
Arguably, her participation in this event has given it considerable more press coverage and public attention than it has received in the past. Partly because she is, quite frankly, a girl playing in a men's arena ... and partly because she's a girl who is smacking the ball 290 yards off the tee and shooting close to even par from the men's tees.
Not everyone is over-joyed with her presence:
"I don't think she should be here," said Danny Green, who tied for second in medal play after matching the tournament low with a 65 for a 2-under 138. "I think she should play in the women's tournaments because they don't let the men play in women's tournaments. I just don't agree with that, but it's not my call. She qualified and she is going by the rules. She's here and she is a great player. I've got nothing against that."
Now Green does have a point, even if he's not making it completely clear. There are two things to consider when it comes to not letting Wie, or other women, participate in men's events. First, as Green alluded to, men are not allowed to compete in women's tournaments. The LPGA has a strict policy that forbids men from competing in women's events, while the PGA has no such policy. This, on the surface, is unfair.
Second, as some others have suggested, Wie's participation in these types of events are done purely as a ratings-grabbing ploy. Realistically, she has little chance to win these tournaments (she hasn't won on the LPGA yet, and folded in the final round of the U.S. Women's Open recently), and her spot in the tournament takes up a spot that could be used by a professional male golfer who has struggled on the PGA Tour and has a more realistic chance to win.
I think both are valid arguments against Wie's participation, but I think both also have strong rebuttals and practical solutions.
With regard to the double-standard of allowing women to play in men's events - amateur or professional - but not the other way around, I am quite sympathetic to this view. I have no problem with women playing in men's tournaments, but I think it is only fair if men of a similar skill set play on the women's circuit. That is, isn't it possible that a male golfer who isn't a scratch golfer (like pros are) - one who typically shoots 80-85 - could compete on an even level with professional women golfers? Granted sticking Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson on the women's tee at the Nabisco Classic would be a tad unfair, which is why slightly worse than professional male golfers would be needed for the women's circuit.
Considering the second argument, it's not an easy black-and-white decision. With regard to the Public Links Championship, Wie signed up and qualified for this event. She didn't earn a special invitation like she did for the Sony Open, but rather went out and earned it the old-fashioned way. So I think she has every reason to participate in this event.
Special invites, are a tad tricky. I'm sympathetic to the argument of leaving out 'more deserving' male golfers, but only so much. Wie has more than enough physical talent to compete with the men. She drives the ball close to 300 yards, has been in the running for major titles on the LPGA at the age of 15 and, in a few years, will emerge as the most dominant female golfer on the planet. Physically, she can hang with the boys and deserves to be out there.
Plus, if you a tournament director running a tournament, you definitely want to make as much money as you can and garner as much attention as you can. It's important, than, to find ways to bring people to your events ... and someone like Wie has that ability. The same thing happened when Tiger Woods turned pro and picked up some special invites ... same goes for Charles Howell III after he captured the NCAA title.
As a result, while I do respect those who are suspect of the special invite rule, I find it too inconsistent to be used as a reasonable argument against Wie's participation.
The girl's good. Let her play I say.
posted by Jmac at 12:18 PM
3 Comments:
Sponsor's exemptions DON'T "take away" a spot from anyone else, anyway. A certain number of people qualify for a given tournament. Then the sponsor's are given the option to invite a few people they would like to have in their tourney even if they didn't qualify. This doesn't take away a spot from anyone who would have "earned" it otherwise. If Cyalis didn't invite Wie, they probably wouldn't invite anyone. They certainly wouldn't invite the marginal dude who barely missed out on qualifying for the torunament.
As to the "fairness" issue of men and women crossing over, think of it this way. Men, in general, are better athletes (in the major American professional sports, anyway) than women are. Men, in general, are stronger, faster, etc. The PGA Tour is simply for the world's best golfers, period. Most of those golfers, not surprisingly, are men. But, if a woman every now and then comes along who can legitimately hang at the PGA level--hitting from the same tees, etc.--then what's the big deal?
As far as the LPGA goes, they're entire purpose is to provide athletic WOMEN with a way to make a living playing the sport they love. The LPGA makes no claim to being the "best" golfers in the world. It makes a claim to being the best female golfers. Most women cannot make it in the PGA. But many women are still very good at golf, relative to other women. So, the LPGA exists to give them a chance to play for a living, too.
Signed,
Xon Hostetter, feminist
I think this is one of the most parsimonious and sensible explanations for the discrepancy between Fs in M sports and Ms in F sports.
And your signature made me guffaw because I was thinking the same thing -- "How progressive of Xon!" Heh.
Of course, I could say that since you're a man, you can't actually believe what you wrote and you are actually enabling the separation of women to continue by following the gender stereotypes that were dogmatically instituted in your mind by the unfair social mores and biases that exist in our patriarchal population. Oh, and everytime you have sex with your wife, you rape her. I think that sums up the Gloria Steinemesque opinion.
HA!
I concur with Russ, Xon. Nice job. I hadn't approached the PGA Tour argument from that angle, apparently preferring a more cumbersome path. Yours is much better.
And I forgot to mention that aspect of the sponsor exemptions, so thanks for picking up the slack!
BTW ... Wie has reached the quarterfinals of the match play portion of the APL, demolishing her competition 6-and-5 in the first match Thursday and 3 and 2 in the afternoon.
As I said ... girl's good.
Post a Comment
<< Home