Let There Be No Doubt: Michelle Wie Moves the Meter

Earlier in the year, when Michelle Wie wound up finishing in second at the season-opening SBS Open in Hawaii to Angela Stanford, the ratings were double the '08 numbers.  She brought people into the Solheim Cup, as well.  Combined with the inherent patriotism in the competition, the Solheim Cup's final day proved to be ratings champion for the LPGA on Golf Channel this year.

Though Solheim still is, Michelle Wie's final round performance at the LoCho Invitational turned out to be second best.

Golf Channel released info this morning in a press release to boast how Wie put butts on the couch.

Sunday’s 0.72 final-round rating represents the second-highest-rated LPGA Tour round on Golf Channel and second-most-watched LPGA Tour telecast on any cable network this year.

The number also represents a 60 percent increase over the tournament’s final round in 2008 and is double the typical final-round ratings for LPGA Tour events on Golf Channel in 2009 (excluding the SBS Open at Turtle Bay and McDonald’s LPGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola).

In fact, Wie actually led the LPGA Tour to double the rating for the PGA Tour's Children's Miracle Network Classic.  That is thanks to several factors, but Michelle Wie is certainly a big one.

Want another indicator that Wie moves the meter?  By far, she received the highest bid from sponsors looking to play in the pro-am at the LPGA Tour Championship - in upwards of $25,000.  That shocked new commissioner Michael Whan.