Stina Sternberg on Michelle Wie and the Solheim Cup
by Bill Jempty on Jul 30, 2009 1:02 PM EDT
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PrintWhere are the men in the white coats when you need them? Stina writes-
The No. 1 player in the European Solheim Cup rankings, French native Gwladys Nocera just bogeyed the 17th hole at Royal Lytham to go to +18 in her first round of the 2009 Ricoh Women's British Open. So far today, she has managed one birdie, eight bogeys, one double and three triples. Meanwhile, the 16th-ranked Solheim Cup player on the U.S. list, Michelle Wie, is closing in on a round of even par. Sound peculiar?
No, it don't sound peculiar at all. Wie is a better player than Nocera and this is British Open golf that often leads to all sorts of weird scoring because of the playing conditions. Who predicted #3 LPGA money winner for 2009 In Kyung Kim to shoot an opening round 81? A two-time 2001 LET winner Amy Hung is +9 for 12 holes right at this moment.
Before anybody gets their knickers in a twist, I know you can't judge a player's abilities by how they play one random week.
Nothing is twisted down here in Florida.(But my mind maybe......)
But when you're talking about an 18-shot difference in just one round of a major, we can all agree there's a serious form discrepancy at work.
No we can't all agree. Michelle had a very good day and Nocera played terrible.
And in this case, the player who's stinking it up is a Solheim rankings leader while the one shooting even par in tough conditions isn't even close to making the squad on points.
Either Stina don't read what other golf world authors write or she has a bad case of Wie derangement syndrome. Wie can make the Solheim Cup team with a win this weekend, as can 10 other American LPGA players. How many are playing this weekend who are out of the hunt?
Therefore Wie is close to making the squad.
Solheim Cup points are amassed over two years of competition.
Wow! Tell me something I don't know. Does Stina know Ryder Cup points are acquired similiarly.
Nocera hasn't played well this season but won fives times on the Ladies European Tour in 2008, which is why she's still at the top of the European rankings. Wie has five top fives in 12 starts on the LPGA Tour this year, but as a 2009 rookie, she didn't earn a single Solheim point in 2008, so she's still way down on the list.
There she goes again. We have the 2nd confirmed case of Wie Derangement Syndrome. When will the Centers for Disease Control get on the case?
Actually Stina wrote a less emotional post about Michelle and her Solheim Cup chances about a week ago. What happened between now and then to cause today's rant is beyond me. I could make some sarcastic reply involving medications now but will bite my tongue.
This point system makes no sense. Even though last year's results are worth a little less than this year's, the fact that a player like Nocera can still be No. 1 shows just how poorly it works.
So what are you suggesting Stina? That points don't start accumulating till the year the Solheim Cup is played? I don't see any other method that would knock Nocera from her #1 perch. BTW did you even think once that why Nocera being #1 might have something to do with the fact that most of the top European players concentrate on the LPGA Tour rather than the LET? Did Stina even consider that her being #1 on the points list looks nice, but has little effect otherwise. Do they give prizes for being first in points? Yes, a trip to Illinois next month.
Another BTW if points didn't begin accumulating till this year, Michelle Wie would be a dead lock cinch for the U.S. team.
If Sternberg keeps writing this nonsense on a regular basifs, Ryan may have to put a quota on my replies back to her.
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Wie is a better player ?
Nocera had 5 wins last year on the LET and another 5 over the 2 previous seasons. She also had a pretty good amateur career with a win in the German International and 2 runner up finishes in 2 other national championships.
Wie has…one win…at the age of 13 – nothing in the last 5+ years.
The answer to the question is – “THAT’S GOLF”. If you stick to your “she’s a better golfer”, then what do you do with Tiger Woods missing the cut at The Open ?
Wie may have more talent than Nocera – that’s not even a question – but Nocera has figured out how to win – and that’s all between the ears. Wie still rattles when she thinks.
(whew – glad you’re not wearing knickers, Bill) :-D
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Not Apologizing for Wie, But It's Not All Her Fault.
True that Nocera has won on the LET, but it’s also true that’s nowhere near the same level of competition as the LPGA. I daresay she would have as many wins as Wie thus far were she playing here.
Why hasn’t she won? That’s easy…she’s always played in competitions over her head; ones she didn’t belong in given her experience level. Wie has all the physical talent in the world, but her father shortchanged her badly when he did not let her play Juniors or college golf and sold her out to Nike and publicity stunt PGA appearances instead. That gravely harmed her mental game, and as anyone at any level who has played golf knows, that’s the toughest part of the course. The Juniors are where she would have learned how to close the deal. Now, she has to learn it on the fly against the best competition in her field, the LPGA. And Wie would be extremely well served to never play the PGA ever again.
Fact is, Wie was probably the best player not named Juli Inkster out of the 11-16 positions in the Solheim rankings…win or no win…and yes, that includes a Pat Hurst who is at the end of her road.
Stina tries to make a case based on one day in a major, and she should know better. I would recommend her waiting at least until Sunday night to make sweeping statements about the WBO.
You seem to have information nobody else has. Her father wouldn’t LET (wait…not LET…errr…nevermind) her play juniors or college golf ? She made a big deal of saying that SHE called the shots from the time she was 15. They live in Hawaii – not a lot of high level junior golf going on there. SHE skipped college golf when she signed for $10,000,000 on her 16th birtthday – again – her decision. She got into Stanford as a legacy. SHE skipped her high school graduation by her own choice to play the Ginn – even though she told everybody that graduation was important to her.
The story about her first shot at qualifying for the Sony when she was 13 was that she asked if she could try it and daddy said yes. She wasn’t forced to do anything. From there, it was a media tidal wave that took her out of any chance to grow up normally. Her parents may not be the great AMERICAN parents…oh wait…they AREN’T American – they are Korean. A little different societal background – probably affects parenting. Media based opinions about their “parenting style” when heritage is thrown out of the mix doesn’t hold much water in my book.
She definitely has more talent than a lot of the players on the points list – but she hasn’t proven that she can play an entire tournament. She starts slow – blows up – then has a good final round when the rest of the field is out of contention and cruising in. In basketball – that is called putting up “garbage points.” She makes a nice check and moves up the rankings, but doesn’t have to face the questions about being in contention and not winning…again.
Wie will be on the team – there is too much media pressure for her to be left off the team – and Beth Daniel is a Golf Channel employee. So get a team uni in extra tall – extra thin ready.
OMP – we have all read Stina’s “work” – don’t give her too much credit for knowing what is going on. :-)
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I’ve started typing a response to these comments five times and just can’t adequately express my disbelief. Nocera better than Wie? You’re just trolling now.
nobody has said that Nocera is a better player than Wie – the problem is that you can’t say that someone who hasn’t won anything is actually better than someone who has.
what I said was that Wie is physically the superior golfer – but Nocera is superior mentally. You won’t win on a big time professional tour on physical talent alone unless you get completely lucky and hot for four rounds. Wie is 19 and a mental midget as far as winning goes. She has a LOT to learn.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
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