Kia Motors Signs On as Sponsor of LPGA Event, Michelle Wie
by Ryan Ballengee on Feb 10, 2010 12:28 PM EST
in Pro Golf
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PrintThe LPGA Tour announced today that their first event in 2010 on American soil, to be played at La Costa in San Diego, will have Kia Motors as their title sponsor. Previously expected to be sponsored by J Golf - the new Korean broadcast partner of the LPGA Tour - the tournament will now be called the Kia Classic Presented by J Golf.
This is the first and only full-field event before the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the Tour's first major of the season.
Additionally, Kia Motors signed an endorsement deal with Michelle Wie, giving the company the logo space on Wie's bag that was once occupied by Sony - her former sponsor.
Kia's parent company is Hyundai Motor Group, which comprises Korea's two largest automakers in a single company. Both are growing in the United States each year and Hyundai has done especially well during the recession.
Wie posted this pic on her Facebook page today - the Kia Soul, that she'll have
Jon Show had been reporting for some time that Hyundai may well be interested in sponsoring a golf tournament in San Diego. The thing is that the event was the now-named Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA Tour. The negotiations fell through in the fall.
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Clarification
J Golf had been on board as a presenting sponsor from the tournament’s inception — and clearly they are still involved in that capacity — but the search for a title sponsor had been ongoing.
Eli Miller
http://www.southlandgolfmagazine.com
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/millertimegolf
Yeah, they had been on board all along.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroomryan, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Feb 10, 2010 12:50 PM EST up reply actions
Kia and Wie
Kia will be title sponsor of the Kia Classic, to be played March 25-28 at La Costa Resort north. By the way, I’m told that there is some type of endorsement deal pending between Kia and Michelle Wie.
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
really ? Nike – Sony – Omega – and….Kia ?? I guess if Tiger can sign with Buick…why not Kia ?
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I’ve heard something similar, but haven’t seen anything more about it.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroomryan, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Feb 10, 2010 12:59 PM EST up reply actions
I got my information
From my friends at Hono Golf in Taiwan. They are usually credible.
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
CG, Jumpin,
how long have I been telling you to get on the Big Wieze band wagon…Man, EM and I buy you books, and buy you books and all you guys do is chew the covers off….MARK THIS DOWN…THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE BIG WIEZE…you too Ping…STUB
oh sure – you’re the band leader for the Big Wiesy – but you’re expecting EM to read books when she can’t make herself read the rules of golf ? One of her freshman months at Stanford interviews, she was asked about her studies and she said she had to go read “a book” – nothing specific and she couldn’t elaborate when asked which book – like she couldn’t remember which Dick and Jane book she was working on.
I won’t be on the Wie bandwagon until she shows a bit more discipline and maturity in the way she goes about her game – but all the best to her. She’s supposed to be a big marketing haul for the LPGA and I hope she pays off for them.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Thanks for the link (and the pic)!
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroomryan, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Feb 10, 2010 1:42 PM EST up reply actions
LOLOLOL
Very Attractive, and I have no further comment. TFF
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
Make fun all you want,
but did you not notice that an up and coming Auto company did get on her band wagon? If you read ANY BOOKS at Stanford, your doing something right…You all seem like nice people, so I hate to see you left behind when you were given every opportunity to make it big….Well, everyone but Jumpin, cause he has to feel reallly silly in his bad bets….Em and I tried to warn him, but some people just won’t take a life line when it’s thrown to them…STUB
Stub.....I had to
go back an re-read the article….At first I thought she BOUGHT the company……lol
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
Lets all go to the Mall
And, Build a Bear, It’s like you know, totaly groovey. Sorry gang I can’t warm up to Ms Wei. The heat stroke and gurney on the course when it was 73 degree’s did it for me for her credibility. Some how it never happens after a birdie. All but diving, and mountain climbing out of the trap on 18 without any sign of pain on the final hole of her first win in 2009 totaly discounted her sprained ankle that day. JMHO
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
Jumpn......It's ok......
you’re allowed to be wrong from time to time….but you’re really in left field on this one. The condition was “heat exhaustion” not stroke and she was visibly sick during the front nine…..which her playing partners attested to. She went to the medical trailer where the medical personnel put in an I V and sent her to the hospital where she was diagnosed and treated…..the heat index was 93 not 73….c’mon man. As for the ankle, I know you know better. An ankle sprain takes time to completely heal and can be tweaked (re-injured) very easily. Her ankle could have been fine on 18 the day she won, and she could have stepped on the edge of a cart path the next day and been in real pain. I’ve sprained my ankles twice each and after 20 years, I still tweak them from time to time. As a FOX news watcher, I was just trying to be “Fair and Balanced” here…lol…….oh, I’m going to the mall…..I’m going to build you a bear (grumpy bear)……..LOL
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
Jumpn.......Let me add this...
I do think she is “overblown” by the media (like tiger) and the WD from Annika’s tourney was a real sign of immaturity. She has made many mistakes. The PGA thing was, in hindsight, a mistake, but remember she came within a stroke of making a cut, when she bogeyed the last two holes. While she has her negatives, remember she was a kid in an adult world and she acted that way. I believe she can have a great impact on golf…..all golf, not just the LPGA. Let’s just hope she fulfills the expectations and maybe all the past problems can be forgiven.
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
Phil Mickelson – Tiger Woods – and probably a handful of other top players of this era got invited to play a few PGA Tour events when they were juniors and college players – but they didn’t get carried away by babbling to the media that they were going to win green jackets – and they were a hundred times better golfers than Wie. She was used as a circus side show by the media and those PGA Tour events – and she was arrogant and “stupid teenage girl” enough to fall for it.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
How many teenagers, boy or girl.....
that, put in that position, wouldn’t come off as stupid and arrogant……Ty Tyron wasn’t very polished in his interviews……You said she “fell for it”…..she was freakin 15 years old……you act like she should have been mature enough to discern that she was being used. She did the Q school thing, she’s now won on tour….what else do you want from her????
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
What does Q school have to do with it ? That was last year – not when she was 14 to 17 and thinking that she belonged playing with the men ?
What does Ty Tryon have to do with it ? He was 16 and talked his dad into buying him a car if he could get through Q-school. He wasn’t running around making wild claims about being ready to win The Masters. He never made a big deal out of what he had done because he knew he wouldn’t be able to use his card for 2 years.
Aside from her brain dead, Valley girl interviews – I have no problem with Wie and I keep having to say that. She is very talented – and would be even more polished if she hadn’t tied herself to the evil toy man of golf pros – David Leadbetter.
Since day one – I my complaints about Wie were pointed directly at the media for building up a stupid little girl’s ego to make her think she was something she’s not – they put stars in her eyes and she fell for it. Then these tournament directors who thought that inviting her to play PGA Tour and Euro Tour events was brilliant idea because she sold Thursday and Friday tickets and had people tuning in to watch. Good for business – bad for the kid.
The guys who were forced to play with her had to bite their tongues and be nice while playing with her – and the guys were distracted enough to not play well. When she went to the Euro Tour, the guys weren’t expected to play nice with the little girl and just beat her to death on the course. Then the US PGA Tour guys figured it out and continued her string of DFL’s until she quit playing the men’s events.
She babbled about wanting to play college golf – then turned pro at 16. Oops. I have said that the media playing her up as some super-student in high school was a mistake – the girl barely speaks English. She got into Stanford as a legacy and has abused their good nature by skipping out on classes for weeks at a time to play tournaments and only going one or sometimes two quarters out of the year while claiming to be a full time student. More power to her if she can get a degree. WHY she thinks she needs a degree is beyond me
I don’t want anything from her aside from good play. I defintely don’t want an LPGA version of Paris Hilton. But the media has been the biggest problem with the whole Michelle Wie ordeal.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Court....we agree that most of this
is because of the media and because of PGA events wanting to sell tickets. You say you blame the media, and then call her a “stupid little girl” and a “stupid arrogant teenager”. As for her inability to hold an “intelligent” conversation meaning she’s not intelligent…..sounds like the Democrats apprasial of GW………not everybody is as articulate as Tiger or Phil….especially at 16 or 19…..she may never be a good speaker, but it doesn’t mean she’s not intelligent.
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
I didn’t say anything about an ability to hold an intelligent conversation – I said she talks like a Valley girl. Didn’t say she wasn’t intelligent – said she can’t speak English.
And yes – she was a stupid little girl – and she behaved like it. (enough years teaching high school to know the difference) And unfortunately, her parents didn’t pull back on the reigns. She wasn’t doing drugs – she wasn’t robbing banks – she was playing golf and living a dream – but someone needed to tie her down for a few minutes to remind her that this was a bunch of media inflated fantasy.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
HAHAHAHA Love it em
Fox, I mean Fixed News.. I could never understand “Fair and Balanced” being used in the same sentence as Fox News. Kinda like a oxymoron. Yes Em I have my share of being wrong. My point about the trap on 18 was that she limped up the fairway all the way to the trap and into the trap. Then she makes a fantastic shot out of it and does all but an olympic high jump to climb out of the trap and practically jogs to her ball on the green with no sign of a limp at all. LOL “AMAZING”. Make sure you build me the bear with the golfing knickers outfit.
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
Agree completely (or should I say “totally” just for the topic) about the “heat stroke” on a 73 degree dat – but the gurney wasn’t her fault. It’s a state law that she had to be loaded on a gurney and taken to a hospital. Bizarre.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Court.....88 degrees....93 heat index......not 73......
she was sick, and the doctors diagnosed it as heat exhaustion…..your problem should be with the doctors if you don’t like the diagnosis.
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
it was 78 – not 88 – and I didn’t start that – pro did. Heat exhaustion my eye. She was fine on day one and fine to start the day. According to her – it just “hit her”. Sorry – I’m not buying it. It was just another in the string of excuses she used to get out of being embarrassed on the course. just my opinion.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
court.....
I went and pulled up some articles about it and nowhere did it say 78……that’s where I found the 88 temp with 93 heat index……doesn’t really matter.
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
em brother
MW has enough excuses in her portfolio and business plan. You don’t need to add anymore. LOL Nice try though :o)
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
I've said it before and I'll say it again..
If MW was 5’ 2" and weighed 155 lbs and still played like she does today ( fairly well) she wouldn’t ever get talked about. It’s her looks that has gotten her most of what she has, endorsements
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
Jumpn.....
You really don’t think all the things she did when she 13-16 count for anything??? She was incredible in the majors…..those alone are enough to consider her as something special, unless you know of someone else who has done that. I know you don’t like her, and I know she has made lots of mistakes, but you can’t take away what she did those couple of years….and she was just a kid.
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
she had no pressure during those years – she could freewheel and not have to worry about paying the bills. Nice to have that childhood freedom from worries, eh ?
what amazes me is that all those good results really DON’T seem to have counted for anything. She was built up to be the savior of women’s golf – but she hasn’t built on anything she’s done. She was supposed to be the Tiger Woods of women’s golf – but Tiger learned to win when he was young and learned what he had to do to continue winning.
Wie skipped over the winning part – and just stayed with the participating. Winning is special and she decided to play on stages bigger than she could handle, and never learned how to close out a tournament.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
You're right....
She spent too much time on the PGA tournaments and because she could only play on LPGA sponsor invites, she never developed any consistency and she didn’t win. Her most vocal detractors act as though she never picked a club, and just appeared on the scene at age 18….. and then they wondered why she got so much attention. She was incredible and the expectations went out of sight……which is more our fault than hers. I hope she blows away the tour this year….it would be great for golf.
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
It's the ole what have you done lately syndrome
And em, When does anyone ever give the #6th or 10th or 12th etc etc player in the world as much press and face time as she gets ? NEVER,,,its the looks baby,,just the looks..
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
come on pro – she’s cute – but how many 6’9" women are there who drive the ball 400 yards like she does ? :-D
em the “it would be great for golf” line only works because of all the hype she has gotten the last 8 years. nobody can say that she doesn’t have a lot of talent – but she threw away 5 or 6 years where every other champion has spent learning to win. She was blown up in the media and convinced that she didn’t have to follow those steps. And why ? Because she could hit a driver a long way. She’s still an iffy putter, something most great players come into the pros being able to do.
Do I think she’ll learn ? Probably. But, personal opinion here, she really need to get away from Leadbetter.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
just a joke – my buddies and I always got a kick out of the 6’ tall with 300 yard drives as a 12…13…14…15…16 year old. We figured she wasn’t through growing or getting stronger. But we also knew that she wasn’t 6’ tall early on (one of the guys stood next to her to do an interview and he’s right at 6’ tall – she was about 2" shorter than him) – and 300 yards was downhill downwind…but that doesn’t sell magazines.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Wrong again, boxing breath........lol
I’ve never heard anyone say….“man she’s hot”…..unless they were a pedophile…..she was only 14 when she was finishing in the top 3 in the majors, No one…..not even Annika had the results in majors she had for those few years. She gets the press because she was a prodigy and everyone wanted to see her….they still do. I knew you had the “hots” for her now….“just the looks, baby”…..hmmmmmm lol
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
another thing
With her current world ranking at # 9 currently and if she was 5’4" and 155 lbs and not attractive, she would not be talked about at all. Come on lets face it, Anna Nordqvist is #4 in the world, ever hear much about her ? Suzzan Peterson is #3 and she barely ever gets talked about in the press. Natalie Gulbis, what is her current world ranking these days ? something like 23rd. Do we see her in the press very often ? you betcha,,,,why ? because of her looks and marketing ability. Do we ever see #18 or #21 ? nope I think that should explain my point.
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
Tough to argue that, PG, but tougher to
not enjoy watching those lookers. We guys can be pretty shallow if we don’t put our minds to it. It’s the gams, not always the golf.
correct sir
I luv Susann Petterson, probably as much for her looks as for her game and I love her attitude.
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
but if you’re dating her, you better have some massage classes under the belt to keep her back feeling good. :-)
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
OOOOOO LA LA
I only wish I was dating her and would gladly pay for her professional services. I’ll take care of the front portion myself though, bwahahaha
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
I guess we look at her differently.....
I’ve never thought she was attractive…..maybe cute as a kid, but Peterson, Creamer, Gulbis, Kerr, and many others are way more attractive than she is…….just a difference of opinion.
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
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