Count her own coach among those who believe Michelle Wie is making a mistake playing in the PGA Tour Reno-Tahoe Open this week. And David Leadbetter believes it's a mistake even though he also believes she might make the cut:

“I can see, now, what’s going to happen this week,” Leadbetter continued. “She will start swinging out of her shoes as she tries to keep up and that’s when things can go wrong technically. She may just become the first woman to make a cut since Babe Zaharias — but at what price?”

Leadbetter's comments were made to Lewine Mair of the Telegraph of London, and at Sunningdale, site of the Women's British Open. That's where Leadbetter is this week, working with Suzann Pettersen rather than heading to Reno to work with Wie.

Leadbetter says the decision for Wie to play Reno was a surprise not only to him, but also to Wie's agents - and he blames the family for what he views as a terrible decision:

“It’s a shock to me and to her agents that this is happening,” said Leadbetter, who has worked with the teenager for five years. “I don’t think the family has made the right choice. There’s definitely more to lose than to gain.”

...

“I’m one of Michelle’s greatest fans but what we’re seeing now smacks of what happened last year,” he said. “Then, she tried to come back far too soon and did none of the necessary rehab work. Now, just when there’s this little light at the end of the tunnel, they have her back playing against the men.”

...

“I’ve put too much time and effort into Michelle to be able to sit by and watch this happening without saying something,” Leadbetter said. “If she doesn’t stick to doing what’s sensible, we could see one of the greatest potential talents the game has ever known going to waste."

The final 19 spots in the field for this week's Women's British Open were up for grabs today in the Final Qualifier, played at the Berkshire Golf Club. Here are the 19 who played their way into the field:

Martina Gillen, 68
Lydia Hall, 68
Marjet van der Graaff, 68
Stefania Croce, 68
Naomi Edwards, 69
Anja Monke, 69
Samantha Head, 69
Lora Fairclough, 69
Margherita Rigon, 70
Krystle Caithness, 70
Tania Elosegui Mayor, 70
Erica Blasberg, 70
Elizabeth Bennett, 71
Lee-Anne Pace, 71
Rebecca Coakley, 71
Par Claire Coughlan-Ryan, 72
Iben Tinning, 72
Leah Hart, 72
Kiran Matharu, 72
Full scores

Very few Americans made the attempt. Only about a half-dozen were entered in the final qualifier. So it's good to see a young LPGA player like Blasberg making the effort. "Big Breaker" Samantha Head was another qualifier.

It was noted during the U.S. Women's Open that 18-year-old UCLA sophomore-to-be Maria Jose Uribe will not be defending her 2007 U.S. Women's Amateur title at this year's Women's Am. What I kept missing was the explanation.

Here's the explanation: She's playing the Women's British Open instead. The Women's Brit ends Aug. 3, the U.S. Women's Am begins Aug. 4. Uribe has made her choice, and that choice is the Women's British Open.

"It's a tough decision," Uribe said. "Hopefully it's the right one."

It all comes down to experience, said Uribe, who has never been to Europe. She wants to get the feeling of playing the British under her belt before she turns pro so she isn't surprised when the money is on the line.

"Hopefully when I'm a pro I'll already have a couple of British Opens and I will know how to play those," she said. "So it's basically just for experience and to grow as a player."

I say: You go girl. You go to the Women's British Open instead of defending at the U.S. Women's Am if that's what you want to do. You'll be pushed and pulled by agents, advisors, coaches, consultants, PR flacks and hangers-on soon enough, when you turn pro. Now, make yourself happy. Don't let anyone - including the USGA - make you feel bad about this decision:

While I wasn't in Minnesota last week, my understanding is a few USGA officials voiced to the Colombia native their disappointment about Uribe's pending schedule. (TV commentator Dottie Pepper also was critical of the choice of tournaments during last week's telecast.)

That blurb was from Golf World's Campus Insider blogger who writes that Uribe "will become the first female amateur to compete in all four women's professional majors in a single year." Not so - Michelle Wie did it in 2005.

I wonder if Uribe missed the cut in the Women's British whether she'd be able to get back to the States and into the Women's Am field? Of course, she'll be hoping that scenario doesn't develop - and the way she played at the U.S. Women's Open, she's just as likely to content for the championship at the Women's British as to miss the cut.