The Wie Watch Begins at Fields Open

The Honolulu Advertiser reports that Michelle Wie will begin her 2008 season at the Fields Open, Feb. 21-23, having been offered and accepted a sponsor exemption.

In 2006 at the Fields Open, Wie surged down the final-round stretch, charging to within one stroke of a playoff and finishing third. In 2007, she fell and hurt her wrist. Doesn't quite have the same ring to it, does it?

Will Michelle Wie in 2008 be the Wie of 2007, or the Wie of 2006 (when she won enough money in just eight tournaments that she would have finished 15th on the LPGA money list had she be eligible)?

Probably somewhere in between. But how far toward either extreme will be important. The Fields Open is the most important tournament Wie has played in long time. Her performance that week will impact where she plays the rest of the year.

She's relying on sponsor exemptions alone in 2008, unless he wants to go through qualifying (as she'll surely do for the Women's Open). She has no automatic entries into tournaments, something she's had at least of few of in previous years.

If she begins 2008 as poorly as she finished 2007, Wie may find exemptions from the more important tournaments difficult to land. If she plays unspectacular but simply solid, she'll likely have no problem at all getting into her pick of tournaments (outside the majors).

It will be interesting to see if the HSBC Champions in Singapore offers Wie an exemption. Indications are that Wie would like to play that tournament, but she's turned down exemptions from HSBC in the past. Will the offer her another one, given her 2007? It's possible they might wait until the Fields Open before deciding.