Agostini: Wie earns her way into LPGA

Michelle Wie has shifted in public perception from child prodigy to misguided teenager to spoiled brat to not-ready-for-prime-time.

But today, she's something about which there is no argument. She is an LPGA Tour pro.

She's earned it with no sponsor's exemptions, no shortcuts and now bow to her young fame. She worked her way onto the stage the hard way -- at the LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, the thankless Q-School.

"I really earned it ... I took my medicine," Wie, 19, said last weekend in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Those words carried an unmistakable hint of surprise and conviction. Wie, a Stanford student, understood the envy and resentment that swirled around her since she bounced onto the public scene seven long years ago.

Critics ripped her parents and handlers for sending her in a million directions at once. PGA Tour pros questioned her many appearances on their tour. LPGA pros resented her celebrity, which they felt exceeded her accomplishments. Her career nearly collapsed in a wave of wrist injuries and tumbling confidence.

Wie, however, finally answered the question on the golf course, where it counts. She tied for seventh at the Q-School to easily annex her playing privileges on the 2009 LPGA Tour. For now, she cannot be chided for not knowing the rules, or faking injuries to protect her stroke average or not signing her scorecard.

We'll finally see what she's got week-to-week. There is enough evidence to suggest she'll be formidable.

Look, we've all been conflicted about her. She arrived as a pounder of 280-yard tee shots, a precocious talent who dazzled at times. In 2006 at age 16, she held at least a share of the lead during the final nine in three of the four LPGA majors. Only Karrie Webb's holed iron shot for eagle on the 72nd hole kept Wie out of a playoff at the Kraft Nabisco.

No one debated her skills. Everyone questioned her parents, advisors and sponsors. They tossed her onto the PGA Tour eight times and other men's events an additional six events. She made the cut once, in South Korea.

For that, Wie achieved great notoriety and more than a little scorn. That's why what she did last weekend was legitimate.

Wie's game showed new maturity. She kept her driver in the bag when she didn't need it and played smart. Gone was the raw aggressiveness that hurt her so many times in the past. If she stays healthy, there's no reason why she won't succeed.

The LPGA rank and file should welcome her and bag all the petty resentment. Commissioner Carolyn Bivens needs all the star power she can collect. Wie could make a lot of people rich, not unlike Tiger Woods during the past decade.

One caveat: Wie said she hasn't discounted playing against the men. That would be another misstep. She's been there and done that without much success or good will. It's time for her to build her résumé with the LPGA.

Wie has earned that opportunity. Let's see what she can do.

COOK -- Mike Cook, the head pro for 14 years at Mountain Springs near Sonora, says he needs off-season work on his putting.

That might be true, but the region's senior pros think otherwise.

Cook, 52, claimed his third straight Northern California PGA Senior Player of the Year title by edging runner-up and ex-Cal State Stanislaus star Ric Burgess (Colusa CC) by only 4½ points.

"We all find something wrong with our games. My putting let me down at times this year. It gives me something to work on," Cook said.

He built his title around victories at Auburn, Timilick (Truckee) and the NorCal PGA Senior Match Play at Cypress Point.

HOLES-IN-ONE -- Al Terry, Hughson, 190-yard ninth at Dryden Park, 9-wood. ... Denny Brooks, Modesto, 125-yard second at Del Rio CC (Bluff), 8-iron. ... Roy Mapps, Copperopolis, 169-yard fourth at Saddle Creek, Copperopolis, 4-hybrid.

Bee sports columnist Ron Agostini can be reached at ragostini@modbee.com or 578-2302.