There's a brand new Golf Channel "reality" series in town, and it's called "Highway 18." Think of it as sort of "The Amazing Race" for golfers, and on a smaller stage. Rather than racing around the world, the contestants on "Highway 18" race around Florida, competing in golf challenges and other challenges.

The series debuts July 22 at 10 p.m. ET on the Golf Channel. Ten episodes total will air, all of them in the 10 p.m. Tuesday time period.

Check out our "Highway 18" primer for more about the show, including:

• Bio and photos of host Keri Murphy
• Cast bios and photos

Michelle Wie has accepted a sponsor exemption to play in the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, it was announced today. The Wie camp indicated earlier this year that she would stay away from traditionally men's tours in 2008, with the possible exception of a tournament in Asia, so this is something of a reversal.

But the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open is an "opposite field" tournament, an event played at the same time as a major championship or other major event. In this case, the Reno-Tahoe is played at the same time as the WGC Bridgestone Invitational, where all the top players will be.

It's easy to see why the Reno-Tahoe, then, would want the publicity boost from having Wie in the field. The Associated Press article quotes the tournament director:

"This will be a great experience for the community to see a player like Michelle in this setting," tournament director Michael Stearns said in a statement. "Michelle is getting her game together, she's getting back in the swing of things and we have no problem extending her this opportunity."

And Michelle said, in a statement released today:

"It's not every day that a woman is given the opportunity to play on the greatest tour in the world. This is a tremendous opportunity for me to learn from these great players and take those lessons to the LPGA. This is another step in the process of making me a better player."

It will be interesting to see how she fares. Wie was playing her best golf in two years before the unfortunate scorecard snafu at the State Farm Classic. But is she back to full strength and full power? Almost certainly not. And her experiences in men's events, even before her injury problems arose near the end of 2006, were ones of severely diminishing returns.

Still, the most important thing for Wie now is to get in tournament rounds. To keep playing tournament golf, keep improving, keep building on all the work she's done this year. Many will believe she'd be better off doing that on the Ladies European Tour, in Japan or Korea, or even in a Futures Tour tournament. Say this for Wie: She's not afraid to take risks.

Legends Reno-Tahoe Open
July 31-Aug. 3
Montreux Golf & Country Club, Reno, Nev.
Televised on the Golf Channel all four days

See also:

• Michelle Wie pictures