Michelle Wie Turns 18

Today is Michelle Wie's 18th birthday. Will it be a happy one? That might well depend on what happens today in the first round of the Samsung World Championship, where Wie is in the 20-player field on a sponsor exemption.

It's been an awful year for Wie, plagued by terrible play brought on by injuries and swing changes, and by terrible decisions brought on by ... well, by terrible decision-making by Team Wie.

Wie is no longer the wunderkind who was - and many people forget this - recording never-before-seen accomplishments on the golf course on a regular basis, from age 12 through 16. She's not even a kid anymore; as of today, she's an adult.

Compare Wie at age 12, at age 13, 14, 15 or 16, to Paula Creamer or Morgan Pressel at the same age, and Wie was far ahead of each. But compare them at age 17, and Wie - through injuries, incomplete swing changes, and terrible decisions - is no longer in the same ballpark.

Now, Wie is just another 18-year-old golfer - and as it stands today, not even a particularly good one - in an LPGA Tour environment where other 18-year-olds are winning majors (Pressel) or running away with rookie of the year (Angela Park) .

Whether Wie can find her game again, and win back the fans she's lost during her troubled 2007 season, is something we'll begin to see today as her 18th year begins. I'm convinced that in the long-term, Wie will re-establish herself - there's just too much talent there - and become a dominating player on the LPGA Tour. But even if that happens, it will be happening way behind schedule, and after Wie has traveled a very rocky road.

See also:

• Michelle Wie Pictures
• More on Michelle Wie