Born Wie Sung-mi, Michelle Wie is a professional golfer who was born in Hawaii to first generation Korean immigrants. Her mother was an amateur golf champ in Korea in the 80’s. Influenced by her mom, Michelle got started early in golf at the young age of four years old. She achieved more than most adults before turning the age of 18. Michelle qualified for a US Golf Association Tournament in 2000 becoming the youngest ever at only 10 years old, at the age 14 she became the youngest golfer ever to win a USGA adult event and when she turned 16, she announced she was going pro.
After Michelle’s big debut, she picked up sponsors and made television appearances as a young phenom. She started entering men’s golfing events, but her career then hit a slump. Her scores jumped up and controversy began to follow her. In 2007 in a tournament she failed to properly sign her scorecard, disqualifying her from the State Farm Classic when she was only one stroke away from the lead. Injuries also began to plague Michelle at a point in her career where she was still too young to even register as a full time LPGA player.
However, Michelle never stopped competing and qualified for the LPGA tour in 2009. Though her marketing as a golf prodigy was behind her, Michelle started playing the best golf of her career in the 2010’s. In 2014, she finally broke her curse and got her first major title win in the U.S. Women’s Open, finishing two strokes better than Stacy Lewis. Michelle continues to compete in the LPGA and most recently brought home a win for the U.S. in March 2018 at the HSBC Women’s Championship.
