Michelle Wie and golf whiners
On the way to work this morning, I listened to a bit of sports talk on the radio. The subject was, Michelle Wie turning pro and playing on the PGA Tour using sponsors exemptions.
They were interviewing a professional golfer who said he can see the sponsor's point of view. They want people to watch their tournament so they want to invite the biggest draw, which in a lot of cases is Michelle Wie. Then came the "but". His reason for not liking it is that Michelle Wie is taking up a sponsor's exemption spot that could go to a card carrying tour professional who's trying to earn a living. That part sticks in my craw.
In football, if you get down to the end of the game and it's very close but you're are losing, you can probably point to a few questionable calls made by the ref and say that the ref lost the game for you. Believe me, I know the feeling. It's not true though. If you played to where the game is that close, and can turn on a questionable call or two, you didn't win the game. If you would have really defeated your opponent, the game would not be close enough to give the ref a chance to affect the outcome. You would have dominated the game and been ahead by enough points that even a bad call won't lose the game for you. You failed to do that. You left the outcome in the hands of the ref. You take what you get.
Same thing happens in golf. A sponsor gets a certain amount of spots to fill in a tournament field and can, within reason, pick whoever they want. The person has to be able to play very good golf, but other than that, the choices for these spots are pretty wide open, but the number of spots is something like 4 or 6. It's not like they control half the field. There are plenty of other spots in the field, which are earned. If you win tournaments, your spot in the field is yours. If you win the Masters (or any other major tournament), your spot in any tournament field is guaranteed for the next five years. If you finish in the top ten at a tournament, your spot in the field at the next tournament is guaranteed. In other words, if you play really well, you get in tournaments. Phil Mickelson isn't staying up nights worrying about Michelle Wie taking his spot at a tournament. If you don't play really well, you beg sponsors to pick you with their exemptions. If that's where your game is, don't get all ticked off when they pick Michelle Wie because she draws more interest. You have choices. You can get better and win a tournament, or do one of the other things that solidifies your spot in tournament fields, or you can continue to let your fate rest in the hands of a tournament sponsor who can pick whoever they want to play, or you can dig ditches, but don't whine because the sponsor gets to pick whoever he (or she) wants to play in the tournament, and it ain't you.
Either get better at putting or get better at saying, "Would you like fries with that?"
They were interviewing a professional golfer who said he can see the sponsor's point of view. They want people to watch their tournament so they want to invite the biggest draw, which in a lot of cases is Michelle Wie. Then came the "but". His reason for not liking it is that Michelle Wie is taking up a sponsor's exemption spot that could go to a card carrying tour professional who's trying to earn a living. That part sticks in my craw.
In football, if you get down to the end of the game and it's very close but you're are losing, you can probably point to a few questionable calls made by the ref and say that the ref lost the game for you. Believe me, I know the feeling. It's not true though. If you played to where the game is that close, and can turn on a questionable call or two, you didn't win the game. If you would have really defeated your opponent, the game would not be close enough to give the ref a chance to affect the outcome. You would have dominated the game and been ahead by enough points that even a bad call won't lose the game for you. You failed to do that. You left the outcome in the hands of the ref. You take what you get.
Same thing happens in golf. A sponsor gets a certain amount of spots to fill in a tournament field and can, within reason, pick whoever they want. The person has to be able to play very good golf, but other than that, the choices for these spots are pretty wide open, but the number of spots is something like 4 or 6. It's not like they control half the field. There are plenty of other spots in the field, which are earned. If you win tournaments, your spot in the field is yours. If you win the Masters (or any other major tournament), your spot in any tournament field is guaranteed for the next five years. If you finish in the top ten at a tournament, your spot in the field at the next tournament is guaranteed. In other words, if you play really well, you get in tournaments. Phil Mickelson isn't staying up nights worrying about Michelle Wie taking his spot at a tournament. If you don't play really well, you beg sponsors to pick you with their exemptions. If that's where your game is, don't get all ticked off when they pick Michelle Wie because she draws more interest. You have choices. You can get better and win a tournament, or do one of the other things that solidifies your spot in tournament fields, or you can continue to let your fate rest in the hands of a tournament sponsor who can pick whoever they want to play, or you can dig ditches, but don't whine because the sponsor gets to pick whoever he (or she) wants to play in the tournament, and it ain't you.
Either get better at putting or get better at saying, "Would you like fries with that?"
John put this out here at 7:40 AM
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