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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2005
SPORTS
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Wie poised to go pro
Laura Rauch/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michelle Wie watches her tee shot on the 11th hole during a practice round for the U.S. Women's Open at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver on June 22. Sources close to Wie say the 16-year-old golf prodigy is poised to turn pro and sign endorsement deals, including one with Nike, that could bring the teenager as much as $10 million. If true, she would become the highest-paid female golfer in the world.
BY DOUG FERGUSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Everywhere she goes, people can't help but notice Michelle Wie.
As a 13-year-old still wearing a retainer, she was warming up on the practice range for a junior pro-am at the Sony Open in Honolulu. When she pulled out her driver, five PGA Tour players on both sides of her stopped to watch her launch tee shots that approached the 300-yard marker.
"Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and watched her go to her table," said Greg Nared, a Nike business manager who has been tracking Wie the last two years. "That told me a lot."
Last year in Portugal, where Wie received the Laureus World Newcomer of the Year award, she walked into the banquet room filled with celebrities, including Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman and Placido Domingo.
The 15-year-old from Hawaii
who commands so much attention is on the verge of commanding top money. Wie is about to turn pro, and endorsements estimated to be worth as much as $10 million a year await.
Two sources close to Wie, speaking on condition of anonymity because she is still an amateur, said the announcement will not be made until endorsement deals are signed.
He added that "we are getting close,"but said her decision to turn pro would not be related to Samsung.
"It doesn't have to be associated with a tournament she would play," the father said. "There is no target date we have to meet."
That could be done before the Samsung World Championship, which starts Oct. 15, two days after her 16th birthday. It will be the eighth and final LPGA Tour event Wie plays this year.
"There is nothing to say until everything is completed," her father, B.J. Wie, said yesterday.
When it happens, she will be the highest-paid female golfer in
One deal that is nearing completion is with Nike, which is no surprise. Wie has been playing its irons and golf balls the last two years and often wears the swoosh on her clothing. A source with knowledge of the negotiations said the deal could be worth anywhere from $4 million to $5 million a year.
Annika Sorenstam, the best player in women's golf, makes about $7 million a year in endorsements. No other female golfer is close.
She also is working on a deal with an Asian-based electronics company that could be worth about $3 million a year. Golf World magazine reported another possible endorsement with an airline company.
B. J. We declined to discuss endorsement opportunities, but he noted that his daughter - who made straight As in the spring semester while playing three LPGA Tour events - wants to graduate with her class and still wants to pursue a business degree, preferably at Stanford.
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