Michelle got two sponsor's exemptions in 2002 on the LPGA tour, but ended up missing both cuts. Nonetheless, she got more experience, and a chance to meet more of her heroes, including Seoul Sister Grace Park. Grace, who was paired with Michelle at the Asahi Ryokuken tournament, commented that Michelle was frequently outdriving her during their round. Now, anyone who knows Grace knows she is a bomber. It is true that, since her injuries, she has lost significant distance on her drives. Nonetheless, for a 12 year old to outdrive even the shorter Grace is extraordinary.

By now, Wie had grown to be nearly 6 feet tall, but her braces still reminded you that this was a little girl slowly growing to womanhood, not a 30 year old veteran. At her third LPGA event, the Giant Eagle, she again missed the cut, but this time by only two shots, and that included a two shot penalty she received for slow play. People blamed her father and his tendency to overanalyze putts for that one.

In late 2002, now a 13 year old, Michelle played in the Hawaii State Open, a mixed gender event where the women play from tees 10% shorter than the men. She dominated the women's division, trampling LPGA vet Cindy Flom by 13 shots. What's more amazing is, she beat all the men as well with her 8 under par finish. Had they given an exemption to the Sony Open for the State Champ, she would have made the field.

Michelle waves after her second round
AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi

Michelle nearly makes an ace during her 3rd round
AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi

In 2003, Michelle took another shot at qualifying for the Sony Open. This time she shot a 74, and finished 47th in a field of 96. A 13 year old girl had managed to beat a sizeable number of male pros and semi-pros. Once again she dumbfounded the PGA veterans who got a chance to see her. Fred Couples was particularly effusive in his praise: "You can read about her all you want. You hear everything there is to be heard, but when you see her swing -- when you see her hit a golf ball -- there's nothing that prepares you for it. It's just the scariest thing you've ever seen." Comments like that had the sponsors of virtually every LPGA event on the schedule drooling, and in almost no time, Michelle had been invited to the maximum number of tournaments allowed, six. Included in that collection of events was the first Major of the year, the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

For the first two days, the Big Wiesy played in a very interesting pairing. She was matched with the youngest player on the LPGA, Christina Kim, who had already made a name for herself with a fourth place finish in Tucson, and the darling of American golf, 20 year old Natalie Gulbis, who must have already felt like a has been, playing for the first time in a threesome where she was the oldest player! Michelle was ready to make some noise, having earlier in the week met her idol, Seoul Sister Se Ri, for the first time. Se Ri remarked that Michelle has 'some kind of swing', echoing the comments everyone else had had about her.