Michelle Wie After Injuries And Pregnancy: "I Thought I Was Done"
The five-time LPGA Tour winner returns to action this week after 21 months out
The five-time LPGA Tour winner returns to action this week after 21 months out
Michelle Wie After Injuries And Pregnancy: "I Thought I Was Done"
Michelle Wie West makes her LPGA Tour return this week at the Kia Classic in California, where she'll tee it up for the first time since June 2019.
Her last outing at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship saw her shoot 22 over par for 36 holes and head home early with a serious wrist injury.
The 2014 US Open champion later that year discovered she was pregnant, and it was then when she told her now-husband that she thought her playing days were over.
"I thought I was done, to be honest," the five-time LPGA Tour winner said.
"After KPMG in 2019 I thought I was done, especially when I found out I was pregnant later that year.
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"I thought that cemented it. I thought there was no chance of coming back, and I told my husband that.
"He was like, 'No, no, just think it through.'
'Then we found out that Makenna [their daughter] was going to be a girl and that just changed my perspective of everything.
"It was crazy how just that one little fact just changes everything.
"Then I started to think, you know, I kind of want to do it.
"I want to show her in real time that I can, that I play golf.
"It's one thing to have her watch YouTube videos, but it's another thing to have her watch me with her own eyes.
"Seeing me go out there, it work out hard, and try to lead by example.
"That moment that Tiger had with Charlie, that is the first thing that popped to my mind and that's been a huge motivation and that's been a new dream of mine."
Wie is playing this week and is also teeing up at the ANA Inspiration next week in the year's first Major.
Related: USGA Supports Michelle Wie over Giuliani 'panties' comment
She's not just turning up to make up the numbers.
"Goal-wise obviously I want to win," she said.
"I'm not out here just to make the cut or just to do whatever. But I'm really enjoying my time out here.
"I want to have fun, and I know that's when I play my best, is when I go out there and have fun and really enjoy the game. I'm going to do that.
"Also as a competitor I want to kind of show everyone what I got.
"So I'm just going to go out there and take it shot by shot and enjoy myself, try to make my daughter proud."
Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!
Elliott is currently playing:
Driver: Titleist TSR4
3 wood: Titleist TSi2
Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1
Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Ball: Srixon Z Star XV
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