Michelle Wie (full name Michelle Sung Wie, or Wie Sung-Mi in Korean) is a professional golfer on the LPGA tour. She was born on the 11th of October 1989, in Honolulu, Hawaii, in the United States of America. Her father, Wie Byung-wook, is a former transportation management professor and her mother, Bo, was a former amateur golf champion and a Korean beauty pageant contestant. Her parents migrated from South Korea to the United States during the 1980s. Wie had dual U.S. and South Korean citizenship until 2013, when she renounced her South Korean citizenship. At 6 feet tall, she is considered quite tall for an Asian woman. She has no siblings, and is not married. She currently resides in Jupiter, Florida.
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Education
Wie attended the Punahou School, in Honolulu. Formerly known as Oahu College, the school is a private, co-ed, college prep school, where students attend from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Wie graduated from Punahou School in June, 2007. Prior to her graduation, she announced that she would be attending Stanford University, a school that had ties to her family. Her grandfather, Dr. Sang-Kyu Wie, was once a visiting professor there, and she also had an aunt and uncle graduate from Stanford.
In September 2007, Wie started at Stanford University. Having become a professional golfer already, Wie was not allowed to play for the Stanford golf team, under NCAA rules. Since she was a professional golfer, she did not attend college daily during the first three years. She only attended during the Fall and Winter quarters, and then took leaves of absence to play professional golf the rest of the time. The leaves of absence made it possible for her to play golf, but lengthened the time she would need to attend to earn her degree. In March of 2012, she completed her academic studies, majoring in communications, and participated in the graduation ceremony in June of 2012.
Career
Wie was interested in sports from a very young age, and began learning golf when she was four years old. At the age of 10, Michelle became the youngest player to qualify for the amateur championship of the USGA, the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, in the year 2000. She held this record for eight years. Wie was also the youngest woman to advance to match play in the championship, at 11 years old, until her record was broken in 2014. While also 11 years old, in 2001, Wie won the Hawaii State Women’s Stroke Play Championship, as well as the Jennie K. Wilson Women’s Invitational, the most prestigious women’s tournament for amateurs in the state of Hawaii.
Just one year later, in 2002, Wie won the Hawaii State Open Women’s Division by a walloping thirteen strokes. She also qualified for the Takefuji Classic, an LPGA event, and became the youngest player ever to qualify for an LPGA event. What was nice was that the event was in Hawaii, her state of residence at the time. Unfortunately, Wie did not make the cut that year, but she still broke ground.
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The next year, 2003, Wie actually made the cut, the youngest player ever to do so, during the Kraft Nabisco Championship. She also won the Women’s Amateur Public Links tournament, and became the youngest person, man or woman, to win a USGA adult tournament. Finally, she capped off the year by becoming the youngest woman to make the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open.
In 2004 and 2005, Wie played in a number of LPGA and PGA tournaments, continuing to press the boundaries of her sport. Just before she turned 16, Wie became a professional golfer. She received huge public notice, as well as lucrative sponsorships with Sony and Nike.
Though Wie was now a professional, she could not join the LPGA tour because they had a minimum age requirement of 18 years. A few players had applied for and were given exemptions to this rule, but Wie chose not to do so. Therefore, she could only participate in a small number of tournaments, by being given a sponsor’s exemption, until she turned 18 in 2007.
Her first professional tournament was the LPGA Samsung World Championship, in 2005. Though originally placing fourth, she ended up being disqualified for an incorrect ball drop. She got past this rough start by finishing in the Top 5 four times on the LPGA tour, ending the season in 7th place.
Wie played the SK Telecom Open, a men’s tournament, and reportedly received more in appearance fees than the total prize money for the event itself. This was an indication of her popularity at the time. She encountered somewhat of a slump during the next few years, partly due to injuries, though her overall earnings were still high. At the end of 2008, Wie finally qualified for the LPGA tour. In 2009 she won her first professional tournament, the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, followed in 2010 when she won the CN Canadian Women’s Open. Wie’s first major win was at the U.S. Women’s Open, held in 2014.
Personal Life
Wie is very dedicated, and spends almost all of her time golfing, leaving little to no time for dating and boyfriends. However, there are certain rumors that Robin Lopez is Michelle’s current boyfriend. They have been seen together many times, and there are rumors that they were dating when at Stanford University in 2008. However, Michelle has denied any relationship with him, though she later admitted that she does like tall guys and Robin is a tall guy. She has a charismatic, slim and sexy figure with beautiful long legs. No doubt, she definitely has a lot of admirers, and many men eager to date her or even marry her.
This professional golfer has a net worth of $12 million and a huge number of fans. She has a dedication to the golfing profession and is determined to move further with her heart’s desire. She frequently communicates with her fans on Twitter and Facebook, and her latest pictures and videos are also made available for her fans via these two social media platforms.
Last Modified: Apr 8, 2020
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