Michelle Wie |
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Michelle Sung Wie (pronounced /ˈwiː/) (Korean: Wie Seong-mi Hangul: 위성미 Hanja: 魏聖美, born October 11, 1989) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. In 2006, she was named in a Time magazine article: "one of 100 people who shape our world." At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for USGA amateur championship. Wie would also become the youngest winner of the US Women's Amateur public links and the youngest to qualify for a LPGA tour event. Wie turned professional with an enormous amount of hype and endorsements, but she has failed to win a LPGA event, which has led to her career being viewed as a disappointment.
Wie was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her parents are both natives of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) who came to the United States in the 1980s. Her father, Byung-wook Wie, is a former professor of transportation management at the University of Hawaii. Her mother was South Korea's women's amateur golf champion in 1985 Her paternal grandfather, a native of Jangheung, Jeollanam-do, was an emeritus professor at Seoul National University.
Wie graduated from Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii in June 2007. On December 19, 2006, she announced that she would be attending Stanford University where there are family ties, as her paternal grandfather was a visiting professor and an aunt and uncle are both graduates. She enrolled in September 2007 as a freshman but as a professional golfer, Wie is not eligible under NCAA rules to play for Stanford's golf team. During her first two years at Stanford she attended only during the fall and winter quarters, taking a leave of absence to play professional golf during the spring and summer quarters.