Fixing The Wie Problem

Exactly when, where, why or how is hard to pinpoint. But now that Michelle Wie has played in six LPGA events this year without finishing better than 60th, it’s clear her train is officially off the tracks.
 
This became apparent to everybody last week at the CN Canadian Women’s Open in Alberta where Wie missed the cut by four shots.
 
Her failure there barely caused a ripple. And that was the problem. The buzz is gone.
 
The next LPGA round she plays in less than 70 strokes will be her first in 2007. Of course there have been injuries. But there have also been contradictory explanations; lots of “no comments” from her spin doctors; and one very suspicious WD at the Ginn Tribute.
 
Where once there was a made-for-TV phenom, now there is just a mute button stuck in the silent mode.
 
Wie is still just a teenager. But her image desperately needs damage control. She is about to enroll at Stanford University for her freshman year yet already she must discover a second act to a nascent professional career that is badly stalled.
 
Rather than focus on the negative, Jim Fannin has a few positive professional thoughts on how to fix the problems.
 
Fannin is a self-described “Change Your Life” coach. And before you roll your eyes at that nomenclature, consider the fact that Fannin has worked extensively, one-on-one, with the mind of David Leadbetter, the man who works exclusively with the swing of Michelle Wie.
 
“I have never met Michelle Wie in person,” says Fannin, who also has worked with Yankee uberstar Alex Rodriguez and golfers Charles Howell, Luke Donald, Joe Durant and Julieta Granada, just to name a few. But Fannin has watched Wie with interest.
 
“Michelle Wie needs to bury the past,” Fannin says. “She has to introduce herself to herself. And she needs, going forward, to deal with strength.
 
“For the next 30 to 60 days she should focus on the positives of her golf game. Most people focus on the negatives. Self-esteem is what you think other people think of you. If you are concerned about that, you are in trouble.”
 
Once upon a cautionary tale, Fannin worked with Ty Tryon, who got his PGA TOUR card at the tender age of 17 and quickly flamed out. What Fannin found in Tryon’s camp was a coterie of advisors who were concerned about all the wrong things. There were special sessions on signing autographs. And debates about whether he should use his full signature or just use a double T.
 
“I was appalled,” Fannin said.
 
Wie has a father who once courted the media and now shuns reporters. She has an agent on the west coast and a PR firm on the east coast. The signals from her camp are, at times, impossibly mixed.