Wie a Lock for Kraft Nabisco

Turns out all the finger-nail biting surrounding whether Michelle Wie would qualify for the LPGA’s first 2009 major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, was a lot of wasted angst.
 
Even though Wie is now a card-carrying member of the LPGA, she isn’t automatically into the Kraft field. She either has to win an event or be in the top 30 on this year’s money list by March 30.
 
Not to worry.
 
Even though Wie coughed up a three-shot lead with eight holes remaining Saturday to lose the SBS Open at Turtle Bay by three shots to Angela Stanford, she won $108,332 as runner-up. That should do it.
 
No. 30 on the LPGA money list the Monday before last year’s Kraft Nabisco was Jee Young Lee with $57,330. Wie’s $108,332 would have put her No. 14 the week before Kraft Nabisco in 2008.
 
By the way, Wie’s jump in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings this week was 149 spots – from No. 236 to No. 87. She is scheduled to play at least once more on the LPGA Tour before the Kraft Nabisco.
 

 
BACKWARDS: Now that we know more about the details of the International Golf Federation’s bid to get golf into the 2016 Summer Olympics, only one major question remains:
 
Why did the IGF have to submit a 76-page detailed questionnaire to the International Olympic Committee?
 
It should have been the other way around. Golf’s reputation for integrity internationally is much cleaner than the Olympics, which have been riddled with scandals in recent years. Maybe the IOC should have had to fill out a 76-page questionnaire to the IGF.
 
That having been noted, the effort of the IGF, spearheaded by Ty Votaw of the PGA Tour, is a good idea. Golf in the Olympics can’t help but grow the game and help produce incentives for the game to expand into countries that wouldn’t otherwise be interested.
 
Included in the details released by the IGF is the proposal for Olympic golf to be 72 holes of stroke play with a field of 60 players for the men’s and women’s fields. The top 15 players in the world rankings would be automatically eligible. “Beyond the top 15,” the IGF proposes, “players would be eligible based on world ranking, with a maximum of two available players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15.”
 
Also interesting to note is the IGF’s suggestion on how to break ties. The organization proposes a three-hole playoff to determine medals in case top players finish with the same score.
 
Phil vs. Tiger? Three holes for the gold? Wouldn’t that be delicious?
 
Golf is one of seven sports bidding for inclusion into the 2016 Summer Games. The IOC is expected to name two of those sports and the 2016 venue at its meetings in Denmark in October. The other six competing sports are baseball, karate, roller sports, rugby sevens, softball and squash.
 
Baseball and softball are considered longshots because they are applying, essentially, for reinstatement, having been previously dropped by the IOC.
 
The October IOC meetings will also feature the announcement of the venue for the 2016 Summer Games. The four finalists are Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.
 

 
ODDITY: You could probably make a lot of money betting this will never happen again: Both the LPGA and PGA Tour event, in the same week, were 54 holes AND neither of them ended on Sunday.
 
By the way, Angela Stanford has now won three of her last seven starts, Dustin Johnson two of his last nine.
 

 
PET PEEVE: Weeks when neither the LPGA nor the PGA Tour event ends on Sunday.
 

Email your thoughts to Brian Hewitt