Interview with Michelle Wie

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Here is the transcript of Friday's news conference with Michelle Wie at the PGA TOUR's Reno-Tahoe Open, which will be played July 31-Aug. 3 at Montreux Golf and Country Club in Stateline, Nev.

MICHAEL STEARNS: I would like to thank everyone for coming today. It's certainly a momentous occasion for us, and before we get started, I would like to introduce two very, very important people to the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open.

Over here to your left, my right, Steve Graham, Vice President of Red Development. Steve, we couldn't have this tournament without you and Red Development, and it's a treat to be with you and work with everybody on your staff, and it's really great to have you onboard. Thank you very much for stepping up and being our title sponsor.

The next person to his left is John Sande III. John is the Chairman of the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open Foundation Board. John, this couldn't have happened without your leadership and your direction, and it's been a real pleasure to be working with you, and I sure want to say thank you, and I appreciate being here with you.

Now, down to the reason why we are here. At this point, I would like to introduce her and open it up for questions. The lady needs no introduction other than, this is Michelle Wie, and thank you for being here, Michelle.

MICHELLE WIE: Thank you. Thank you.

MICHAEL STEARNS: Go ahead with any questions.

Q. (Inaudible)?

MICHELLE WIE: I think it's a great golf course. There are always a large variety of holes. There are some really long ones, some wide fairways, and then you have like No. 8 where it's completely different. So there is a lot of variety. I think it's a really fun golf course, and it's going to be challenging, but at the same time, it's going to be a great learning experience.

Q. (Inaudible)?

MICHELLE WIE: I am just really excited to be here. I am excited to play this tournament and really honored to have this opportunity again. Hopefully I play really well this week.

Q. What is it about the game right now that gives you the impression that you could qualify again?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I felt like I'm just starting to feel really confident with my game, and the game is getting better and better and my ball striking is improving, my short game, my putting, everything. But I just feel like I'm getting a lot of confidence, but I think I'm really taking this weekend as a really good learning experience for me, and I am glad to be here and to have this opportunity to compete with the highest level of players, and hopefully I can play really well and show what I've got this week.

Q. Once again, too, it's coming up: Here goes Michelle again. What is she thinking? What are you thinking?

MICHELLE WIE: I'm thinking, how am I going to play a good score? That's all that's occupying my mind right now. There are going to be criticisms in entering this tournament, but at the same time, I'm just doing what I feel like I want to do, and it's going to be a lot of fun.

Q. Michelle, this will be the eighth time against the PGA TOUR guys. What do you have to do to make the cut and to be around here for the weekend?

MICHELLE WIE: Play some really good golf. It's quite simple. Just make some putts, hit the fairways, hit the greens, don't make a lot of bogeys, make a lot of birdies. Play some good golf and hopefully I'll be here.

Q. Does this course fit into your style at all? Is it advantageous to play here?

MICHELLE WIE: Yes. I don't really feel like it's a huge advantage. I think that it's a good golf course and it's going to be a good test of my golf game, and I feel like if, like I said, I play some good golf, I feel it's a golf course that will present some opportunities to make some birdies.

There are a couple of really good par holes, and I have to use my head this week to stay calm and just play very patiently and just try to shoot the lowest score I can and hopeful be in the red numbers.

Q. Playing several times, do you still get butterflies out there, or are you beyond that?

MICHELLE WIE: Yes, I still get butterflies. It's a cool kind of excitement. It's almost like right before you go on a roller coaster; like kind of half-scared, half really excited, knowing everything is going to be all right. It's an excitement that you just can't get anywhere else, and I'm really starting to feel that again.

Q. You played well the previous weekend. Are you going to carry forth that momentum? Do you feel the confidence is there?

MICHELLE WIE: Yes, I think I played very well, and I feel like I did the good things good, and I'll be in very good shape.

Q. Obviously it will be exciting to make the cut. Talk about your feelings after eight tries now on the PGA TOUR. Give it another run. How huge would it be after trying and trying and trying?

MICHELLE WIE: I think it would be a great feat because I worked very hard, and I just think that whether it's making the cut or whether it's playing as hard as I can, I think that's like the best thing I can do. I do try my hardest out there, and it's going to feel great. It's good in any kind of tournament, whether it's a women's or men's, shooting a good round, the feeling you get after shooting a low score. It's the same. I'm really excited to play some good golf.

Q. Hi. I'm Dan Hinxman from the Reno Gazette Journal. How many rounds have you shot for this week and whether you kept any scores?

MICHELLE WIE: I don't really keep score. I probably have about like three rounds.

Q. Birdies or bogeys, or anything like that?

MICHELLE WIE: No, couple of birdies out there, but I really don't keep score.

Q. Also, I think earlier this year you said your focus was going on the LPGA TOUR this year. What made you change your mind, if that's accurate?

MICHELLE WIE: I mean, I might have said that, but I don't recall, but my main focus is being healthy, being pain-free for the year, and just playing and trying to shoot as low a score as I can on any golf tournament and just be in the moment. I feel my main goal is, try not to see too much of the future and try not to dwell in the past and be in the present. That is my main focus this year, and trying to be pain-free and trying to be in the moment as much as I can.

Q. How much of last year and into this year has your wrist or wrists bothered you?

MICHELLE WIE: It was feeling good. Unfortunately I re-injured it in March by a freak accident, but it's feeling a lot better right now. I mean, mostly pain-free, and it's really pretty good. I definitely feel like I'm on the right road to recovery.

Q. I also know the PGA TOUR can't pay any appearance fee, but do you get anything from your sponsors when you play on the PGA TOUR?

MICHELLE WIE: You know, I don't think I'm the right person to talk about my financial stuff. I have no idea what goes on.

Q. Is that your dad?

MICHELLE WIE: Yes. I just play.

Q. Someone brought up this is your eighth try. Do you have a number in your head how many times you want to do this, and does making the cut maybe affect how many times you might want to do this?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I want to do it as much as I can. I like playing out here. It's just I'm not really too focused on the number. I don't want to dwell on, well, this is like so-and-so try; I'd better make it this time, or whatever.

Like I said, all I'm thinking about is trying to play some good golf. How can I limit the number of bogeys I make; how can I maximize the number of birdies I can make out of this golf course, and that's all I can focus on. I can't focus on the rest of the field. I can't focus on what everyone is going to write about this week. I'm going to focus and how I'm going to play, and good rounds and low scores can solve everything.

Q. Have you been invited here before?

MICHELLE WIE: I don't really recall.

Q. Then finally, obviously plenty of critics out there. Some are well-intentioned, some aren't. Just curious about your thoughts on what they say. I know Jay Williamson came out today and was a little bit critical. Do you pay any attention to that, or just try to completely block that out?

MICHELLE WIE: No, I don't know who that is. I don't even read that kind of stuff. I think it's plenty easy. I just mean, people are going to say what they want to say. It's the same thing as in high school, same thing as in college.

People are going to make up stuff about you; people are going to make up stories about you. And, you know, whether it's on the golf course or off the golf course, the most important thing is that I have my group of people that I can really trust, and that's my family and that's my friends. And that's my support space, with them. I feel like all the criticisms go away in front of my eyes. I feel like all I can focus on, only thing that I can control, is myself. I can't control -- and I don't want to control -- what other people think about me. I don't want to. I don't want to be, oh, I wish I had no critics. I wish everyone wouldn't write stuff about me all the time. It's unrealistic.

You know, people are going to write hateful stuff about me, and that's fine with me. All I can control is how I play. And if I shoot some low scores and win some tournaments, you know, it's going to be hard to write bad stuff about me. That's all I can control, is how I play, and that's all I'm going to focus on.

Q. One more and I'm done. How disappointed were you last week with the scorecard issue? Was that one of the worst lows just because you were playing so well and you were so close?

MICHELLE WIE: I pretty much went from a really high to a really low in about two seconds flat. That was a record for me, but I think I learned a lesson at least while I was 18, not when I'm like 25, 26, 30, or near the end of my career. So I have a long way to go, and I'm sure a lot of other players have learning experiences like this.

A lot of players called me up. Like Meg (Mallon) and Christina Kim called me and a lot of people called me, and they were talking about the bloopers that they have made, and people forget about them. People learn from them, and it was a good learning experience.

Obviously I wish I hadn't gone through it, but I'm always taking the good stuff from that week. I played really well. It's been a long time since I shot that low of a score. It's been a long time since I went on the golf course and brought back a birdie on every single hole. I holed-out on two holes, which was really good, but it was a good week, but I'm only going to focus on the good stuff.

Q. Not to rehash this, but how do you respond to the criticism that essentially by taking the exemption, you could have taken a more qualified, possibly, male player out of this competition? There's been some people writing about that. How do you respond to that?

MICHAEL STEARNS: Actually, I don't know if you want to take that to her or to myself. At this point, I think that Michelle is a great player. She has established herself as one of the more recognizable players of our time, and if we were to take something away from another player -- there are always too many people on the bubble, no matter who it is.

There is always going to be somebody there, and the only thing I would like to say -- is play better so you won't have that issue and you can tee up at a PGA TOUR event if you were in a better position. So I'll answer that one for Michelle.

Q. Michelle, Barton Gibbons with the Associated Press here in Reno. You are coming off a good game. You said it was one of your best games in some time. What do you think your chances are of making the cut this tournament?

MICHELLE WIE: You know, right now, I think I'm not going to try to focus on making the cut, because if you try to focus too much on that, you start focusing on other players and try to focus on how can I be in the middle of the field.

I think this week, my goal is going to be how I'm going to make more birdies and less bogeys. I think that's all my focus this week will be; and if I can do that, then making the cut is going to work out on its own. So just trying to not focus on the big picture, but just on the little things, on the little things that I can control, and I think that's all I can do this week.

Q. What is your mental state going to be going into this tournament? You had that really good round of golf, and just what is your mental state, your psyche right now?

MICHELLE WIE: I'm very excited. You know, everyone is very welcoming toward me. I love the golf club. Everyone in Reno has really welcomed me. I'm really honored to be here and really excited to be in this position. Again, I just feel really, really excited for the coming week. I can't wait.

Q. Do you see yourself entering more PGA tournaments?

MICHELLE WIE: You know, like I said, I don't really want to think too much about the future or the past. I feel like I'm saying the same stuff over again, but I just want to think about right now and what I can do better right now.

MICHAEL STEARNS: Any other questions for Michelle?

We just want to say thank you very much for coming today. Good to see everyone and look forward to seeing you next week at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open.