14, Fearless and Redefining Women’s Golf

When I was a 14-year-old girl growing up in golf, I was far too concerned with scream-singing One Direction lyrics or taking BuzzFeed quizzes and comparing the results with my friends’ to even bother thinking about my future in this game.

When Michelle Wie West was 14, she was playing in a PGA TOUR event.

My childhood golf idol was a pioneer in every sense of the word, and it all started at the 2004 Sony Open.

She had made her professional golf debut a year prior at an LPGA event, where she played alongside Annika Sorenstam, and even then it seemed like with her towering stature and easy swing she was destined to be a golfing legend.

It didn't matter that Wie West missed the cut, her dazzling PGA TOUR debut, which was highlighted by her second round score of 68, captivated the crowd and fans watching at home. It was like she had been there before, expertly landing shots around the green, draining 45-footers like they were no one's business, and bombing 300 yards drives.

Her playing partner, Mr. Ernie "Big Easy" Els said it himself after seeing her up close, "She can play on this TOUR. If she keeps working, doing the right things, there’s no reason why she shouldn’t be out here."

Legacy media was drawing comparisons between here and Big Cat, who made his first TOUR start at 16 and missed the cut by six shots at the 1992 L.A. Open (now known as the Genesis Invitational).

I was only five years of age while she was doing all of this, but "The Big Wiesy" created enough buzz and excitement at the start of her career that propelled her into stardom and maintained throughout her 14-year career on the LPGA.

She was my Tiger Woods. And all I remember was how much my Girls Golf friends and I wanted to be just like her.

Wie West wasn't the first woman to compete on the TOUR, but her debut was the start of something new, and unlike anything we had seen before. She opened the doors for teenagers to compete at the highest level.

Sorenstam hadn't even picked up golf until she 12 years old. This wave of young girls becoming generational talents all began with Wie West. She paved the way for players like Lydia Ko, who turned pro at 16 and won her first major at 18. Lexi Thompson turned pro at 15. Brooke Henderson was 17.

And now there's the Gen Zs. Or are they technically Gen Alphas? Either way, there's a new crop of young talent in Yana Wilson and Gianna Clemente—two young stars who opted out of collegiate careers to play professional golf at the highest level.

Wiesy's presence at the Sony Open signified the new era of women's golf, where more young girls were picking up a club and being intentional about it sooner.