Count Michelle Wie among the legions of golf fans who were captivated by Tiger Woods’ triumphant march at the Masters.
Back home on Oahu for this week’s Lotte Championship, Wie got up early Sunday morning to track Woods’ final round in Augusta, Ga. She had returned to Hawaii in the midst of a comeback following surgery on her hand in October, so Woods’ victory resonated with the Punahou graduate and five-time winner on the LPGA Tour.
“I felt so inspired, so motivated,” Wie said on Monday in the media center at Ko Olina Golf Club, sporting a gray mock turtleneck. “Just knowing how much he went through and just going through what I’m going through, it’s very inspiring.
“A lot of times when you are going through injuries you just don’t know. You don’t know if you’ll ever hit a golf ball again, you don’t know if you’ll ever play without pain again. There’s a lot of doubt sometimes. But watching him play, watching him overcome the injuries that just seemed so bad, everything personal, it was so amazing to see and I felt the emotion.”
Now in her 10th season as an LPGA Tour member, Wie will tee off at Ko Olina today for her eighth Lotte Championship. And coming off her surgery and a couple of subsequent setbacks, this appearance might carry a bit more meaning for the event’s 2014 champion.
“I’m just grateful to be here,” Wie said. “There was definitely a point where I didn’t think I was going to be able to play this week, and this is one tournament that I never want to miss.
“I love playing in front of the home crowd, in front of my friends, in front of familiar faces that have seen me play all throughout the years. This is a very special tournament to me, especially coming back as a past champion has a very special ring to it as well.”
Wie’s 2018 season was highlighted by her victory at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore. It ended in October when she underwent surgery to repair an avulsion fracture, bone spurs and nerve entrapment in her right hand, which she announced in a post on Instagram.
She made her 2019 debut at the Honda PGA Thailand in February, tying for 23rd at 6 under. But she cut short her title defense in Singapore the following week due to pain in her wrist and later withdrew from the Kia Classic as well.
She was back in time to enter the ANA Inspiration, the season’s first major, and missed the cut at 7 over through 36 holes. But she came out of the week encouraged by the incremental steps in her progress and enters the Lotte Championship ranked 40th in the world.
“I honestly was just so happy to be upright,” she said of her week at ANA. “I think I was little bit sick the week before and since I pulled out of Singapore I only touched a golf club maybe once or twice. So I was just really happy that I gave myself a chance and I felt healthy after two days. I went out there and I felt I could play 36 more and that was the most exciting thing for me and something I can build upon. All in all even though it’s disappointing … there were a lot of positives as well with my game and my health.”
Asked about the state of her game entering the Lotte Championship, Wie stopped short of declaring herself fully healthy, “just because I don’t want to jinx anything.” But she said her strength and confidence are returning as she continues to regain her feel around the course.
“It’s hard to be patient,” she said. “I thought I would be 100 percent by now. … But life doesn’t happen that way. There’s always little bumps here and there and just being patient, just being forgiving with my body is hard.
“You just have to listen to your body and take it slowly day by day.”
Wie said her time away from golf during her recovery gave her a chance to “lead a slightly more normal life” over the past few months. But the spotlight is never far away.
Wie announced her engagement to Jonnie West, a Golden State Warriors executive and son of NBA legend Jerry West, in March. She also appears on the cover of the May issue of Golf magazine.
Wie is one of five past Lotte winners in this week’s field — along with defending champion Brooke Henderson, Cristie Kerr, Minjee Lee and Sei Young Kim — and will again end her week by hosting the Wie Love Ping Pong fundraiser on Saturday to benefit the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association.
“If it wasn’t for (the HSJGA) I wouldn’t be where I am right now,” she said.
