Michelle Wie, 15, the Hawaii teen who has been competing against golf's best players since she was in the seventh grade, turned professional October 5.
She has signed endorsement deals with Nike and Sony said to be worth $10 million a year, and her first act as a professional was to give some of it back. Wie pledged $500,000 to the U.S. Golf Hurricane Relief Fund, set up by the major golf organizations.
She made the pro announcement at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel, next to the 10th fairway
at Waialae Country Club where, at age 13, she shot 68 in the Sony Open, the lowest score ever
by a female competing on the men's tour.
Wie will make her professional debut next week on the LPGA Tour at the Samsung World
Championship, an 18-player field at Bighorn Golf Club in the California desert. She also will
play in the Casio World Open in Japan the week of Thanksgiving, her sixth time competing
against men.
She has yet to make the cut against men, but has more than held her own on the LPGA Tour.
(Source: AP, Los Angeles Times, Oct.5, 2005)