By Bob Markus

Plaxico Burress is going to jail, the Chicago Cubs are going nowhere, and the New York Yankees are going to town. So I am going to have to apologize for ignoring a bunch of good stories and, for the third week in a row, write about golf. Believe me, I didn't want to do it. I love to play golf and I like to watch it, but as a sports writer for 36 years at The Chicago Tribune, it was way down on my list of favorite sports to cover. I promise you I won't write another word about golf after today for at least a month or more--probably more.

But today we have to talk about Michelle Wie. We have to talk about Michelle Wie because she is the future of women's golf in America. That all became clear over the week-end when the 19-year-old led the United States to a 16-12 victory over a team of European stars, to retain possession of the Solheim cup. It was her first Solheim cup and she was magnificent. Actually, it was my first Solheim cup, too. It's been around for awhile, but if I ever thought about it at all, I probably figured a Solheim cup was a plastic drinking vessel that you throw away after using.

Turns out it's the women's version of the Ryder cup and it made for some compelling TV viewing. Most compelling sight of all, was the performance of Wie, who, before she was old enough to vote went from a phenom to a has been. There was a time when Michelle Wie had been seen as the Tiger Woods of the women's game. That was when she was 12 and the youngest girl to qualify for an LPGA tournament. That was when she was 13 and the youngest ever to make the cut in a major tournament, the Kraft Nabisco Championship. That same year she became the youngest to make the cut in the U.S. Women's open. That was when she was 15-16 and finishing in the top three in four of the eight majors played during the 2005-06 seasons. She never won a major. No. Never won any pro tournament, in fact. But she was still just 16 years old, had signed a multimillion dollar contract with Nike, and the golf world was hers for the taking.

That was then. Within two years the male golfer she most closely resembled was John Daly. Tons of natural talent, but no results. Missed cuts, last place finishes, controversy over whether she had an injured wrist or not, controversy over her seeming obssession with playing in men's events, controversy over the way her parents were running her life, ruining her career. No one thought of Michelle Wie as the next Tiger Woods anymore. Nobody thought of Michelle Wie at all. Then she started to get it back. She went to the LPGA qualifying school and finished seventh, plenty good enough to earn her tour card. She still hasn't won an LPGA tournament, but played well enough to be chosen as a captain's pick for the Solheim Cup. She more than justified the selection. She posted a 3-0-1 record in her four matches, including a 1-up singles victory on the final day at a time the Europeans seemed to have the advantage. All you need to know about Wie was revealed on the second hole of that match against the veteran Helen Alfredsson. The second is a par five over water that the longer hitters can reach in two. Both players had drives in the 300 yard range. Alfredsson, hitting first, planted a fairway wood inside of 5 yards from the flag stick for a probable eagle. Wie never blinked. She simply put HER second shot within 3 feet of the cup and eventually won the hole. Although she faltred some at the end, she managed to hang onto the lead.

The LPGA leadership had to be ecstatic over the outcome. Not only did the U.S. retain the Cup, but a new star emerged from the shadows of an old scar. The LPGA has been in some difficulty lately, mainly because it lacks enough U.S. born players. Nearly a third (47) of all the LPGA players are from Korea (where both of Wie's parents were born). Wie, along with Morgan Pressel, another rising star who at 21 already has won two LPGA tournaments, including a major, should be able to compete with the Asians while they await the arrival of the next phenom. That would be Alexis Thompson, who at 14 already has played in three U.S. Women's Opens and made the cut this year. But Thompson has not exhibited the drawing power that Wie wielded at such an early age. Nor, to my knowledge, has anybody thrown millions of dollars at her. That's probably just as well. Let Wie's rise and fall and rise serve as a cautionary tale for all 14-year-olds with talent beyond their years. It was another golfer, Walter Hagen, who said it best: Wherever you're going, stop and smell the flowers along the way.