All Eyes On Wie: Female Golfer Expected To Turn Pro Soon

Wie Expected To Pull In $10M Off Course In First Year

After turning pro “sometime between now and Oct. 11,” golfer Michelle Wie is expected to “sign endorsement deals with three companies (one believed to be Nike) worth an estimated” $8M, according to John Hawkins of GOLFWORLD. Sources indicated that Wie’s first pro tournament will be the LPGA Tour Samsung World Championship in California, October 13-16. Wie’s Nike equipment/apparel deal will be worth about $5M annually, and total off-course earnings, including tournament appearance fees and other endorsements, are expected to reach $10M, “at least $2.8[M] more than any other female golfer.” Octagon Senior VP Scott Seymour: “Her marketability will never be higher than it is now. How much money she makes long-term will be determined by how well she plays.” Hawkins notes Wie’s father, B.J., “already had relationships with Nike and an Asian-based electronics company (probably Samsung) that will account for the bulk of Michelle’s off-course income.” Wie’s swing coach, David Leadbetter, said, “A lot of networking has gone on in the last two or three years.” Hawkins writes other deals may include “one with an airline that would provide the Wies transportation to and from” their home in Hawaii (GOLFWORLD, 9/23 issue). Buick Golf Marketing Manager Larry Peck said, “I know a lot of companies are looking at her. If we didn’t have all our money tied up in Tiger [Woods], we’d probably be looking at her ourselves” (DETROIT NEWS, 9/21).

Wie's Father Says LPGA Will Be Her First Priority

REPRESENTATION: GOLFWORLD’s Hawkins notes Wie is expected to sign with the William Morris Agency, which hired former PGA Tour VP/Account Management Ross Berlin to handle her account. B.J., because he “had done most of the legwork on the current deals,” asked Michelle’s prospective agencies to “complete these contracts free of charge and accept a reduced commission on future agreements.” But sources said that IMG “declined out of respect to its large roster of other golf clients.” William Morris “saw Wie as the type of high-profile, breakthrough talent worth a smaller return on its investment” (GOLFWORLD, 9/23 issue). In Honolulu, Ann Miller cites a source as saying that Wie “turned down another agency’s guarantee of $50[M] over five years” (HONOLULU ADVERTISER, 9/21).

ON TOUR: On ESPNews yesterday, GOLFWORLD’s Hawkins said Wie is “going to be in demand on the PGA Tour at some of these lesser events that are fighting for survival. She sells tickets. She draws TV ratings. ... I don’t think there’s any question that Nike ... is going to enjoy seeing her on that platform” (ESPNews, 9/20). But B.J. said that Wie’s “first priority is to become an LPGA Tour member.” B.J.: “Michelle will not bypass the LPGA. She will never use the LPGA as a training ground. She will play continuously on the LPGA. At some time, she will try to get her PGA [Tour] card” (AP, 9/21). In Palm Beach, Alan Tays notes Wie, who turns 16 on October 11, does not meet the LPGA’s minimum age requirement of 18, “although she could petition for an exemption.” But she is “too late to enter the LPGA’s qualifying tournaments.” NBC analyst and former LPGAer Dottie Pepper said, “It actually hurts her to become an LPGA member because she would have to get releases in order to do these other things” (PALM BEACH POST, 9/21).