ESPN Golf

As she prepares to compete in her fourth straight Sony Open, the biggest question surrounding Michelle Wie will be: Will she make the cut?

There are other, more pressing issues to address, though. Should she continue receiving sponsor's exemptions for PGA Tour events? Should she continue accepting them? Our experts give their opinions in this week's edition of Fact or Fiction.

	Wie

Bob Harig, contributor, ESPN.com: FACT. Sponsors have every right to try and enhance their field and get their money's worth from sponsorship. Tournaments and their huge purses would not exist without sponsors.

Jason Sobel, golf editor, ESPN.com: FACT. I've said it before and I'll say it again: This is big business, folks. If a tournament can increase ticket sales by five to 10 percent by allowing a certain sponsor's exemption, it would be remiss in not doing so. That's what Wie will do for the Sony.

Ron Sirak, executive editor, Golf World: FICTION. At this point, even if Michelle makes a cut she has proven that she is not yet ready to compete against the men. Alternates such as Bryce Molder, Marco Dawson, Alex Cejka and Michael Allen probably can give you a FedEx Cup full of reasons why they should have her spot.

Brian Wacker, associate editor, GolfDigest.com: FICTION. We've reached the point where Wie's act has grown tired. Yes, she still sells tickets and generates buzz, but viewers aren't turning in to see her anymore because her body of work against the men suggests that it's no longer worth it -- unless they want to see how much she misses the cut by.

	Wie

Harig: FICTION. They can offer, but she does not have to take them. For right now, it might be best to concentrate on the LPGA Tour and make a run at the PGA Tour later.

Sobel: FACT. Only to an extent, though. The Sony Open, in her hometown, on a course she knows well? Absolutely. A Euro Tour event in Switzerland, during the school year? No way.

Sirak: FACT. It's not her fault sponsors have not realized that this story has run it's course  for now. Even though she is years away from being able to compete against the men, she will tee it up on the PGA Tour some day with a chance to make some noise.

Wacker: FICTION. It's starting to become apparent that her method of competing against the best players in the world isn't helping further her game. It's a lot to ask anyone, much less a teenager, to spread herself so thin that she's playing on parts of five different tours. Wie has shown she can be one of the best players -- and maybe the best, someday -- on the LPGA Tour and right now it would benefit her to learn how to win again rather than continuously get beat up playing against the men.

	Wie

Harig: FICTION. Although Wie came close to making the cut a few years ago, her recent performances were only to be built upon.

Sobel: FICTION. She won't make the cut, but she won't fall flat on her face like many expect her to. Expect Wie to give it the ol' college -- er, high school -- try, but come up about four or five shots short.

Sirak: FICTION. She will finish somewhere between her 139, which missed the cut by one stroke, and her 149, which missed by seven. But she will still spend the weekend surveying the Stanford course catelogue.

Wacker: FICTION. It's been well documented that Wie hasn't broken 75 in her last eight rounds against the men, but the Sony is the one tournament where she's been able to put up her best numbers -- she posted second-round 68s in 2004 and 2006. She won't make the cut, but I don't expect her to shoot in the 80s the way she did at the end of 2006.

Subscribe to: