FanHouse MorganPressel

I lost interest in the Wegmans LPGA event after Cheyenne Woods missed the cut and Michelle Wie posted a third-round 75 to take herself out of contention. Jiyai Shin went on to win by seven strokes, pushing her 2009 earnings over $1 million, and cementing her Rookie of the Year bid.

But Stacy Lewis and Morgan Pressel were three shots behind Shin, the tournament leader, heading into Sunday, only to card a 74 and 78, respectively.

After the round, Pressel fired up the Twitter machine: "Trying to dry out the water-logged golf bag. Will never understand why we didn't tee off earlier when they knew the weather."

As did Lewis: "Question of the day: Why didn't we tee off earlier?"

Hound Dog LPGA also has a few questions:

I heard Michael Jackson died at approximately 5:30 PM ET. Hours later, I still don't think it's fully hit me. This was the man I idolized growing up as a kid ... I watched Moonwalker about 80 times on VHS (Joe Pesci was the villain). I once furiously outbid someone $159 for a replica Beat It jacket with 13 zippers. I actually have an 8x10 glossy of Billie Jean Michael taped next to my bedroom door.

Everyone -- from celebrities to sports stars to ordinary people -- had their way of trying to feel connected to the King of Pop. In his mere presence, fans have fainted and needed medical attention. So when news broke that Jackson had passed away, the reverberations on social media sites like Twitter were immense. Outspoken wide receiver Chad Ochocinco even went on to tweet "this is just as sad as 9/11" and then tried to play damage control after his offensive comment.

After the jump, read the emotional reactions from current and former athletes.

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LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens made news last year for the tour's peculiar language requirement. The policy was short-lived, but it's one of those things you can easily point to as an example of why the LPGA struggles to remain both relevant and solvent.

Bivens understands as much (although misguided, her attempt to get international tour players to learn English was to help broaden the sport's appeal). Which is why she'd support LPGA players using their Twitter machines during their round.

This could get awkward. The Honolulu Advertiser reports that Michelle Wie will play with her most vocal critic, fellow teenage prodigy Morgan Pressel, in Thursday's first round of the Evian Masters in France.

Like Wie, Pressel was good enough to compete against professionals at a very early age. Pressel qualified for the 2001 U.S. Open at age 12 and is the youngest major champion in LPGA history. Pressel has often criticized Wie and questioned why she receives so many sponsors' exemptions. (Answer: Because the sponsors like the attention Wie attracts.)

Wie gets more attention, but she has been nowhere as good as Pressel over the last year -- the last time Wie broke par for 18 holes was at last year's Evian Masters.

Hat tip: Sports by Brooks.

With Michelle Wie having to withdraw from the U.S. Women's Open earlier this week and 12-year-old Alexis Thompson having a solid showing after qualifying for the tournament, the armchair psychologists are coming out of the woodwork to tell the Wie's exactly where they went wrong.

Morgan Pressel, the 19-year-old LPGA Tour member, qualified for the Open as a 13-year-old. Like Wie, golf has been her entire teenage life. But unlike her 17-year-old counterpart, she's won on Tour (in addition to the U.S. Women's Amateur, Pressel won the Kraft Nabisco Championship). So what does this mean for Thompson?

Will [Thompson] take the Pressel path or the Wie way? The former runs through the American Junior Golf Association and USGA junior events, measuring yourself against players your own gender, if not your own age.

In the latter, you play wherever there's the most money and exposure, even if it means getting your brains beat out competing against (male) players you have no prayer of beating.

To be fair, Palm Beach Post columnist Alan Tays does point out that "As much as some people love to bash Wie, she has become the Paris Hilton of women's golf (minus the handcuffs). But unlike Hilton, Wie became famous for things she actually did. She owns a slew of records that begin with 'the youngest...'"

WorldGolf.com's Chris Baldwin makes an observation about the LPGA's best golfer:

The No. 1 ranked player in women's golf garners all the respect of a weekend hacker playing in jean shorts from the major golf manufacturers. Lorena Ochoa does not even have a club deal.

Think about that for another moment. No company pays the LPGA's best player to swing their sticks. There are no glowing press releases sent out by Ping, Callaway, TaylorMade, anybody, when Ochoa wins - and she wins more than anyone else on Tour right now.

Ochoa doesn't seemed much bothered by the snub -- "What can I say? Sad. One thing I see is that they don't spend the money or put the dedication into women's golf. There are so many good players out here that deserve better. In my case, I have really good support back home, and here in the United States, it's hard to get a club deal that is worth it" -- but Baldwin points out that other, lesser talents, are making out in endorsements.

Morgan Pressel looks like she stepped out of a Ralph Lauren commercial, and Michelle Wie is, well, Michelle Wie (even though she has yet to win anything).

But Baldwin also offers this:

You cannot help but conclude it may have something to do with the fact she's Mexican.... Ochoa suffers from dominating while Mexican.

Yeah, I don't buy that. Look, the LPGA is an entirely different animal than the PGA, or most male-dominated sports, for that matter. I mean, there's 'Rule 88' for cripes sake -- something you'd never seen the the men's Tour. To suggest that Ochoa doesn't have a club deal because she's Mexican is, well, silly. She's likable, she's the best player on Tour, she's young, and she's photogenic. (And, as Baldwin notes, she has deals with Lacoste and Rolex. Yes, these are international companies, but so is Mizuno, a club manufacturer ... who has yet to offer her a deal.)

That she's from Mexico is irrelevant. Honestly, do you think young girls just getting into golf are more likely to be Natalie Gulbis fans because a she's a blond-haired, blue-eyed American? Really? How do you explain Wie, a Korean American who has yet to win anything?

Is it peculiar? Sure. But that doesn't necessarily mean there's something nefarious behind it. And if Ochoa continues to play well, all the other stuff will take care of itself. I'm just glad she seems like a good person. Maybe Wie's posse should take notes.

Hat tip: Golf Girl's Diary

Morgan Pressel didn't just become the youngest woman ever to win a major on the LPGA Tour yesterday. She also instantly became one of the most marketable female athletes in the world.

Pressel has everything that sponsors look for: She's articulate. She's attractive. She's young. And now she's a winner. Female athletes don't garner anywhere close to the kinds of endorsement dollars that male athletes get, but Pressel has the potential to be one of the best and one of the most popular female athletes in the world for the next 20 years. That means she's on the cusp of superstardom.

I just wish she'd update her blog more often.

Morgan Pressel graduated from high school 10 months ago, and got her drivers license last year. At 18 years old, she just became the youngest woman to win an LPGA major at the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Pressel came close to winning the US Women's Open in 2005, but tied for second when South Korean Birdie Kim holed a 30 foot bunker shot.

I'm not certain what she is going to eat to celebrate her first major win but I have an idea. According to her blog, when she was in France last year, she would only eat chicken nuggets and fries for all her lunches and dinners. I understand this completely. I'm sure a lot of people go to France to feast on the fries of the French, though I had no idea that the French were also known for their nuggetry.

Previously at FanHouse:

Michelle Wie Misses LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship Due to Injury