Michelle Wie worked her way through LPGA Tour qualifying school at the end of 2008, giving her the opportunity to finally become a full-fledged member of the Tour long after becoming its most recognizable name.
For now she is happy competing against her peers on a weekly basis, getting to play a full schedule and experience a number of tournaments she hadn't visited in the past, including this week's Sybase Classic.
"It's exciting," Wie said on Wednesday. "It's like a play when you want card. You don't have to set your schedule for the rest of the year around six events. I have more opportunities to play, to gain experience and to win."
Her game, much like her quest for professional victory number one is still a work in progress.
"I always think I can do it, this is the week," Wie said of getting her first win. "But you never really know. You can't control the other 144 players out here."
The Sybase Classic will be Wie's sixth LPGA event of 2009. In her previous five tournaments, she has posted two top ten finishes and earned more than $170,000, good enough for 22nd on the LPGA money list.
In her pre-tournament press conference Wie expressed that she was trying to stay in the present, and not worrying about the past because it's something she couldn't change. Looking toward the future, Wie has not ruled out competing against men again or trying to become the first woman to play in The Masters.
"That's definitely not past me," she admitted. "But at this point in my life I feel very happy where I am."
She did say that the thought of once again competing against the men outside of the LPGA Tour is a motivating factor for her.
"It pushes me to be a stronger player, a better play," she said.
We're all waiting for Wie's first win, and if it comes this week just miles outside of NYC the media exposure it would generate for the LPGA Tour would be substantial, and her career could really take off. This week's field contains the top 10 women in the world, and the victory would legitimize Wie's place among the top players in women's golf.