Michelle Wie to

[Green Demon]

Espn.com

Michelle Wie will turn pro sometime between now and Oct. 11 -- her 16th birthday -- perhaps as early as next week. In doing so, she will become the world's highest-paid female golfer.

According to sources involved in the negotiations who requested anonymity, Wie will sign endorsement deals with three companies (one believed to be Nike) worth an estimated $8 million. Adding in tournament appearance fees and other endorsements, the Hawaiian teen's compensation for her first year as a pro is expected to reach $10 million -- not counting what she wins on the course. She also will enlist the services of the William Morris Agency to secure further commercial endorsements and guide her pro career, shunning traditional golf-management companies and suggesting her long-term aspirations may involve transcending the game as much as dominating it.

The sources say Wie's first professional tournament will be the LPGA's Samsung World Championship, which begins two days after her birthday at Bighorn GC in Palm Desert, Calif., an important factor in the timing of her decision to turn pro. A source says she wants to declare as soon as possible, in order to minimize any distractions in her pro debut. "[The announcement] will happen before the end of the month," says one source familiar with the Wies' thinking. "To do it at the tournament would be a bit unsettling."

[sahyder1]

bah, a few more wouldn't have killed her but I guess it's hard passing up on all that money. She definitely has the talent to compete at a top level for years to come. Hopefully her, Sorenstam and the other youngsters like Gloria Park give us a good season next year.

[gunnar hendershow]

Well, money talks.

No surprise, she's one of the highest paid female athletes alive as a result of this. No point in getting an education when turning pro will set you for life.

[Different Cloud]

I love watching Michelle Wie.

[Guest Booker T & The MG's]

I guess the burning ambition to turn pro has won out, I would have thought she would have gone the college route, but she's good enough at 16 to compete on a regular basis. A year or two out full time on the tour is going be to just a good if not better an education for her as it it playing golf at college.

[Typical Phenom]

You gotta figure that the success of the 18 and 19 year olds this year played into her own decision quite a bit. Players are getting better and younger each year, so if she puts off turning pro til she's 22 and out of college, there's no telling where she might stand. More than likely, she'd be in a top position still but you just never know. Take advantage of your opportunities while they're there.

[MDK]

I'd like to turn her pro. By which I mean I'd like to have sex with her.

[gunnar hendershow]

I'd like to turn her pro. By which I mean I'd like to have sex with her.

She's Hawaiian. She's legal.

[Liam]

I'd like to turn her pro. By which I mean I'd like to have sex with her.

She's Hawaiian. She's legal.

He's also English, so to him she is legal anyway, irrelevant of where she comes from.

The only problem with his plan is that I'd have made sure she turned pro first. By which I mean I'd have got thier first

Edited September 22, 2005 by Big Hairy Man Face