Michelle Wie might be advised to follow Paula Creamer's route

Michelle Wie might be well advised to follow Paula Creamer's route to the top Rumour has it that on October 11, the day she reaches her 16th birthday, Michelle Wie will turn professional. If that is the case, and it appears increasingly likely, she can look back with considerable satisfaction at what she has achieved to date. This year alone, the charismatic young Hawaiian has claimed three second-place finishes on the LPGA Tour and also reached the quarter finals of the men's national Public Links Championship, no mean feat for any amateur and a positively breathtaking achievement for a 15 year-old girl. There can be no doubt that Wie is an immense talent, someone who has the ability to go all the way to the top. But, I wonder, has she been going about it the right way? Should she have been spending so much time competing against men and women professionals rather than her amateur peers? Should she be contemplating turning professional at the tender age of 16? Should she even be playing the amount of golf she does at an age when it would be much more natural to mix golf with listening to music, trips to the shops and visits to the cinema. Given Wie's results to date, the obvious answer to these questions is yes, she has been doing the right thing. Likewise, if the plan thus far has been all about maximising her off-course earnings, there is no doubt it has worked because both Nike and Adidas seem perfectly prepared to part with upwards of £40 million in return for her signature. But, even if that is the case, and I have my doubts, what now? Should she concentrate all her efforts on winning women's Tour titles or continue to take time out attempting to make her first cut on the US PGA Tour? Personally, I see no real reason why women - any women - should compete in men's events and, off-course earnings apart, don't really see what it would do for Wie were she to succeed in her avowed goal to earn places in the men's Majors. Sure, it would engender massive publicity. It might even enhance golf's profile among individuals who normally ignore the game. But, what would it prove about Wie as a golfer? Nothing I would argue, unless she achieved the impossible and went on to win. Look back through history and you will see the golfers regarded as true superstars are those who garnered large number of national and Major titles over a long period of time. Jack Nicklaus, for example, won two US Amateurs and then went on to claim 18 Majors. Likewise, Tiger Woods, also learned his trade by winning three US Junior and three US Amateur titles before changing codes and so, too, did Annika Sorenstam, a leading collegiate golfer and the 1992 World Amateur champion. Intriguingly, even now, with nine women's Majors under her belt, Sorenstam seems much less interested than Wie in competing against the men. She has dabbled with the idea, of course, but now seems much more gainfully employed attempting to beat as many women's records as she can find. Sorenstam, I would argue, represents a great role model for Wie, and so does Paula Creamer, a 19-year-old American who won 19 national titles as an amateur and who has already claimed two LPGA titles since turning professional last autumn. Creamer believes that competing as an amateur was a vital part of her education and suggests it is something that no up-and-coming golfer should miss. "It helped me so much," she confirmed while finishing T-15 at the Weetabix British Women's Open at Royal Birkdale. "Obviously, professional golf is a whole new level, but amateur golf taught me how to win under every circumstance and that's not something that comes naturally. It's something you have to learn." Wie, I would suggest, would do well to heed those words rather than to turn professional in October. However, if she doesn't, and it does seem unlikely, what I'd like to Wie to do is to channel all her undoubted talent into trying to overhaul Sorenstam at the top of women's world rankings. Who knows, in the not too distant future, Creamer, Wie and Sorenstam could produce a rivalry that will do just as much for the women's Tour as the original 'Big Three', Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, did for the men's game back in the 60s and 70s. At the moment, it is some way off but it is a beguiling proposition, I'm sure you will agree.