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By Associated PressWie, 15, has packed galleries as a female PGA Tour visitor, and this pro-am is no different.
SILVIS, Ill. - Sorry defending champion Mark Hensby, Nick Price, David Toms and everyone else here, it's not about you this week.
The star of the John Deere Classic has a ponytail, dangly earrings and a monster game. Michelle Wie may only be 15 and a visitor on the PGA Tour, but she's already got major player status, right down to the Tiger-esque gallery following her for Wednesday's pro-am.
"Michelle Wie is the story this week, and that's fine," said Hensby, who got his first career victory here last year. "If Tiger is playing, it doesn't really matter if you're the defending champ or not. That's just the way golf is, and that's just the way it should be.
When she teed off at 7:36 a.m. Wednesday morning as part of Shigeki Maruyama's group, there were already about 75 people watching. The gallery grew with every hole, and by the time she made the turn, there were several hundred people following her.
Fans oohed and aahed over every shot Wie hit, and there were more than a few men who said they couldn't get close to one of her drives. When she came close to holing a chip shot from 100 yards out on the par-5 17th, there were whistles of admiration.
After her round, fans lined up three- and four-deep to get her autograph, and Wie signed for about five minutes before security led her into the clubhouse.
"I'm very impressed," said Julie McManus, who drove an hour with her 13-year-old daughter Hannah and 9-year-old son Dalton, to watch Wie. "She's 15 years old, and she's a good inspiration for Hannah."
Wie, who didn't talk after her round, has made it clear that this is no publicity stunt and that playing on the men's tour is a long-term goal. She plays in the men's U.S. Amateur Public Links next week at Shaker Run in Lebanon, Ohio.