Defending Gove

Jeff Gove is bound to take some heat for his Michelle Wie comments following their first and second round pairing at the John Deere, where Wie became ill and played a half hole behind before finally withdrawing.

Mark Lamport-Stokes writes (in a story titled "Wie debate hots up after John Deere withdrawal"):

 "She didn't complain about anything," Gove told the Chicago Sun-Times. "She just said: 'I'm going to withdraw', which was good. She was holding us up again.

 "She has to learn to play faster and be more respectful of other players and things of that nature. If she has her name on her bag, she needs to be professional, and she's not there yet."

Gove's views are somewhat harsh given that Wie had been struggling with stomach pain, dizziness, nausea and breathing problems before she decided to quit the tournament after consulting a doctor.

Having played with Jeff for three years at Pepperdine and knowing that he is one of the kindest, most patient souls on the planet (he put up with me after all), I suspect there is more here beyond what we saw on television (which should have been stopped sooner by Wie's parents).

I'm guessing Wie still has a few things to learn about the various subtle but important elements of etiquette that Tour players take pretty (too?) seriously. Either way, I find it hard to believe Gove would have made his comments without there having been some unacceptable incidents.