Hours spent sitting in bed or lying on the couch rehabbing an injury quickly becomes boring.
Michelle Wie would agree.
During her two weeks away from the game nursing bursitis in her left hip, Wie chose to fill her time by dying her hair purple, getting a few new piercings, taking in her first hockey game and even a concert.
“It’s tough when you’re injured,” Wie said Thursday. “I think the worst thing to do is just kind of sit at home and sulk and do nothing. So I definitely made the most out of it.”
And it seems to be just what the doctor ordered, with Wie back in the field this week at the ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer.
“I just got a cortisone injection, just gotta be a little bit careful from now on,” Wie said. “Not feeling too bad right now, so it’s good.”
Wie withrew following the opening round of the Kingsmill Championship Presented by JTBC after shooting 78, citing a hip injury. Unable to put any weight on her left leg, Wie was concerned there was a more serious problem or even a disk issue. She immediately had an MRI and followed-up with three more when she flew home to Jupiter, Florida.
“Thankfully everything came out clean, except for my hip,” Wie said. “No tears, nothing, no structural damage, which I was really happy about, just a little bursitis.”
The injury is the latest in a series of setbacks this season for Wie, who battled illness earlier this year. Her struggles with her body and health have left the defending U.S. Women’s Open Champion feeling this wasn’t the year she had planned for herself.
“Unfortunately, you know, I didn’t plan on getting sick this year, didn’t plan on a lot of things,” Wie said. “But at the same time, I think every time I get injured, every time I get sick it just makes me realize, you know, how grateful I am to be able to play and that my health is the most important thing.”
As the LPGA Tour rolls into the height of its schedule, including ten of the biggest events of the season with increased purses, points and four of the five majors of the year, it’s the perfect time for Wie to peak for the season.
“I’m just kind of slowly building,” Wie said. “Maybe a little bit too slowly this year, but I’m slowly building. I want to peak right at that time, and I think this is a really good three-week stretch. I love this week.”
Always up for a good challenge, Wie says she loves the tests the Bay Course presents this week sitting alongside Reeds Bay near Atlantic City.
“It’s definitely a tough course,” Wie said. “I think it all depends on the conditions here. Definitely the wind is a factor here. I do really enjoy playing in the wind. I played yesterday afternoon. It was blowing really hard. So it was fun. I think you just gotta keep the ball in play, gotta keep it low and just be patient on this golf course.”
Wie’s patience, as well as her hip, will be tested starting Friday at 12:44pm when she tees off the 10th tee, grouped with Paula Creamer and Minjee Lee.
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