Michelle Wie shows that she wants it

Earlier this week, Annika Sorenstam came out and said that she felt Michelle Wie hadn't lived up to her potential. She mentioned a few things, but basically said her focus wasn't 100 percent on golf, and until it is, she won't be the type of player she can be.

While I didn't really agree with that (and wrote as such), I do think that people that doubt Michelle really just want to see the best come out in her.

So Thursday at the Women's U.S. Open, when Wie shot an opening round 78 that included just one birdie, it looked like another missed cut for the 21-year-old and another missed opportunity.

Let's face it, as good as we all want Michelle to be, she still isn't in same breath as Yani Tseng and Cristie Kerr. She just isn't, and that seems to be fine by her.

But her second round at the Broadmoor showed something we haven't really seen from Wie. It was gritty, it was needed, and it showed the type of player she will be once golf is her main focus.

Wie was outside the cut line at the U.S. Open, and hadn't really had anything going for two straight days, and a bogey on her 16th hole put her at 8-over, which was trunk-slamming territory. But Wie grinded out a par on 17 and then rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to get her inside the cut line, and around for the weekend. Afterwards, Wie tweeted, "I felt like I won a tournament when I made that 35 ft putt on the last hole. Now onto the weekend. Gonna keep fighting...".

I hate to make this comparison since it has been done so many times, but it really reminded me of Tiger Woods. Sure, Tiger used to win tournaments by the bushel, but it was the times he didn't have his A-game that showed the true golfer he was. It was the times when he'd be at a major championship sitting outside the cut line, and roll off two birdies over his last four holes to make it on the number. It was then that you knew how competitive he was, and although Michelle isn't quite there yet, moments like this sure show that under that million-dollar smile is a girl that wants to beat the hell out of the rest of the competition.

Wie isn't going to win this week. She still doesn't seem ready to claim that first major title, but she is doing things right, and that can only be good for the LPGA.