The U.S. Women's Open kicks off later this week at Interlachen in Edina, Minn., and -- hey, look out -- like it or not, here comes Michelle Wie. After a less-than-rousing finish twelve strokes back at this past weekend's Wegmans LPGA tourney in Rochester, she's off to Minnesota, where she's in the tournament as a qualifier.

People scream about Wie receiving favoritism and kid-gloves treatment from the media, and they're right. Thing is, she's a fascinating study in too-much-too-soon: qualifying for an LPGA tourney at age 13 but failing to win even a single tournament since then will do that to you. She's got her chance right now to make good; if she can stay in the hunt and keep a few strokes off the lead, she'll garner acres of goodwill. But if she falls apart and misses the cut, it's going to be hell for her to be taken seriously anytime soon.