Michelle Wie West sympathizes with ‘incredibly brave’ Osaka

SAN FRANCISCO — She knows all about expectations. And pressure.  It’s not exactly accurate to say that Michelle Wie West was an earlier version of Naomi Osaka — after all, their sports are different — but there are similarities.

As surely there are for other young women who find athletic success and fame before they find their bearings.

You know what’s happened the past few days to Osaka, the tennis ingénue, how after winning the first match she refused to attend a required news conference at the French Open. Then, after being fined, she chose to withdraw, eventually explaining at age 23 that she was haunted by depression and anxiety.

Wie West sympathizes. At 31, now she is married — to the son of a basketball legend — as well as a mother and a champion in her own right.

“My lows have been well documented throughout the years,” she said when asked about relating to Osaka’s trouble.

“And there’s a lot of tough times. I thought what Naomi did the past week was incredibly brave. I also understood that part of being an athlete is speaking to the media, because that’s how the tournaments get the media coverage.”

Which on this chilly, damp Tuesday morning is what Wie West was doing, after a practice round for the U.S. Women’s Open at the Olympic Club, where competition starts on Thursday.

If there is a phrase to sum up Wie West, it’s “been there, done that,” because there are few places she hasn’t been, and few things she hasn’t done.

“I'm really proud of athletes taking charge of their mental health and making it a priority. More conversations need to be had about that,” Wie West said.

“From a player’s perspective, I am totally understanding,” she said about Osaka’s difficulty. “I also get anxiety talking to the media right before (a tournament) because I know it’s the same questions every week. You guys are just doing your job, and I really appreciate that. But the last thing you want to do after a bad round is talk to anyone.” 

So, we talk about Wie West, who starting before she was 10 became worthy subject matter, winning events in her native Hawaii, the state amateur, the state public links.

She became one of the boys, smashing prodigious drives and in 2004, at 14, being invited to play against the figurative biggest of those boys, the PGA Tour pros, in the Sony Hawaiian Open. She missed the cut by only a couple of swings.

She herself turned pro — was it at the urging of her father? — before she turned up at Stanford as an undergrad. The joy and freedom she found on campus was gone once more when she returned to the LPGA Tour. And even Michelle taking the 2014 U.S Women’s Open, the ultimate prize, didn’t seem to satisfy the doubters.

It appears that unlike Osaka, Wie West has satisfied herself.

In 2019 she married Jonnie West, who works in the front office for the Golden State Warriors; yes, his father is NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West. They have a daughter, Makenna.

The golf still matters, but as Serena Williams said after becoming a new mother, on court the baby remains foremost in her mind.

Next, perhaps, is protecting the wrists that were injured a few years back. An Open, especially at Olympic, where in 1955 the great Ben Hogan couldn’t extract himself from the deep stuff, would appear to be the worst place.

“It’s tough,” Wie West said of the course, hosting its first women’s Open after having hosted five men’s Opens. “It’s a beast. Couple weeks ago when I played here, the rough wasn’t as long.”

You can trim the grass, unlike the demands on young female athletes.