Is This The End For Michelle Wie?

CHASKA, MINNESOTA | It was a side we’ve never seen, at least not in public. Throughout her career in the spotlight – an odyssey that began an astonishing 17 years ago when she was only 12 years old – Michelle Wie always has hovered between stoic and ebullient, at least in front of the cameras. The clichés were always predictable – “Just having fun out there,” “Really happy to be out competing,” “Learning every day,” “Taking what my body gives me,” “Giving it my best,” –  even when everyone knew that the truth was far more grim. Whether it was an attempt to keep a professional distance between herself and the public, or positive self-talk that she hoped might lead to better outcomes, Wie always put a happy face on a heaping mountain of disappointments. Sometimes it made her look shallow or disingenuous, which she is neither. But she always looked forward, glass half full.

Not this week. On Thursday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Wie’s first competitive round since mid-April when she missed the cut in Hawaii by a mile, the 29-...