Reno, NV (Best E Casino) - Just days removed from an embarrassing disqualification at an LPGA Tour event, Michelle Wie has been invited to play on the PGA Tour again.
Wie accepted a sponsor's exemption to play in next week's Reno-Tahoe Open, where she will join former Stanford classmate Rob Grube in a field that includes four major champions.
It will be the first time this season -- and the eighth time in her career -- that the 18-year-old Wie will appear at a PGA Tour event. She has never made the cut against the men stateside, though she did make the weekend at a Korean Tour event two years ago.
"It's not every day that a woman is given the opportunity to play on the greatest tour in the world," Wie said in a statement released by the tournament on Monday. "This is a tremendous opportunity for me to learn from these great players and take those lessons to the LPGA. This is another step in the process of making me a better player."
Wie was in second place when she was disqualified from the LPGA Tour's State Farm Classic after the third round on Saturday.
She had violated a rule by leaving the scoring area before signing her scorecard after the second round on Friday, an infraction not discovered by the LPGA Tour until Wie had already teed off on Saturday. When she finished the third round, she was given an opportunity to explain the situation. She was then disqualified, wiping out her second- and third-round scores.
It was particularly damaging considering Wie has no status on any tour at the moment. If she had won -- or even finished well -- she could have earned an LPGA Tour card for next season.
Entering her second year at Stanford, it remains to be seen whether she would consider playing full time or not. Her acceptance of the sponsor's exemption this week shows, at least, that she is still open to playing against the men, which she has been increasingly criticized for while her good finishes against the women have become fewer and further between.
The field she will face in Reno is one of the weakest on the PGA Tour. The tournament plays opposite the Bridgestone Invitational, a lucrative World Golf Championships event.
The four major champions scheduled to be in the field are all aging players: Tom Lehman, Larry Mize, Bob Tway and Mark Brooks.
"This will be a great experience for the community to see a player like Michelle in this setting," tournament director Michael Stearns said in a statement. "Michelle is getting her game together, she's getting back in the swing of things and we have no problem extending her this opportunity."
The Reno-Tahoe Open begins July 31 at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Montreux Golf and Country Club.
