Peter Williams: Teenage angst keeps the journalists very happy

The most anticipated professional golf debut in a decade had a landing as hard as the New Zealand share market this week.

Golf's sweetest 16-year-old, Michelle Wie, displayed real naivete when it comes to the rules of golf when she was disqualified from the so-called World Championship in the Californian desert.

But what's worse? Wie's obvious immaturity regarding a vitally important part of the game, or that Annika Sorenstam's eighth win of the year, by a whopping eight shots, went by almost totally unnoticed?

Reality bites in women's golf. Sorenstam is the best player and has been for years. But baby, she ain't got sex appeal and Michelle Wie has.

That's why Wie's endorsement deals are more lucrative than Sorenstam's already. That's why Wie's disqualification for a rules infraction was the main story from the tournament carried on wire services and websites around the world last Monday after the tournament finished.

Wie transgressed the rules by taking an illegal drop, with a penalty shot, from an unplayable lie at the seventh hole in the third round. She could've called for an official to oversee her drop to make sure she was doing it correctly. She didn't and the ball came to rest nearer the hole. Instead of re-dropping no nearer the hole, she played on, made a par and signed for a one-under par round.

It was the signature that was her undoing. Because she had dropped incorrectly and completed the hole, she could have taken a two-shot penalty and remained in the event. But signing an incorrect scorecard is disqualification in any golf tournament at any level.

Numerous questions about the incident remain. In a limited field event like this (there were only 20 players), why didn't each of the 10 groups have its own walking referee? How come her caddy, who has apparently worked on professional tours for more than a decade, didn't tell her the ball was possibly nearer the hole and the situation might need clarification? Why didn't the onlooker who saw her make the drop and reported her to the tournament director the following day not make his concerns known at the time?

Golfers' knowledge of the rules is, in general and at all levels, rudimentary. One of the most basic is that when you drop a ball, either with a penalty or without, you never drop it nearer the hole. There is also a right way and a wrong way to drop. It must be released from the hand with the arm outstretched at shoulder height. Anything below shoulder height is not allowed.

Yet here's one of the most famous players in the world, being set up as the new messiah of the women's game, not only dropping the ball nearer the hole in her first pro tournament but also being photographed making another drop during the event with her arm outstretched at barely waist height.

The man who dobbed her in was Michael Bamberg, a reporter for Sports Illustrated. He's also a former caddie so knew what he was about. He got himself a hell of a story but may have to spend a lifetime as a golf writer without a Michelle Wie interview.

Still there's always the emerging bitchiness of the other players to chase. Annika's parting shot after her massive win was a classic.

"I love to play well when everyone is talking about someone else. I'm very competitive." There is no doubt she'll keep on winning for a while yet. In women's golf though, that just isn't enough.