SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. — Michelle Wie West stood alone off the 17th green at Pine Needles early Friday afternoon, the reality setting in. She turned her gaze toward the large video board in the distance, the one that revealed the cut line for the U.S. Women’s Open. There was but one hole remaining. Wie West knew she wasn’t going to be around for the weekend.
Her playing partners finished their putting and Wie West began walking toward No. 18. Before she did, she veered to her right and toward the yellow rope. On the other side there was a family who’d come to watch Wie West — a husband and wife and their 23-year-old daughter, in a wheelchair. They were about to experience a moment they’ll remember for a long time.
“My daughter’s disabled,” Michael Rheaume said. “She loves golf and has always liked Michelle Wie, so we kind of gravitate towards her.”
