Michelle Wei had achieved recognition way before she could grasp what it meant to be a successful woman who did not back down from the competition. Little did she know, the same fans who admired her competitive nature would use her toughness to question her sexuality.

The 28-year-old professional golfer was thrown into the limelight after becoming the youngest winner of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links. She is also known for being the youngest woman to qualify for an LPGA Tour Event. In 2005, at the tender age of 16, she turned professional.

Shine Harder Than Chandelier: Pro-golfer, Michelle poses for her January 2018 cover profile on golf magazine (Photo: golf.com) 

As of 5, March 2018, Michelle is ranked 24th with the scoring average of 70.56 in LPGA Tour.

The Stanford University alumni developed an affinity towards golf at an early age. At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship in 2000.

Michelle Wie Was Born To Immigrant Parents

Born on 11 October 1989 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Michelle was born to South Korean parents who had immigrated to America in the 1980’s. At the time of her birth, she held dual citizenship but later renounced South Korean citizenship. Her grandfather was an emeritus professor at Seoul National University.

As for her parents: her father is a former professor of travel industry management at the University of Hawaii, while her mother was a one-time amateur golf champion in South Korea.

The Hawaiian has a high school degree from Punahou School, Honolulu. After graduation, she announced she would join Stanford University citing family ties. Because she was more focused on her golfing career, it took her five years to complete her 4-year programme in Journalism at Stanford.

She Signed $10 million Contract At Age 16

In 2001, the Hawaiian native won the Jennie K Wilson Women’s Invitational as well as Hawaii State Women’s Stroke Play Championship.

Staying true to her moniker of a child prodigy, she would then go on to win Hawaii State Open Women’s Division and Women’s Amateur Public Links tournaments.in the year 2003. The year she would also break the U.S. Women’s Open record by becoming the youngest ever player to participate in the tournament -- she was just 13.

In 2005, soon after her 16th birthday, she announced that she was turning pro. Sports brand, Nike, and Electronics giant, Sony, recognizing her talents and marketability, convinced her to pen a sponsorship contract reportedly worth more than $10 million per annum.

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Michelle Wie's Pre-LPGA Career: Marred By Wrist Injury

After turning pro, Michelle had to wait three more years before she could come of age and become an LPGA member in 2009.

Between 2005 to 2008, participating in various tournaments, she would go on to deliver some top quality performances, including four top 5 finishes on the LPGA tour in 2005.

Channeling her intrinsic nature to compete, she decided to compete in Men’s tournament in 2006. In May that year, she became the first woman to win a medal in a local qualifier for the men’s U.S. Open. Despite the win, she struggled to hold her own on the green often struggling even to break par in the later tournaments.

Her slump in form continued well into the year 2007. To make the matter worse, she was forced to a four-month hiatus after suffering from a wrist injury. The only silverling to her injury-laden 2007 was her being enlisted in Forbes Top 20 Earners Under 25 after reportedly pocketing $19 million.

Michelle Wie  Wins U.S. Women's Open In 2014

Michelle became eligible to play full time on the LPGA Tour in 2009 after she finished 7th place at the LPGA qualifying tournament. In her very first LPGA tournament she lost to Angela Stanford by three strokes in the final round.

2009 also saw her change agency -- moving from William Morris Agency to IMG.

Later that year, she won her first professional individual tournament, the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

Her second professional victory came on 29 August 2010 as she posted a three-shot win over a full field at the CN Canadian Women’s Open.

Champ Is Here: Michelle lifts her prized trophy after winning the 2014 U.S. Women's Open (Video: golf.com)

But it would take her four more years to win a major championship, the U.S. Women’s Open. Because of her excellent performances on the green that year, she was awarded Rolex Annika Major Award. 2014 also saw her finish 6th in Women’s World Golf Ranking, her highest position till date, thus capping the most prolific year of her career.

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Michelle Wie's Boyfriend History: Robin Lopez, Adam Zhan

While at Stanford, it was rumored she was dating Robin Lopez. Her then alleged boyfriend; Robin was a student-athlete and integral part of Basketball programme at Stanford at the time. He’s currently applying his trades at NBA franchise Chicago Bulls. Neither her nor her then-rumored boyfriend, Robin, made a public admission of their high-profile affair.

Standing at 6 foot, it seems that the Stanford Alumni has a thing for taller athletes -- basketball athletes, to be more specific. To nobody’s surprise, she began dating another hooper. Her now ex-boyfriend, Adam Zhan never made it to NBA like her rumored ex-boyfriend, Robin Lopez. However, the 6’8’’ University of Oregon Alum has spent few years playing league games in Japan and Iraq.

Michelle Wie Connection With Adam Zhan?

Of all people, it was Adam’s mom who had first divulged that the couple was dating Adam for a couple of years. Commenting on her friend’s blog, Adam’s mom wrote:

Adam our middle is dating Michelle Wie -- the golfer...she will be joining us for Christmas this year.

For Michelle to spend her holidays with her Adam's family must mean that she had taken her commitment to him seriously and possibly the idea of being married to Adam was still on the play.

In a perfect world, the pro golfer would be happily married to Adam as her husband and would breed gigantic babies.

But dwelling in an imperfect world, where heartbreaks are more common than happy endings, the couple's relation also suffered the latter fate.

All Falls Down: Michelle in June 2016 shares picture of her rumored boyfriend, Adam which she has since deleted. (Photo: Golfspelledbackwards.com)

The couple couldn’t defy the workings of the imperfect world as their relationship hit a dead end in June 2016 shortly after Michelle shared a picture of them cuddling on her Instagram. She later deleted the post, confirming the split.

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Obnoxious Fans Hypothesize Gay Theory About Michelle Wie

After her fallout with Adam, she hasn’t been in a high profile relationship or better still; she has been better at hiding it.

Because of her complicated dating history and her inability to land a husband, golf fans have often wondered if she might be a closeted gay. Fans who back this theory often cite her innate competitive nature as evidence. They are quick to point her pre-LPGA days, where she had spent a couple of years competing alongside men, as a reference.

Sports fan would possibly conflate competitive nature with being gay if given.

Michelle Wie Is Engaged! 

Yes! You read that right. Michelle Wie is engaged to her boyfriend and NBA legend' son Jonnie West. The news might come as a surprise to many fans out there speculating about Wie's sexuality. But the rumors about her being gay have now been smashed as Wie shared a number of pictures of her and her now fiance celebrating their engagement on her Instagram.

Engaged: Michelle Wie posts a heartwarming picture alongside her now fiance Jonnie West. (Photo: Michelle's Instagram| February 15, 2019)

Details as to how the pair met have not yet been revealed but the news about their relationship first hit the air earlier in January this year. It seems Wie has finally found her prince charming in the form of Jonnie West who currently serves as the Director of Basketball Operations for the Golden State Warriors. The wedding bells have finally tolled for Michelle. Only a matter of time before Miss Michelle Wie will become Mrs.Michelle Wie West.