"Wie should stay the course"

As Bill O'Reilly might say, all of Michelle Wie's detractors should just "SHUT UP!"

Not that the extreme right-wing O’Reilly would ever support Wie's crusade into the testosterone-laden world of the PGA Tour. But if I don't agree with one thing the man says, can't I steal his vocabulary?

Ok. Enough about O'Reilly. Let's talk about Wie. The 17-year-old - yeah, she can drive now, but not smoke or even think about drinking - has never made a PGA Tour cut. At her last tournament in Japan she finished second to last. At her last PGA event, the 84 Lumber Classic, she was dead last. She's never won an LPGA event.

So why in the world should the naysayers have their mouths stuffed with Titlists? Because what Wie is doing is not only good for the game of golf, but good for American society as a whole.

Do-gooders always talk about never being satisfied with the rights we have, never thinking that everyone is equal. Well, Wie is not satisfied to be a normal women’s golfer. She's not gonna sit back and compete on the LPGA Tour, where she might get noticed by avid golf fans but no one else. No, she's making a statement. That's not why she's competing (she simply thinks she can stand next to these guys). Heck, she's only 17. She doesn't need to be making political statements at this point in her life.

But she is. Even if she doesn't know it.

And as long as sponsors are paying her to compete in select tour events, I see no reason why she should back down now. She obviously has not reached her peak. She can only improve. And that must be a scary thought to the men. After all, she hasn't been at the very bottom of the leader board at all her two-day forages onto the men's tour. In her first men's event - the 2004 Sony Open - she finished just one stroke below the cut line, beating 47 men.

So we definitely know what she's capable of.

And the physical attributes to walk with the fellas are also evident. Wie consistently drives the ball longer than 280 yards. It's not uncommon for her to outdrive her male playing partners. She just needs to become much more consistent, so that a bad round is a 73 or 74, not a 78 or 80.

Look, Wie will probably never be a great player on the PGA Tour. She'll never be a threat to Tiger or Phil or even Vijay. But she can do so much for women's sports just by competing against the men whenever she gets the chance.

As much as her compatriots on the LPGA Tour complain about Wie's affinity for playing in men's events, would they pass on the opportunity? The LPGA doesn't get close to the publicity the men's tour gets. The purses aren't nearly as big. And most of the players aren’t nearly as good.

But Wie is an exception. Even if she hasn't won an LPGA event.

Would golf be nearly as popular in minority communities if not for Tiger Woods? Of course not. And I can guarantee you that Wie continuing to play in PGA Tour events will boost the game's popularity among girls. Think about it. If a girl's father is watching golf in the living room, which tour is he going to be viewing?

Obvious answer: the men's. While girls might idolize Woods - like Wie did as a child - it doesn't take rocket science to know that girls would rather have a female as a role model than a male (at least I think so – correct me if I’m wrong). It's in the genes. Y chromosomes and X chromosomes.

Wie's foray onto the men's tour will tell girls across the world that, no, boys aren't always so much greater at sports.

Enough playing dolls, let's go to the driving range!

Michelle Wie is doing nothing wrong. She's breaking no rules. She's simply taking the opportunities given to her. For this, she should be embraced, not harangued.

Because there are not many Michelle Wies out there.