Leadbetter: No PGA Tour Events for Wie in 2008

Ron Sirak reports today that David Leadbetter, the one person in the Michelle Wie camp whose relationship to reality is more than casual, says she is done playing against the men--for now--and that she's going to focus on getting her game and, more important, her confidence back. These are very similar to the words Leadbetter uttered last May, only to be overruled by Wie's parents. This time, Leadbetter insists, the entire Wie camp is listening.

Leadbetter says that Wie, a freshman at Stanford, will interrupt college to get back into competition. "That's the plan, to miss the spring quarter and focus on golf full time," Leadbetter told GolfDigest.com.

Wie skipping the spring quarter makes sense since the winter quarter at Stanford ends March 16, 11 days before the Safeway International near Phoenix, an LPGA venue where Wie has played before.

Leadbetter says Wie will make her return in one or both of the two Hawaiian events that kick off the LPGA Tour season in February. It means Wie won't be at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January, the PGA Tour event where she missed the cut by one stroke in 2004 and has missed by seven, four and 14 in her three attempts since.

"She's looking forward to getting back in the mix," says Leadbetter, who says she's 90 percent back. "She's talking about joining the LPGA. She's got a bit of sparkle in her eye again. Last year she was suffering.

"She came back from playing today and said, 'I really played good.'  She hasn't said that in a long time."

--Ron Sirak