美少女魏成美 高尔夫球界耀眼新星
When most people think of golf, they think of Tiger Woods. But there's an up-and-coming player on the course. And many predict this young Korean-American may soon be one of the world.s leading players. At 15, Michelle Wie is the most talked about name in the game.

She inherited an interest in golf from her parents, Korean immigrants, B.J. and Bo. Michelle began playing with them at age 4. By the time she turned 8, she could beat both of them. Realizing their daughter showed promise, B.J. began coaching her.

At 10, Michelle had won practically all the children.s tournaments in her home state of Hawaii. So she decided² it was time to move on to greater challenges. In 2000, she became the youngest player ever to compete in a USGA amateur championship.

The following year, Michelle competed in the Jennie K. Wilson Invitational, Hawaii.s most respected women.s amateur tournament. She became the event.s youngest winner ever, beating the 39-year-old former champion. Since then, Michelle has been breaking records and making a name for herself as she competes against adults.

An average teenager?

In many ways, Michelle is an average 15-year-old. She likes rock music and Johnny Depp. Her hobbies include reading and drawing. She.s a straight-A student, with a love for math. And like many teenagers, she has covered her bedroom walls with posters. The posters are of her idol³: Tiger Woods.

But upon seeing Michelle, some differences are obvious. For one thing, she.s already 6 feet tall and wears a men.s size 10 shoe. Her weekly routine also reveals a striking difference. Michelle practices golf four hours a day, Monday through Friday.

On the weekends, when she.s not competing in tournaments, she plays seven hours a day. Michelle admits she is extremely competitive.

"I like challenges, and I have to be the first to do everything, and I just want to be the best," says Michelle. True to form, she became the youngest person ever to play in a PGA Tour event last year. At the same time, she became only the fourth female ever to compete in the historically all-male tour. And at only 14, she still beat 47 adult men!

The girl to watch

Michelle.s strength, competitiveness and dedication⁴ to the game are paying off. Some say she has a perfect swing. And she already hits the ball about as far as the average golfer on the men.s tour. Those are very outstanding skills for a 15-year-old girl!

Golf.s legendary⁵ players are just some of the people watching her with awe⁶ and amazement⁷. According to golf great Davis Love III, "She probably has one of the best golf swings I.ve ever seen. No telling what she.s going to do when she gets a little older."

At this stage, some people are pushing Michelle to turn pro¹. "eople ask me . . . if I.m going to turn pro before I.m 18," Michelle says. "I don.t think so. I.m having fun playing as an amateur." No one knows for sure what lies ahead for Michelle. But one thing.s certain: Everybody.s watching.

Competing as the only amateur in a LPGA Tour event in February, she tied 27-year-old Cristie Kerr for second place. Afterward⁸, Kerr said, "She.s already a veteran at 15. I just hope the [LPGA] tour is ready for her." #p#

美少女魏成美：高尔夫球界的耀眼新星
胡怡敏 译

　　在15岁的荳蔻年华，她已名列全球前20名最佳女性高尔夫球选手！

　　当大部分人想到高尔夫球时，他们想到的是泰格·伍兹。但是高尔夫球界尚有一名刚崭露头角的新星，而许多人预测，这名年轻的韩裔美国选手可能在不久后就会成为全世界最举足轻重的选手之一。15岁的魏成美，是高尔夫球界中最常被谈论的名字。她从双亲——韩国移民魏炳旭和徐贤庆那里继承了对高尔夫球的兴趣。成美4岁时开始与父母一起打球，到快满8岁时，她已能击败父母亲。魏炳旭意识到自己的女儿颇有潜力，就开始训练她。

　　10岁时，成美几乎已经称霸家乡夏威夷州所有的儿童高尔夫球锦标赛，因此，她意识到该是寻求更大挑战的时候了。在2000年的全美高尔夫球协会业余锦标赛中，她成为历届以来最年轻的选手。第二年，成美参加夏威夷州最受瞩目的女子业余联赛，珍妮．K．威尔森邀请赛。她打败了39岁的前任冠军，成为该赛事有史以来最年轻的优胜者。自那时起，成美就不断刷新纪录，并因与成人选手一决高下而声名大噪。

一个普通的少女？

　　从许多方面来说，成美只是一个普通的15岁孩子。她喜欢摇滚乐和强尼．戴普。她的嗜好包括阅读和绘画。她是每科都拿A的优等生，热爱数学。而正如许多青少年，她的卧室墙壁上贴满了海报。这些海报贴的是她的偶像：泰格·伍兹。

　　然而，一看到成美时，有些区别还是相当显着。比如说，她身高已达6英尺，而且穿男性的10号鞋子。她的每周作息也显示了一个引人注目的差异，那就是成美从星期一到星期五，1天练习4个小时的高尔夫球。在周末，当她没有参加锦标赛时，她1天练习7个小时。成美承认自己非常好胜。成美说：“我喜欢挑战，我也必须在每件事情上遥遥领先，我只想出类拔萃。”和往常一样，去年她成为美国职业高尔夫球协会锦标赛中最年轻的选手。同时，她也成为这项赛史上全男性的赛事中，第四位女性参赛者。尽管才14岁，她仍然击败47位成人男性选手！

众所瞩目的女孩

　　成美在运动中所展现的实力、竞争力和专心致志已获得回报。有些人说她拥有完美的挥杆技巧。而她在球场上所打出的距离已与男子锦标赛中一般的选手不分上下。对一个15岁的女孩来说，那些算是非常杰出的技能！

　　高尔夫球界的传奇选手仅是用敬畏和惊喜的目光观察她的一部分人而已。高尔夫球巨擘戴维斯·拉福三世说：“她大概是我看过拥有最好的挥杆技巧的人之一。我无法预测她年纪稍长之后会有什幺成就。”

　　在这个阶段，有些人鼓励成美转战职业赛。“有些人问我是否会在1 8岁之前转成职业选手，”成美说：“我不这么认为，我当业余选手很愉快。”没有人确知成美的未来会如何，但是有件事千真万确：每个人都在拭目以待。2月时，成美是女子职业高尔夫球锦标赛中惟一的业余选手，与27岁的克莉丝蒂．克尔并列第二名。之后克尔说：“在15岁，成美就已是一个老手，我只希望女子职业高尔夫球锦标赛已经准备好迎接她。”