Thirteen-year-old at US Women’s Open isn’t ‘the next Wie’

Associated Press

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.

One is a 13-year-old, getting ready for eighth grade, spending the start of her U.S. Open week wondering if she should be asking these players for autographs or playing beside them.

The other is 55, a winner of six majors and all but retired — yet still with enough game to grind through qualifying and earn a spot in what she says will be her last pro tournament.

Mariel Galdiano and Betsy King both have starting times at the Broadmoor today, even though in the golf world, they are playing from completely different sets of tees.

Such is life at the U.S. Women’s Open, where the world’s best try to enhance their r sum s while competing against each other — along with dozens of amateurs, qualifiers and other underdogs with big dreams.

“I’ve been telling her lately, put your head down, look at people’s feet, just focus,” said Galdiano’s father, Roger, who also serves as her coach and caddie. “I want her to think of it as practice.”

The reality that it is anything but practice comes shining through at every turn this week for the Honolulu native, who picked up her first golf club about seven years ago.

On Wednesday, she played a practice round with another Hawaiian, Michelle Wie — “Very friendly,” she said — and took part in a kids clinic on the driving range with Annika Sorenstam.

Galdiano is not the next Michelle Wie, whose career has been defined by mishaps on the men’s tour and a long list of lessons learned about what happens when you go for too much, too soon.

“The way we’re going to do it is, we’re just going to go through our routine,” Galdiano’s dad said. “I’m not going to sign her up to play against the men and stuff. We’re just going to try to see how the progression goes.”

Meanwhile, King concedes her slow withdrawal from the spotlight came for a reason most elite athletes are loathe to acknowledge.

“To be honest, if I could play well enough to play, I’d still be playing,” she said. “Ninety-nine percent of the people that I know who retired — that’s why they retired. They just didn’t play well enough to keep playing.”

Golf, however, does not let go easily. King has won 34 LPGA events, is the first woman to pass the $5 million and $6 million marks in prize money. Earlier this year, she decided she wanted to play in a Legends event and thought the U.S. Open qualifier the week before would be a good tuneup for that.

“I really surprised myself,” she said. “ I played OK. I played well enough. I’m very happy to be here.”