Q&A: Michelle Wie West talks LPGA player dining, her daughter's swing, tennis obsession

USA Today

11-05-2025

Q&A: Michelle Wie West talks LPGA player dining, her daughter's swing, tennis obsession
It didn't take long for Michelle Wie West to help put together one of the premiere events on the LPGA schedule. The third edition of the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club brings together the top female professionals and top junior girls in a unique format, with the New York City skyline glittering in the distance.
Golfweek caught up Wie West, one of the game's most recognizable faces and tournament host, to talk about the future of the Mizuho, motherhood and her new obsession – tennis.
What follows are excerpts from that conversation.
GW: Let's start with the good news, right? Mizuho extended its contract to 2030 as sponsor of this event and, of course, the purse is being raised to $3.25 million, which is awesome and significant among non-major tournaments on the LPGA. I'm curious, now that you are in this role as host, how differently you see things now than you did as a player, especially with announcements like this.
MWW: It was really amazing to start the week with the announcement like that, you know, prize increase commitment through the end of the term. Mizuho has been such an amazing partner and such a great supporter of the tour. You can see it in the culture of their company.
We did a day for their employees a few weeks ago to get them excited about the tournament and, you know, the first year everyone's like, 'oh, what's golf? Oh, this is cool. What's this?' You know, second year, obviously a lot more excitement by this time, like the third year ... they're fighting each other to get volunteer spots. They're just so excited about this event and they're so proud of it. And it's now, I think, you know, being a third year here, you know the players, they're extremely excited to be here. And as a player, you take these for granted, right? … But on the back end, you know, I see how hard my team is working. I see how everyone from Mizuho is working. It's really hard to set up an event, but our team does an amazing job and it goes through so many hands to make this happen, so definitely a level of appreciation for how tournaments are run in general.
GW: This event in a very short amount of time has become one of the premier events on the LPGA calendar and the AJGA calendar. And I know you're involved in so many of the small details. Tell me about a perk this year that you're excited about, whether it's something new in dining or a gift.
MWW: There's an amazing chef that works at Liberty National. He's new to the club, a Michelin-star chef. I had lunch today at the club and I was extremely excited. It's very player-focused, you know, even though he's a Michelin-star chef and wants to do all these crazy dishes, we have talked to him, and he knows that it's for the players and they have a job to do. So all the food, you know, is very allergy sensitive. We dive deep into what is the right nutrition for the players to go out there and try to give them a really well-balanced meal. So it's small as an item, but it makes a great player experience. I know for me, I was just a foodie that going to events, the food is always so important.
Also, all the players will be getting a year-long subscription for the Calm app, which is something that has helped me personally so much. I love sleep stories and, you know, a little meditation. I think it'll be really great for all the players who haven't tried it yet. And, of course, Nike coming through again with custom Air Max and sunglasses. We have a good partnership with Togethxr, so we everyone's getting a Everyone Watches Women's Sports shirt in collab with Nike, so a lot of fun gifts. There's some special gifts for the moms.
GW: Yana Wilson won the inaugural junior portion of this event, and then she just won on the Epson Tour last weekend in Las Vegas. Now she's playing on the LPGA in this event as a sponsor invite. Tell me what your relationships have been like with these young juniors as you're kind of watching them follow in your footsteps.
MWW: It's amazing, you know, now being in this role and the tournament format being the way that it is. I feel like I I've gotten to know so many more of these amazing junior girls that I wouldn't have really had a chance to cross paths with. Now every year I've been seeing a lot of repeat girls. There's a lot of new names in the field this year, which I'm really excited for, Yana specifically. You know, I've got to know her really well. Obviously she lives in Vegas, and we're just so excited.
Internally, we've always talked about how cool would it be, you know, one of these years that we have a junior in the pro field. And the fact that it's actually happening with our inaugural champion and this being her first, you know, LPGA tournament as a pro, it just it's really cool because this is what the tournament is all about. It's about catapulting these juniors forward. … I saw her at the clubhouse earlier and her dad was her dad was really sweet. He was like this tournament changed her path and that that feels really amazing to hear, to have that effect on someone. So yeah, I think that's the beauty of this tournament.
GW: I want to talk about motherhood. You mentioned, obviously, Mother's Day. You're a mom of two. The LPGA recently welcomed a new baby with Alison Lee giving birth to her first child. I'm curious, for younger players on tour who are thinking about family planning, what is something that maybe you wish you had known years ago? Or maybe you wish that other athletes had talked about more and been open about in regard to starting a family and how to balance all of it?
MWW: I wish it was more talked about, you know, just our reproductive health in general. I think like, I mean obviously we all know how babies are born or how babies are made. But just more specifically in our bodies, you know, we feel like this giant clock, which is something that can't be overlooked, and sometimes we can't, you know, not think about it. But I think with modern science, there's education based on what does the real timeline look for you specifically. And, you know, I wish I had talked about freezing my eggs earlier. When I was in my 20s, I just wish there were more conversations and education based on what to do, and then make my decisions based on that. Obviously, my retirement decision didn't revolve around the fact of having children. But I know that it is a big factor.
GW: I want to talk about your two kids and what kind of sports mom you are. What is Makenna up to these days? What is she excited about?
MWW: She loves golf. She loves tennis. She's on a T-ball team right now. She's starting to learn basketball in school. I'm waiting, I think, until she turns like 6 or so to like, really get into basketball. But I think that sports is just such an amazing thing for kids to be a part of. It teaches you so much. I already can see her being on the T-ball team, like, how much that has taught her to be a good teammate, work ethic, that kind of stuff. I love being outside with her.
Her golf swing is getting pretty good, I have to say. My husband and I, like at night, we'll be laying down and we'll be, you know, stop-framing her swing. Like, 'oh my god, look at her impact position, look at that lag coming down.' David Leadbetter and I, we exchange a lot of text messages about her swing. I'm like, oh, my god, I can't help myself. (laughs)
GW: That's so perfect. I understand you're playing tennis now, too, are you? How good are you?
MWW: I'm obsessed. I think I'm like a self-rated 3.0. I joined my community league, play on Saturdays. I've only gotten to play once because of scheduling and whatnot, but I'm on the Saturday team. I love it. I wish I could play every single day. I'm obsessed.
GW: The last time I saw you actually was at Augusta National. You'd just seen the golf course, walked the golf course for the first time. I'm sure there are a lot of juniors in the field this week that probably really have no idea how close you came to qualifying for a couple of men's majors. Do you ever just reflect on that and how life might have been different had you actually done it?
MWW: Oh my god, I think about it all the time, especially being at Augusta this year. I think it really hit me. And I'm like, wow, I could've played the Masters when I was 15. I was two matches away. Like to think, that is pretty wild. It's just kind of crazy. And randomly, people have been talking to me about Canoe Brook. Like randomly, oh, I was there, I remember Canoe Brook. And I'm like, wow, I haven't thought about Canoe Brook in so long.
Obviously there's a lot of what-if moments but it was pretty magical to spend some time at Augusta this year and see the golf course. See the guys and the girls play it, which is really cool. I was there for Drive, Chip and Putt. I think that's the day that I saw you, and to see the kids walking around with their trophies and their parents, I immediately called Johnny afterwards and said we need book some more lessons.
GW: You were obviously a fan magnet people. People came out in droves just to see you. I'm curious, you know, as a host now looking at wanting to have folks come through the gates to watch the players. What are some things that you're doing or you think the tour could be doing on a bigger level to bring more fans in.
MWW: Great question. I think being on this side now, you know what we're doing this week, Mizuho has done such an amazing job advertising the tournament. Not only the brand, but the players themselves. I mean, we're everywhere. They've wrapped the ferry this year, they added the players faces and names onto the ferry and I think that just in itself, right, you get so many eyeballs in it. Going from New Jersey to New York, there's so many people on ferries, on water, seeing it from the city skyline. Just showing more names and faces in places that you wouldn't expect it to be. Just breaking outside of the golf niche.