Michelle Wie West Joins Forces With R&A To Help Develop Future Stars
The 33-year-old will lend her high profile, knowledge and experience to the task of inspiring the next generation
Michelle Wie West is the latest high-profile figure to partner with the R&A to assist in the global development of the game.
The arrangement with the R&A will see the 2014 US Women's Open champion work with the organisation across a range of areas including women and girls initiatives to help drive participation, with the focus on the Asian market. Meanwhile, Wie West will also use her expertise to advise on elite performance and development.
The 33-year-old explained how she hopes her influence can assist players of all abilities. She said: “Golf is an incredible sport which has given so much to me throughout my career. I now want to use my platform and knowledge to contribute to golf away from the course. I am excited to be able to help shape the future players, both those who like to enjoy golf recreationally and the young talent who aspire to a playing career.”
Wie West's last tournament came at the 2022 US Women’s Open, which saw Minjee Lee cruise to her second Major win. However, she remains one of the women’s game’s highest-profile stars even after stepping away from playing. As well as her Major win nine years ago, she is also known as a former child prodigy, who in 2002, became the youngest player to qualify for an LPGA Tour tournament aged just 12.
Chief Development Officer at The R&A Phil Anderton pointed to Wie West's star power and vast experience as huge assets in the partnership. He said: “Michelle Wie West is undoubtably an icon of women’s sport and we are delighted that in her post-playing career she has decided to work alongside The R&A to achieve its global development initiatives. She brings to the role her star power, broad audience but also a vast wealth of knowledge and experience which can be harnessed to help develop the future stars of golf.”
The alignment is an extension of Wie West's work since stepping away from playing, which has included her philanthropic initiative #HoodieForGolf. That utilises social media to drive awareness of the women's game while selling tie-dyed hoodies, with selected charities the beneficiaries.
Wie West joins former footballer Gareth Bale and singer songwriter Niall Horan, who have also joined forces with the R&A as Global Development Ambassadors. Through their partnership, Horan founded Modest! Golf, which aims to develop grassroots programmes to inspire people to take up the game, while Bale is part of the organisation’s Golf is Good campaign, which promotes the health and wellbeing benefits of playing golf through creative storytelling.
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Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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