Tournament host Michelle Wie West talks to the media at ahead of the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club
Thinking like that back this tournament last year. You were pregnant. Had just been on Fallon. You were getting ready for another great event here. Tell us a little bit about the journey of 2024 and what we can look forward to in 2025 this year?
MICHELLE WIE WEST: Yeah, it’s crazy to think it’s already a third year, and super exciting announcement coming out yesterday saying that we’re going to renew for another five years.
That just gets me so excited just because we have seen the good that we’ve done in the first two years and now this year, and it gets me really excited for the future.
Definitely my favourite week of the year, so excited to see all the players and the juniors. We have a lot of the new juniors this year, which I’m very excited for.
Already the third year, we’re having Yana Wilson, our inaugural junior being in the pro field. It’s already a full circle moment and so excited. Looking forward to the future as well.
Q. You brought up the announcement. What are we looking forward to beyond this year? What are we looking forward to this year? What can fans and players expect from you this year and into the future?
MICHELLE WIE WEST: Again, we’re at one of America’s most iconic venues, Liberty National. The weather is a little dreary, but I think it’s going to clear up for the weekend. Just amazing views. The top players in the world. You’ll see the next future talent.
And I think with the landscape of women’s amateur golf now, there is a lot of recognizable names in the junior field as well, which I am really excited for.
But, again, just elevating the women’s game and pushing the next future generation can forward. I get really excited. In the player dining I saw a couple of the juniors eat with their mentors, and I know a lot of them have played practice rounds this morning.
So the whole week just feels really great to be a part of.
Q. I want to call out this awesome shirt you have on. I know you announced your investment into Together Sports. Tell us a little bit about what that brand means to you and how this partnership came about.
MICHELLE WIE WEST: Yeah, really exciting announcement that I’ve invested in Together. I’ve always been a fan of what they have done with their platform, their story telling. And this statement, it means so much to me. It’s very powerful. It literally says everyone watches women’s sports. Not a certain demographic or age or gender. Everyone watches it.
It’s a sentiment that if you build it, people will come. Tournaments like this, you build it, people will come. Really amazing to see the support we have in the local tri-state area and fans and across the globe as well. You know, people tuning in the last two years, we’ve had amazing dramatic finishes with amazing champions.
Again, really excited for that this year. With Together I hope we can continue to story tell and really get into golf.
Q. I know this is a favorite event by all players every single year. How much has it meant to you to take care of the players the way you do and continue to grow that over the last three years of this championship?
MICHELLE WIE WEST: Yeah, I think being a player to my core, and hasn’t been much time after I retired, so when I knew I was going to be a tournament host there were — the player experience was extremely important to me. I’ve been to tournaments where it seems flashy, but behind the scenes there wasn’t much.
I wanted to make sure even if it’s the things you don’t see in the newspaper or whatnot, I wanted to make sure the players were really taken care of. That was really important to Mizuho as well. Within their company, their core culture is empowering women and pushing the next future generation forward.
By that you have to touch upon every part of the tournament. It’s not just the branding or just being at really nice golf course. It’s making sure the players are treated great. For us that was extremely important, because there were the top junior girls in the field as well too. For many of them this will be their first professional event, so we wanted to make sure their bar was set extremely high and wanted them now moving forward to expect that from a tournament.
So that was really important to Mizuho and I. It feels great knowing that players are taken care, they’re happy.
You know, just kind of what I told the juniors last night as well. It’s such a unique format. None of these players are being forced to be here. It’s an opportunity for them to give back, and they chose to be here and we’re forever grateful and honored that these top players are excited to come this week. They’re excited to mentor, they are excited to spend time with the juniors.
Overall, I think it just creates a better environment.
Q. You talk about inspiring young women and the AJGA players. The last two champions here, Yana and Gianna, you mentioned Yana as well, have had success on the golf course, and you have to think part of that can be attributed to this tournament. How much does that mean to you to continue inspiring these young girls?
MICHELLE WIE WEST: Yeah, it means everything to me. Just my own genesis of my career I started playing LPGA events when I was 12 years old. That really solidified my career. Just being in these high pressure situations from a young age and making sure that I wanted to be a professional.
I got to play professional tournaments not as a pro but as an amateur. I think it eases your way into it somewhat. It’s really cool to see players like Yana and Gianna really do so well in their career. Amazing that Yana in her professional debut on the Epson Tour won her first event last week, and hopefully building great momentum this week.
I got to see them yesterday. Spoke with her dad. Her dad, which is so heartfelt to me, was saying to me that this tournament is really the reason why, that her experience here, her win here, catapulted her forward.
Hearing that just makes me feel so good and makes this — cements the fact that we are making a difference in these young girls’ lives. That’s the most important thing we take away from this event.
Q. Last night at the welcome party you had the opportunity to meet player who showed a photograph of you and her when she was just five years old. Now she’s playing as a junior in the Mizuho Americas Open. What does this moment say about the lasting impact you’ve had on this generation of golfers?
MICHELLE WIE WEST: I think it’s really cool. A, it made me feel really old, but the work we do as athletes I think is extremely important. Empowering the next generation to follow their dreams, a lot of times when we’re actively playing is a very subconscious effort.
That’s why I think this tournament is so cool. I remember watching Tiger on TV, watching Seri on TV when I was really young and be like, hey, that looks really cool.
Then you take the next step. Your parents take you to a tournament and you get to watch real athletes in person. Then you’re like, okay, I really want to do this.
But then this tournament to me is so important because these young girls, impressionable young girls starting their career, get to be inside the ropes with their idols. That takes it to another level. It’s amazing.
I love taking my daughter to events. I think it’s really important to have strong female role models, especially in our daughter’s lives. So it was really cool seeing her yesterday. I definitely remember her coming. She was so cute. It’s really cool to see her in the tournament.
Q. We loved watching that TikTok video you posted. Anything you learned from the girls and the Gen Zers yesterday?
MICHELLE WIE WEST: Well, the first year I learned from the Gen Zers is the .5 camera and they flip it. They don’t take selfies anymore. Selfies are out. Just wanted you guys to know, all the millennials in the group, that selfies are not it. You have to .5 it and turn it around.
I asked them a lot of questions. Who is cool? Who is not? I was very surprised. Certain singers they don’t listen to at all.
But, yeah, I learned so much from the juniors this week and I have so much fun with them. I thought I could relate to them doing a TikTok, I meant Instagram Reel because I am a millennial. It was fun to relate with them and have fun with them.
Q. The title extension, you mentioned off the top, but as tournament host, how amazing is it for you to see these people, Mizuho, AJGA, LPGA, and Liberty National and Mountain Ridge step up to put on this event that you get to host for another five years?
MICHELLE WIE WEST: Oh, my God, it’s a dream come true. It’s an ultimate Bucket List item for me. So honored. But most importantly, it’s amazing to partner with people who at their core want to do good. You see it. It’s not superficial or only for their brand. It’s to their core. I got to spend — ever year I get to spend time with their employees. It’s amazing to see. The culture bleeds through the entire company. Employees, a lot of them volunteering this week, helping out, being so excited about everything that they’re doing, being proud of their company.
It’s really great to be a part. Obviously the work that the AJGA does, being so passionate and growing the kids’ futures, and then obviously the work we’re doing at the LPGA, it’s just great to be partnered with people and Liberty National and Mountain Ridge, two golf courses that are immense support.
And all the other sponsors that are a part of this event too. It takes a lot of work. My team at Excel makes it look easy but I see it behind the scenes, how much they’re running around.
I’m just entirely grateful to be in this situation and to have people. I get to look good, but it’s the people that are behind the scenes that are doing the job.
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