Wie's DQ the result of many questionable moves

	By rule, Michelle Wie needs to extend her arm parallel to the ground instead of angled down. Robert Benson/WireImage

Michelle Wie may have plenty of money ($10 million to start), but a lack of experience and common sense from her and her caddy, Greg Johnston, led to the disqualification initiated by a sports writer/spectator. The incident has put Michelle and the LPGA Tour in the headlines, but it's not how they wanted to capture the spotlight.

Here are my thoughts and the precautions that should be taken to avoid this incident from happening again:

• All of the players at Bighorn Golf Club, playing on a desert course, were calling for rulings. Even tournament champion Annika Sorenstam had a heated debate Saturday with tour official Robert Smith on national TV about free relief from a scoreboard. Sorenstam's incident told me that the world's No. 1 women's player has a limited knowledge concerning the rules. Line of sight relief is so elementary and Annika should know that rule since it cost her the 2003 U.S. Open at Pumpkin Ridge.

Since Michelle and Grace Park were in the final group on Saturday, why didn't an LPGA Tour official accompany them? In many cases on the men's tour, an official joins the top groups. The leading group, especially with Michelle in it, is going to get the majority of the TV coverage and enjoy the largest gallery. A tour official being present would have helped this group get through without any glitches.

• Johnston has been caddying for 12 years on the LPGA tour for Juli Inkster. He knows Wie should call in an official or a playing partner (Park in this instance) to supervise every drop she makes. Why else are pros paying caddies a percentage of their winnings?

Johnston's experience was of no value to Michelle all week long; she should re-evaluate whether she still wants him on the bag. I don't believe this is any different than Jean Van de Velde's caddie not telling his player to hit iron on the 72nd hole of the British Open with a 3-stroke lead in his pocket.

• If SI senior writer Michael Bamberger, a former tour caddie, felt uncomfortable about the angle in which Michelle had made the drop twice and then placed her ball, then why did he not say something right then on the spot to Michelle's caddie? Maybe something like: "Hey caddie, you may want to double-check your angle of the drop, it looks slightly closer to the hole." Or maybe Bamberger could have flagged down an official on Saturday.

I saved Vicky Goetze a DQ one year at the Kraft Nabisco Championship by telling her caddie, JJ West, that Vicky's ball, which was resting on the green, was contacted by her playing partner's ball on a blind approach shot. Vicky was unaware of the contact and was grateful that I pointed it out. If you have something to say to a player, help them out.

• I attended the event at Big Horn and witnessed Michelle making several infractions to the rules in the way that she was making her drops. She was casually dropping the ball with her right hand well below shoulder height.

Under rule 20-2a, the player needs to extend the arm out at shoulder height and drop the ball. As you can see in the photo above, Michelle's arm is angled downward while making her controversial drop. It not only happened in this particular drop that led to her disqualification, but several others throughout the tournament.

Michelle needs to spend some of her newly acquired wealth on attending a USGA rules seminar or two. Wie's knowledge of the game was called into question at the 2003 U.S. Open when playing partner Danielle Ammaccapane accused Wie of walking in her putting line during the first round. Wie and Ammaccapane exchanged words after the round.

Rob Stanger, the head teaching pro at the Golf Academy at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, Calif., is recognized as a Golf magazine Top Teacher in America in the West Region. To ask questions or order his newly released Empowered Golf CD, contact him at robstanger.com.