AYRSHIRE, SCOTLAND - Michelle Wie walked into the media center Tuesday wearing an accessory on that she’s sure to lose in time for Thursday’s first round – a walking boot on her left ankle.
It’s no secret that Wie hasn’t been in the best of health recently with hip bursitis and a bone spur in her left foot that forced her to withdraw from the Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning and O-I two weeks ago after an 11th place finish at the U.S. Women’s Open.
However, Wie says the two weeks away from the game has her back to a spot where she feels like she can play.
“It’s good. My Monday or Sunday when I got out here, was the first time I really hit balls since then,” Wie said. “So just kind of shaking off the rust, but it’s been feeling pretty good, so I’m excited to play.”
In other words, she’ll be on the first tee come Thursday without her newest accessory accompanying her.
“It’s a new fashion,” Wie said with a laugh. “It’s just to doctor’s orders. He wants me to be in the boot when I’m not playing just so I can rest it and make sure I’m ready for the next day. So it’s more of a preventive thing.”
Wie said she got a PRP injection in my foot and is wearing the boot to get the inflammation out and keep it as immobilized as she can when she’s not on the course. For the lingering bursitis that’s bothered her for the last couple of months, it actually felt good entering the U.S. Women’s Open but regressed in Lancaster. However, in the two weeks since, her physio team things that’s been taken care of.
“The bursitis is still there. It was actually feeling really good coming into the Open. I think the golf course really pushed me back,” Wie said. “But I got a cortisone shot in the hip joint this time in a different part of the hip. I got two injections in one day, so that was a fun day for me. Really unfortunate that I had to pull out of Ohio and not play Michigan, but I just needed those two weeks just to let everything calm down. I just let everything settle back in. The hip is feeling a lot better. It’s just something that I wish it was the offseason and I had more time.”
But it’s not. It’s the RICOH Women’s British Open, and this is a bucket list track at a major she’s always wanted to win. It’s not a risk though as doctors have said that there’s no risk of further damage. So, as of now, she’ll forge on until the offseason when she can shut it down and give it some rest.
“I’m just taking it day by day, like my doctor said, I could feel better all of a sudden,” Wie said. “Just depends if the inflammation goes down and the PRP injection is working. Every day I do feel like my ankle is getting skinnier and skinnier, which is great.
“I definitely plan on playing a lot the rest of the year. I think it’s going to get better and I have a really good game plan. Just trying to not make decisions too far in the future. Just trying to day by day how I feel and trying to monitor it. Yeah, Solheim, I don’t ever see myself not playing, so I’ll be there.”