RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — As a carefree 13-year-old, Michelle Wie used the grand stage here in Rancho Mirage to declare her intentions to “go play L.P.G.A. full time and then try to go to the PGA.” It was 2003, and Wie played grown-up golf between giggling discourses on Oreo cookies and Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
Wie, 28, will make her 14th start at Mission Hills Country Club this week in the ANA Inspiration, the women’s first major of the year. Her performance now, she said, is fueled by avocado toast. Her appearance in the tournament has always been marked by boundless public curiosity and burdensome expectations.