Becoming a public figure might look glamorous, but there are pros and cons to everything. Something similar happened with LPGA Tour star Michelle Wie West. She began playing golf at the tender age of 4. By 2000, at just ten years old, Michelle became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship, earning early recognition in the sport.

The 34-year-old American player joined the LPGA Tour back in 2009 and has won five events so far. Having established so much at such an early age might have given a great life to Michelle Wie West, but it has also taken away a lot of things from her. West appeared in the latest episode of ‘The Scoop’, where she spoke about her journey to becoming a professional golfer. Michelle began by saying how initially she had a pretty normal childhood, and her parents wanted to keep her in school. Even though she was breaking life, her parents wanted her to live a regular childhood.

However, Michelle Wie West could not do both things together. “I had to miss graduation to play in the LPGA Championship, of course, I missed a lot of things,” she noted. Michelle started getting famous when she qualified for her first national tournament. She had to change schools then, which was hard for her—she was bullied for being different. Well, to be fair, West did not have a very great relationship with the media either.

Michelle Wie West hid the truth from the media

The 32-year-old has stepped away from playing on the LPGA Tour and now speaks more openly about the intense pressure she experienced and how it affected her emotional well-being. This perspective reflects her journey of growth and self-awareness over the years. Michelle confessed about the struggles she had to face every day as she tried to meet the expectations of her fans in one of the episodes of Nike’s No Off-Season podcast. “I felt like when I started, mental health wasn’t talked about,” Wie West said.

Michelle Wie West went on to add how people always talk about being strong, which means never breaking down. “So in my mind, seeing that, I felt like to be a champion golfer, I had to have that mindset. I had to have that mindset that never broke, never complained,” she added. Turning professional at the age of sixteen, she was the one forcing herself to take on challenges and pushing her performance beyond capacity. “I remember not telling the media really honest answers about my injuries, kind of hiding it, just because I didn’t want to feel weak,” Wie said.

Michelle also revealed that she often chose not to be fully transparent about the ailments she was enduring or her overall health. Instead, she preferred to remain silent to avoid further scrutiny and to avoid feeling as though she was disappointing others or herself. What’s your take on Michelle Wie West’s journey in the sport? Let us know below.