Everything changes for Michelle Wie this week and not just because today is her 16th birthday.

Forgot to get a card in the mail in time to wish Wie a sweet 16th? No problem, chances are she's having a nice one anyway in Palm Desert, Calif., where she is scheduled to meet the media today and tee off Thursday, debuting as the world's highest-paid female golfer.

And with the megabucks — as much as $10 million in endorsement income by some estimates — come not only more shopping opportunities in the resort area, but more of the spotlight.

It is hard to imagine that there could be any more glare for the planet's most- scrutinized and commented upon teenager after the aquarium she's operated out of these past two years. But there is.

A week after the satellite announcement of her five-year contracts with Nike and Sony, Wie very much remains the golf topic. The other 19 LPGA Tour pros in the elite field of this week's Samsung World Championship being but supporting actors in this new coming-of-age drama.

Consider that, according to an LPGA spokesman, "180 media — and counting" have requested credentials to cover the four-day, 72-hole event at the Bighorn Golf Club. That's more than double the number who attended last year when Wie was also the overriding figure of interest.

Quite the jackpot for Samsung, which didn't even land a Wie sponsorship but shares in the limelight.

To date, Wie's story has been one of remarkable potential and untethered dreams and ambition for one so young. Her gumption has inspired some and grated on others, but everybody has watched her rise. Now, even more are sure to follow her on the Golf Channel and KHNL News 8 this week.

Now, as Wie acknowledges, comes the matter of living up to those bold dreams and dollar signs. With her major victory to this point having been the 2003 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links, the pressure of expectation is now huge enough to be measured in tons per square inch.

Whether she can win the Samsung after not having played a tournament since the British Open on Aug. 1 might be too much to ask. But be assured, it will be demanded by some anyway. And an inability to win will be looked at as a failure by them, no matter how short-sighted.

Wie finished 13th, 5-under par, in last year's Samsung, when she would have taken home approximately $16,000 had she not been an amateur. This week, though, it won't be about the first-place prize she's playing for — $206,000 — as much as the endorsement money she's already banking.

Six days after Wie noted with excitement, "I'm finally able to say I'm a pro ... " at her introductory press conference in Kahala, she starts living it.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.