How old must a prodigy be before he or she isn't regarded as a prodigy?

A prodigy is a highly talented child. So, by definition, Michelle Wie, who turned 17 yesterday, should no longer be viewed as a prodigy. But the one-time prodigy in our own backyard has stepped up her game to become one of the best women golfers in the world, even achieving celebrity status.

No matter the label, she still remains a golfing phenom.

She's a young woman who's growing up quickly before our eyes. There's no better visual proof than a recent Sony ad featuring a dolled-up Wie in several national magazines, including Entertainment Weekly.

So it's interesting to note that Wie will be playing for the first time as a 17-year-old in the Samsung World Championship starting today at the Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif.

Let's hope the outcome turns out better than last year when Wie was disqualified in her pro debut in the same event the week of her 16th birthday.

Me, I'm hoping she wins this week to silence her detractors, once and for all. The sooner the better.

Admittedly, it'll be a difficult task for Wie to win against the LPGA's best while still being a part-time golfer who's also hitting the books in finishing up her senior year at Punahou School. There's Annika Sorenstam, who has won the event five times and has never lost at Bighorn. Here's hoping the two will take part in a latter-day Battle of the Bighorn in Sunday's final round.

Wishful thinking, maybe. But why not? Wie's LPGA track record this year has been impressive: A tie for second in the Evian Masters, a tie for third in two majors — the U.S. Women's Open and the Kraft Nabisco Championships —third in the Fields Open in Hawai'i and a somewhat disappointing T-26 finish in the Women's British Open.

She can add to her unofficial earnings of $718,343 as a first-year pro with a healthy paycheck in her final appearance in a women's event this year.

Considering she has averaged a take of more than $102,000 in seven LPGA appearances, it's quite an accomplishment. She'd be 14th on the official money list if she were a tour member. Natalie Gulbis is 14th with $657,796 while playing 17 more tournaments than Wie.

Of course, it's not just the prize money for Wie, who has banked more than $10 million in endorsements and appearance fees, making what she has won seem like pocket change.

So, for now, at this blossoming stage of her young career, it's now a matter of just winning.

I thought she'd do it as a 16-year-old. But I like her chances a lot better in 2007 now that she's a year older. Considering Wie won't be 18 until next October, she should put her name in the LPGA record book as the youngest winner, shattering the record by more than a year.

The record belongs to Marlene Bauer Hagge, who won the 1952 Sarasota Open at the age of 18 years, 14 days. But there's an asterisk because it was an 18-hole event. Paula Creamer holds the record as the youngest winner of a 72-hole event at 18 years, 9 months, 17 days with her victory in the Sybase Classic last year.

So for those who keep saying, when is Wie going to win?

All I can say is wait till next year. Heck, maybe wait until Sunday.

As for playing against the men, expect Wie to continue to do so, starting with the Casio World Open in Japan.

Since she's allowed to play in only eight events on the women's tour, including six LPGA exemptions, who and where else but against the men can she play to improve her game?

Anyway, we'll get to see Wie today and tomorrow on the Golf Channel and the weekend on NBC, using the remote like mad in between all those football games.

ALSO ON GOLF CHANNEL

Hawai'i's Parker McLachlin is on the Golf Channel's special, "Quest for the Card: Inside the Nationwide Tour," featuring a look at the day in the life of a young player on the developmental tour.

Today's showing at 4:30 p.m. (Hawai'i time) will be the first of five times that the piece on McLachlin and his wife, Kristy, will be aired. They were interviewed at their Scottsdale, Ariz., home.

McLachlin, a Punahou School and UCLA alum, ranks 24th on the 2006 Nationwide Tour money list ($161,925) with three full-field events to go. He's a lock for the Nationwide Tour Championship involving the top 60 money winners, who at least get to retain their playing cards for next year.

The top 20 on the money list will earn 2007 PGA Tour playing privileges. Those finishing between Nos. 21 to 35 get to skip the second stage of the Tour Qualifying School and head straight into the PGA Tour's final qualifying tournament.