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It's important to get something straight right off the top. David Leadbetter is not leaving his student Michelle Wie, notwithstanding how some people read - well, misread - an Oct. 17 column here.

In that column, Leadbetter referred to Greg Nared, who had just become the second manager in a year to leave Wie. Leadbetter said it was beginning to feel "like this is the Titanic." He was referring to others leaving. He was staying.

Leadbetter's comments caught the eye of a couple of popular ESPN shows, some prominent websites, Golf Channel, and the blogosphere.

Michael Wilbon, on the Oct. 17 edition of the ESPN show Pardon the Interruption, spoke about Leadbetter's comments and Wie's situation with his sidekick Tony Kornheiser.

"This was easily foreseeable, Tony," he said. "This young woman is a phenom in terms of her talent. But to rush her along, to rush her to play in all of these events, to these men's events, and not let her just sort of transition from being a girl to being a woman. What was the point in this? ... Every criticism out there has been valid so far. I feel bad for this young woman."

Meanwhile, Brandon Tucker, a writer with http://www.worldgolf.com, said on Oct. 24: "David Leadbetter is mouthing off 'woulda coulda shoudas,' to the press again regarding his phenom-turned Titanic.' " He added, "I wasn't aware it was in a swing coach's best interest to throw an already hurting student under the bus."

Then, at http://www.golf.com, a CNN/Sports Illustrated network site, an item appeared as "Rumours: Leadbetter Leaving Michelle Wie?"

Huh? Somebody there invented the notion, so it instantly morphed into a rumour.

Leadbetter in no way threw Wie under the bus, nor was he leaving Wie. His reference to the Titanic clearly indicated he was concerned about her. That's the mark of somebody who cares, not somebody who's jumping ship.

Golf Channel did ask Leadbetter for comment. He confirmed that he wasn't leaving Wie and that he still believed in her. He elaborated on that yesterday during another telephone interview.

"I have every hope that Michelle will come back strong next year," Leadbetter said. "She's physically much stronger. She's not hurting. Now it's a matter of getting her belief system back to where it was, when she played very brave golf and had no fear of failure."

Steven Gribin, the host of The Golfer's Home, a radio show on 103.3 FM, an ESPN affiliate in Dallas, knows Leadbetter feels this way. Yet he reacted to a blogger who had commented on the column about Leadbetter and Wie.

Gribin had me on his show last Sunday, and said right away that he hadn't read the column. He wondered what was going on. At least he asked.

A personal note seems appropriate here. I've known Leadbetter for 25 years and observed him for hours on brutally hot days while he's worked with golfers on the range. I've written a book with him. He's dedicated to his profession, and has been instrumental in helping Nick Price, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and Se Ri Pak win major championships.

At the same time, some observers believe Charles Howell III, who has worked with Leadbetter since he was a teenager, should have won more than two PGA Tour events. Leadbetter knows that some people think Wie would be better off without him. He's fair game for criticism, which is as it should be. The key word is, or should be, "fair."

"All you can do is do your best," Leadbetter said. "You'll always have your critics. If you live and die by what people say about you, you'll either be totally depressed or totally elated. It's all fleeting anyway. You're only as good as your last win or failure. Hank Haney [who works with Tiger Woods] said it best when he said there are only two types of golf coaches, one who is being fired or one who is about to be fired."

There's no indication Leadbetter is about to be fired, and he's not abandoning Wie.

"A player of her calibre doesn't become a bad golfer overnight," he said. "You don't get the yips at that age, so it's not mental. There has to be some sort of legitimate reason. In Michelle's case, she had an injury, and she came back too early."

Too early, also, are invented rumours about Leadbetter walking away from a young woman for whom he feels compassion and in whom he believes. The rumours are more than too early, actually. They're fantasy.

rube@sympatico.ca