KOHLER - People wonder what's wrong with Michelle Wie. This is a fact. Opinions on why her game has taken a dip, vary. Observers question her desire, and whether or not her swing has become too mechanical.

I can't say for sure – the LPGA Tour does not come through Wisconsin at all, and I haven't seen her play in person since the 2009 Solheim Cup at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.

What I can say – like everyone else who covered that event - is that it was the best she looked on the golf course, and most content off it.

Opinions on that vary, ranging from the team atmosphere fostered at such an event to the fact that her parents, mom Bo and dad B.J., were not allowed around her.

I can't say for sure – the LPGA Tour had not come through the Chicago area since Wie began playing. I had no real frame of reference other than two failed attempts to make the cut at the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic in 2005 and 2006 as a teenager.

This week, I watched Wie practice a bit before the U.S. Women's Open at Blackwolf Run before her opening round 2-over-par 74. It was an interesting sight.

The 22-year-old played several practice rounds with Bo on her on her shoulder, standing as close to her on chips around the green as you could without interfering with the club.

B.J. often walked ahead, looking down the fairways from tee boxes and charting yardages in projected landing areas.

As she approached each green, Wie casually dropped three balls in the rough – boom, boom, boom. Then, three very quick swings. A couple of putts. Done.

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a master at reading practice rounds. Maybe this is what's good for her. But compared to world No. 1 Yani Tseng, a five-time major winner, seven-time major champion Karrie Webb, and other major winners like Stacy Lewis and Cristie Kerr, it was a very, very different approach.

Those players took their time, hitting two three balls as well, but much differently. Practicing with a purpose, as they say.

Late Wednesday, an interesting scene unfolded on the putting green.

Wie putted for a bit, then decided to chip. Her parents were there – Bo very close to her swing path, B.J. hovering over her bag. Michelle asked for her water bottle, which B.J. handed over. As he reached to take it back, she tossed it to the ground.

As she chipped, Bo pantomimed a chip. Michelle responded forcefully in Korean, first turning her top hand over as Bo potentially instructed on one chip, and then leaving the blade open on another, as she had been doing.

"She's got an attitude today," said a spectator who watched the scene unfold with me.

I can't say for sure – I don't speak Korean, and Bo won an amateur tournament in South Korea in the 1980s - perhaps it was useful information.

What I do know is that from 2009 to 2011, when she spent more time at Stanford University than playing golf, Wie had 19 top 10s, finished runner-up five times and won twice.

In 2012, as she began finishing up classes and her focus began to shift more towards golf, she's played awfully, with her best stroke play finish being a tie for 38th.

Why is this happening? I can't say for sure.