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In team sports, athletes get a built-in support system because of their teammates who go through the same journey as them most of the time.
In golf, it’s you, the ball and the field – whatever kind of team you have behind the scenes. And for those top players, like Michelle Wie West, who has been playing LPGA Tour tournaments since she was 12 years old, navigating the professional world can be difficult at first.
To that end, West has partnered with Ford to launch “Power Her Drive,” a new instructional platform designed to support LPGA beginners on and off the course. The show is built on Wie West’s own experiences as a teenager trying his best to make an impact on the course, while dealing with everything else that comes with being a professional athlete.
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CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis, former LPGA player Michelle Wie West and Golf Channel reporter Kira Dixon laugh during the Golden Bear Pro-Am before the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on May 28, 2025, in Dublin, Ohio. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“This is probably the best I’ve ever had when it comes to sponsorship,” Wie West said in a recent call with FOX Business ahead of the “Power Her Drive” Ford Championship debut, which will begin in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 26. “This is deeply in line with my passion. Now that I’m retired and in my career, the hosting award is participating in my post-horse honors competition. I think that’s what Ford is doing. It’s amazing From our early conversations, it wasn’t just about signs – it was about empowerment.
“Golf is an individual game, and that’s what I tell the younger guys all the time: you have to depend on the community. You have to depend on your support group.”
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Wie West said she was lucky to have her parents as a strong support system, but since they didn’t expect their daughter to be successful at her young age, the 2014 US Women’s Open winner admitted, “It was the blind leading the blind a lot of times.”
So, with women’s sports in general growing like never before, Wie West’s love was another Ford wanted to help right away in their relationship.
LPGA player Michelle Wie West plays her shot from the 14th tee during the Golden Bear Pro-Am at Muirfield Village Golf Club on May 28, 2025, in Dublin, Ohio. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“I think this all started with the idea that we were very serious about being an official car partner on the LPGA Tour. But then we started to really explore it. How can we do this very differently?” Lisa Materazzo, Ford’s chief marketing officer, told FOX Business.
“We don’t just want to support this tournament. It’s very important, so I don’t want to underestimate that, but we saw an unmet need when we started talking to the LPGA and an opportunity to have a deeper connection with the athletes. To really support their development, and this for us seemed right to Ford, to show that we have this unique responsibility to the players and to sports and to women in general, to the LPGA.”
“Power Her Drive” will begin with the Class of 2026, which includes a stellar group of LPGA Tour debutants: Camille Boyd, Briana Chacon, Hailee Cooper, Laney Frye, Melanie Green and Yana Wilson.
As these up-and-comers look to establish themselves as winners, or stars, on the LPGA Tour, “Power Her Drive” plans to help them deal with what’s on the course, including product sponsorships, financial advice and more.
Michelle Wie hits a tee shot during the first round of the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic at Ocean Club Golf Course on Jan. 25, 2018, in Paradise Island, Bahamas. (Photos by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
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“The leaderboard score is what you see, but there are many stages behind that,” Wie West added. “I hope with our collaboration, people will see the peeling of the onion and see the support these players get. We will go beyond and talk about building a personal brand, talk about leadership skills. Even though it is a sport for elites, you are still the leader of your team – your coach, your coach, etc. I think all of this will be very interesting for you to experience.”
Materazzo added: “We’re a big business — we’re a 122-year-old big brand in the world. We know how to do these things, we know how to work in a business environment. So, we can help those young golfers build their products … If we can make some pieces of it easier, that makes us, from a perspective, very proud and humbled to be a part of that journey of theirs.”
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