Stuart Appleby has no problem with Michelle Wie playing this week's Sony Open in Hawaii, but that doesn't mean he wants to see the 16-year-old phenomenon on a regular basis.

The Australian acknowledged that because Wie is a local product, born and raised in Honolulu, where she is in year 11 at high school, and that the tournament sponsor is also her personal sponsor, it makes perfect sense for her to play with the big boys here at Waialae Country Club.

But Appleby warned there is a danger she will wear out her welcome if she starts playing the PGA Tour regularly without being competitive.

"Because of her background (Korean parents), because of Sony, it has more of an Asian influence than any tournament (on the US PGA Tour)," said Appleby, who won the season-opening Mercedes Championship on Sunday.

"This girl can flat out play and it's a great story, but it's got to be done tactfully before I think enough guys get tired of the whole thing.

"There's a fine line between (her presence) being beneficial for a tournament and getting a little tacky, a little cheap."

In reality it doesn't matter what Appleby or any other player thinks.

As long as the rules allow, and the tournament sponsor wants it, Wie will continue to play the Sony Open, which she will play for the third straight year.

This will be the teenager's seventh start in a professional men's event. She has twice come within a shot of making the cut - here two years ago and at the Casio World Open in Japan in November.

At an overflowing press conference, Wie, who is yet to win a women's professional tournament, shrugged off the criticism that she should rack up some LPGA wins before playing with the men.

"Playing in men's events will help me win women's events, because all the stuff I do here makes me a better player overall," she said.

"After I played this event last year, I played well (in subsequent LPGA events). That's my goal, to win women's events."

Wie's coach, David Leadbetter, says his charge has improved in many aspects of her game in the past 12 months.

"She's certainly swinging it better and the big thing is she's starting to putt more consistently," Leadbetter said.

"She's hitting putts at the right speed."

Leadbetter is convinced the floodgates are about to open: "With her talent, there's no doubt she's going to win.

"This girl is special (but) we're never going to see what she's really capable of until she starts playing a bunch of tournaments in a row."

Leadbetter said Wie had added about four kilograms of muscle to her formerly skinny frame over the past year, and that her clubhead speed was about 8 km/h higher.

It's sometimes easy to forget that Wie is still a teenager, with teenage concerns. She spent last week taking high school exams, and next week will go for her driver's licence.

But since turning pro and signing a couple of multi-million dollar contracts, there's one thing she can't get away with any longer.

"Sometimes I forget to bring my lunch money (to school) and have to ask (my friends) to buy me lunch," she said.

"They are like 'we're not going to buy your lunch anymore', so I have to remember to bring my lunch money."

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