I don’t know how many Michiganders are traveling to the Toledo area this weekend to see Michelle Wie play in the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic. I suspect some people are going explicitly to see her, and a lot of people — golf fans, even — cannot imagine wanting to see her.

A few years ago, Wie was one of the most popular athletes in the world. It is easy now to dismiss Wie’s early-2000’s stardom as simple hype. But it wasn’t just hype. Arnold Palmer said Wie would have a bigger impact than Tiger Woods. Phil Mickelson and Fred Couples were astounded at her ability.

What went wrong? So much. And yet less than you think.

Wie had the right swing but probably the wrong teacher. She had reasonably right dreams but an unreasonable plan to reach them.

Ann Arbor native Eric Adelson expertly tells Wie’s story in his terrific new book, “The Sure Thing: The Making and Unmaking of Golf Phenom Michelle Wie.” Adelson, a longtime writer for ESPN the Magazine, has written a book that should appeal to any golf fan but also to anybody who has sat next to an overzealous Little League parent, and especially to anybody who HAS BEEN an overzealous Little League parent.

The most chilling quote in the book is this one, explaining why Wie turned pro before she turned 16:

“Youth goes really fast. She’ll be 16. She’s getting old.”

This is a ridiculous statement in an athletic context. Other than female gymnasts, virtually all athletes peak after the age of 16, and many golfers don’t peak until they are in their 30s. But the person who said it was not talking about golf. He was talking about money.

And the man who said it was B.J. Wie, Michelle’s father.

B.J. knew that his daughter’s marketing appeal came from her age and potential impact (and, to a lesser degree, her looks). Nike and Sony and assorted other companies wanted her because she was a fresh, irresistible story: The teenage girl who took on the men.

Adelson leaves no doubt that B.J. and his wife, Bo, love their daughter, which is what makes this story scary for any parent. The Wies so desperately believed they were doing what was best for their child.

B.J. and Bo did not just view Michelle as their only child. At times, they seemed to see her as the only child in the world. They micromanaged her life. Adelson writes that Michelle did not play a round of golf without her parents watching until she was 16, when she played with former President Bill Clinton.

The Wies’ twin obsessions — beating the men and making as much money as possible — created an inevitable backlash. Michelle continually missed the cut at PGA Tour events. People grew tired of her talk about playing in the Masters someday when she couldn’t even make a PGA Tour cut.

The Wies had inflated expectations so much that they obscured Michelle’s truly amazing achievements. In one stretch, she finished in the top five in five out of seven LPGA majors — all before she turned 17.

By age 18, Michelle seemed physically beaten and mentally drained. She, however, had made tens of millions of dollars. In that sense, she was one of the saddest success stories in sports.

Thankfully, the story is not over. Wie, who once received sponsors’ invites to play against the best male golfers in the world, recently earned her LPGA Tour card the old-fashioned way: through qualifying school.

And now she is 16th on the money list, impressive for a 19-year-old rookie — and for once, measuring her by the money she has made is a good thing.