Heading into Thursday’s opening round of the 2008 Reno-Tahoe Open, you could have gotten 5-2 odds on Michelle Wie. Which is to say, she was part of the betting “field” at 5-2 for this relatively minor event – Ben Crane and John Merrick were the co-favorites at 20-1.

Wie is getting slapped around in the media for taking the sponsor’s exemption to play with the men. Some of her fellow golfers questioned her decision (or, quite possibly, the decision of her manager-parents) to skip the Women’s British Open. The blogosphere is kicking it up a notch, painting Wie as a joke and a failure.

Well, here’s the punchline: Wie went into the clubhouse at the Montreux Golf and Country Club at 1-over par for the first round. That’s tied for No. 77 out of 132 golfers, leaving Wie a serious contender to make the cut on Friday. I guarantee Steve Elkington (also +1) isn’t laughing.