"Well, I'll be happy to give you a push," Pressel said

Wie turned to Pressel during the trophy ceremony and asked if she should start a new tradition by also jumping into the water as low amateur.

"Well, I'll be happy to give you a push," Pressel said.

We think Pressel was kidding.

That's where an often-used photograph of Wie and Pressel originated. In the photo, they are standing side by side, looking at each other with these odd expressions. Wie, at 6 feet, is looking down at the shorter Pressel, whose chin is up and looking particularly square and defiant. The photo is often rerun in golf magazines doing stories on them.

With Pressel, 17, and Wie, 16, will meet for the first time as professionals next week at the Fields Open at Ko Olina Club just outside Honolulu, and interest in their relationship is heightening here on the islands.

The Golf Channel is working hard behind the scenes to try to get them to sit down together for an interview on Tuesday, a tantalizing possibility still up in the air.

Pressel told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Tuesday that she rarely sees Wie, but their exchanges are always friendly and polite. "We get along fine, there's no problem," she said.

That's at odds with the perception, especially on the islands, where Pressel's comments about Wie get large play. Pressel, after all, made headlines in both the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Honolulu Advertiser when she said Wie should not get another special exemption to the U.S. Women's Open and ought to have to qualify like everybody else except honored veteran champions. Pressel also has challenged Wie's decision to devote so much attention to playing against men.

Asked to elaborate on her U.S. Women's Open stance in a Golf Channel interview Friday night, Pressel said she stood by her statement.

"I didn't mean anything personally, especially against Michelle," Pressel said. "I just made a statement that everybody has to qualify. It will obviously come down to what the USGA says, but I didn't mean it personally."

Pressel already has a reputation as a straight shooter who answers questions directly. LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens noted this week that Pressel "doesn't edit her answers," and that adds to her appeal.

There's a backdrop to all of this that the average golf fan may not understand.

Pressel almost feels like a golfer protecting the field when she's asked certain questions about Wie, because she doesn't volunteer these opinions. She's asked a lot about Wie and obliges with answers.