Michelle Wie’s glittery Solheim Cup shoes may be too flashy for competition

Michelle Wie lights up at the mere mention of playing in the Solheim Cup, but her star-spangled, Swarovski crystal-encrusted Nike high-tops custom made for this week’s tournament may be too dazzling to wear once the competition begins for real.

“The bling shoes, I love them,” Wie told reporters Wednesday from Des Moines Golf & Country Club, where the 15th edition of the biennial matches between the U.S. and Europe will kick off on Friday. “I don’t know if I’ll be playing in them just because I took them out to the range and they were very bright.”

Not to worry, though, if Wie has to don footgear with a tad less glitter; the 27-year-old will take the field in West Des Moines with plenty of Team USA flash. There are the red- white-and-blue hair extensions Wie showed off as her excitement for the tourney built …

… and the Old Glory jumpsuits she and Cup rookie Danielle Kang modeled earlier this week.

Of course, there’s more to Wie’s Cup adventures than her patriotic wardrobe. Since she made her first team in 2009, seeing Solheim action has been one of her favorite undertakings.

Des Moines will mark the fifth consecutive Solheim Cup start for Wie, whose energy and passion won her scores of new fans and helped the U.S. defeat Europe in her Solheim debut eight years ago.

This time around, after Wie began the season last in Solheim Cup points and played her way onto the 12-woman squad with a stellar season, has been particularly gratifying.

“Solheim Cup, it means everything to me,” she said. “It’s pretty obvious that it means the world to me. I think representing my team, being able to represent my country and being able to represent my team, it’s so amazing. I feel extremely lucky. And I think this year, more so than any other year, it’s more special to me just because of what I had to do to get here.

“I clawed my way up here. I made my way on to the team,” Wie noted. “And for me this year it’s just so much more special because it’s already a victory for me just to be here, just to be a part of this experience.”

As for the “rah-rah stuff” — like face paint and tattoos that Lizette Salas referred to two years ago and that repeat U.S. captain Juli Inkster sought to minimize in 2015 — Wie believes showcasing items like her “bling shoes” is a way to display who she is.

“That shows my personality,” she said about her partisan attire and rooting hard for her team — as long as such cheerleading does not disrespect the Euros. “I like celebrating after making putts … This is such a fun week, I think this is such a great week to be energetic … it’s different from a normal LPGA event.

“It’s more excitement. There’s more intensity. And I’m just trying to embrace it. I’m just trying to have fun,” added Wie, who will take a 7-7-1 record into this year’s event. “[2013 U.S. skipper] Meg Mallon told me ‘Don’t try to hide your personality; don’t try to tone it down. Be who you are and embrace it. Life is too short to try and suppress your emotions and your feelings, and you just really gotta enjoy every second of it.’”

If anyone knows how to revel in every moment of the Solheim Cup, it’s American superstar Michelle Wie.