It has been only two years since the European team put on an astonishing rally in the final hour of the final day to win the 12th Solheim Cup at Killeen Castle in Ireland. It gave the biennial competition the jolt of reality it needed after lopsided American wins at the three previous cups.

In the interim, Hawaii’s Michelle Wie graduated from one of the most prestigious universities in the world and lost her golf mojo.

The smiling 14-year-old phenom who missed the cut by one at the 2004 Sony Open, and seriously threatened to become the first female in the U.S. Open two years later, now struggles to make LPGA cuts.

Sunday, at the home of golf in Scotland, U.S. Solheim captain Meg Mallon reached out to Wie with a calculated, heartfelt gesture. She chose the Punahou alum with one of her two captain’s picks. Wie, who has plummeted to No. 82 in the world rankings at age 23, will be on the American team at next week’s Solheim outside of Denver.

"I’ve said all along you have to be able to handle the pick," Mallon told The Golf Channel. "Michelle Wie can handle being on a big stage, being a big pick. She is under a microscope every single day she plays, and, frankly, the way she handles herself is incredible. I know being home in the States, having these big crowds, that she can handle that better than anyone, and she has no fear."

Mallon went as far as calling this her "Greg Norman-Adam Scott moment," referring to Norman’s President’s Cup pick of Scott — then searching for his golf game — four years ago. That gesture helped the Aussie with his resurgence. He won this year’s Masters. Mallon said she wants the same for Wie.

"I just feel like I believe in her so much, and believe in the player she is, and the person she is," she said. "Hopefully, this will be the stepping stone for her."

Wie cried when the captain delivered the news at St. Andrews, and called it a "dream come true."

Mallon called it a "no-brainer." So does Hawaii’s Mark Rolfing, a golf analyst for NBC and Golf Channel.

"It’s a terrific pick," Rolfing said. "I don’t think she could not select her. She’s got Solheim Cup experience and, I think, the intimidation factor. Like when it was a question if Tiger would get picked for Ryder or President’s Cup. If there was an opponent you would least like to play against it’s Tiger Woods. Same way with Michelle Wie. You never want to play her."

Even now, with Wie’s penchant for big numbers and that doubled-over, pain-inducing putting stroke?

Wie had two wins and 30 top 10s heading into 2012. This year, she has two top 10s. It is one more than last year, when she graduated from Stanford, but failed putting (119th), driving accuracy (78th) and scoring (107th) on the LPGA Tour, and missed half the cuts.

Her numbers have improved this year. It doesn’t show in the world ranking, based on a two-year rolling period, but she is now in the 50s in putting and scoring, and has 11 rounds in the 60s — twice as many as in 2012.

Rolfing’s assessment is not based on the numbers. He hates her year-old putting stroke and yearns for the days when Wie gleefully gripped and ripped all over the course, instead of mechanically executing each excruciating shot.

But this is match play, where one bad hole costs you just once. Those with short memories and passionate fans rock on.

"If every tournament was match play, Michelle Wie would win three or four times a year," Rolfing said. "She thrives in that format. She’s become notorious for stretches of bad holes and big numbers, but in match play you only lose one hole."

As a rookie in 2009, Wie went 3-0-1 at Solheim, with the rowdy crowd hanging on every shot. She won just once in Ireland, but Mallon pondered "leaving five or six birdies a round at home on the couch" and simply couldn’t do it.

"She’s someone who has played in Solheim Cups, has the experience, so I don’t have to worry about that part," the captain told TGC. "I’ve got, what? Four rookies? Michelle will be a leader for me, and I needed that extra leadership."

Rolfing’s advice is to pair Wie with "somebody steady," allowing her the freedom to be erratic off the tee and on the green. Maybe, Mallon and Rolfing figure, that freedom will help her find the old "Big Wiesy" who wowed the PGA Tour players on the range when golf for her was still a game.

That was many, many millions of dollars ago.

"I don’t see her playing the game naturally and with joy," Rolfing said. "I’d love to see her watch a tape of herself at 14, those days at Waialae. See how she interacted with the fans and reacted to good shots and bad shots, laugh at bad shots and be excited to see them as new challenges — can I get up and down from 50 yards out in the short rough, which she did nearly all the time. If she could recapture that …."

Then maybe the Wiesy that captured our imaginations half a lifetime ago could come back.

Mallon is betting on it.