PALM DESERT, Calif. — Michelle Wie didn't have to wait until she tees off tomorrow at the Samsung World Championship to realize she was a pro.

"Just the other day I got my first tax form," she said yesterday. "I was excited about that. It's not something you should be excited about, but it's pretty cool for me."

The other sign Wie was now a pro was her bag, with the Sony logo and her name.

"I was so excited when I got my name on my bag," she said. "Usually when you're an amateur, you can't have your name on your bag."

It already has been a whirlwind week for Wie, who turned pro last Wednesday in Honolulu, then celebrated her 16th birthday yesterday.

The staff at Bighorn Golf Club brought her a huge birthday cake with 16 candles at the end of her press conference. As she bent over to blow out the candles, her father, BJ, said from the back of the room, "Make a wish."

By all measures, that wish was granted a week ago when Wie turned pro. "It's my dream job," Wie said.

BJ Wie said his daughter celebrated her birthday earlier this week with friends in Los Angeles. And what to get the $10 million girl who presumably has everything?

"For my birthday, I got a lot of new gadgets from Sony," Wie said. "That was really exciting for me, getting a lot of new phones and Walkmans. I felt like a little girl on Christmas."

Of course, since she signed an endorsement with Sony, it could be Christmas every day.

In the most anticipated professional golf debut since Tiger Woods in 1996, Wie will earn her first paycheck this week.

The Samsung World Championship is an invitation-only tournament limited to the top 20 female golfers in the world.

As long as she finishes on Sunday, Wie is guaranteed to be in the money. The winner gets $212,500; 20th place earns $10,624. Last year as an amateur, she finished tied for 13th with Jennifer Rosales, who earned $16,000. Annika Sorenstam is the defending champion of the tournament.

"There is no question that all eyes are on her," said Terry Wilcox, tournament director of the LPGA's Kraft Nabisco Championship in Rancho Mirage. "And I think they are on her with everyone wanting her to succeed."

Larry Bohannan of the (Palm Springs, Calif.) Desert Sun contributed to this report.