WOMEN'S TOUR:MICHELLE WIE broke through for her first professional tour victory on Sunday, winning the LPGA Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico by two strokes over fellow American Paula Creamer.
The 20-year-old Hawaiian, who first qualified for an LPGA event when she was 12, closed with a three-under par 69 for a 13-under 275 total to collect a €147,500 cheque.
“It feels, it sounds cliche, but it feels awesome,” Wie said after her round.
“For sure, it’s definitely (a monkey) off my back. I think that hopefully life will be a lot better, but I still have a lot of work to do. I still have a lot to improve.”
Starting the day joint leader with Cristie Kerr, Wie notched birdies on the first, third and 11th before stumbling at the 12th with a bogey.
She held firm with five straight pars, however, before sealing the victory in style on the last, a 30-yard bunker shot landing a foot from the hole for a tap-in birdie.
“I was just focusing on just not hitting anyone in the crowd,” said Wie when asked about the winning shot.
“It’s a shot that I feel comfortable with. I just went up and walked up to it, looked at it, and hit it. I didn’t give myself any time to doubt myself.”
The win moved Wie to 14th on the LPGA money list with €616,134, behind leader Shin Ji-yai of South Korea on €1,190,542.
Wie, long touted to become a great of the game, became the youngest person, and the fourth female, to play in a USPGA Tour event when she missed the cut at the 2004 Sony Open.
Ochoa Invitational
275– Michelle Wie (USA) 70 66 70 69. 277- Paula Creamer (USA) 67 69 71 70. 278– Jiyai Shin 67 66 74 71, Morgan Pressel (USA) 72 68 71 67, Cristie Kerr (USA) 69 70 67 72. 281– Lorena Ochoa (Mex) 71 69 72 69, Song Hee Kim 65 72 70 74. 283– Mariajo Uribe (Col) 67 72 74 70.
