Wie captures 2nd LPGA Tour win in Canada
Winnipeg, MB (Sports Network) - Michelle Wie polished off her second LPGA Tour
win Sunday with a two-under 70 in the final round of the Canadian Women's
Open.
How did she do it? By having one of her best ball-striking rounds of the year
to fend off a slew of top-ranked players.
"Everything kind of worked for me," Wie said, "and it was awesome."
After entering the final round tied for the lead with Jiyai Shin, Wie tallied
five birdies and three bogeys on the St. Charles course and finished with a
12-under 276 to beat four players by three shots.
Her five birdies included three in a row, capped by a chip-in at the 15th
hole.
The 20-year-old Hawaiian star picked up her first win at Lorena Ochoa's
tournament in Mexico last November, a long-anticipated moment that felt like
forever ago to Wie.
"I just feel like I haven't been playing as well as I wanted to the last
couple of months, and (this) just really makes me more motivated for the rest
of the season," said Wie.
Shin played with Wie in the final pairing and couldn't keep up. The former
world No. 1 closed with a 73 and shared second place with Kristy McPherson
(66), Jee Young Lee (69) and 2009 champion Suzann Pettersen (69) at nine-under
279.
Shin and Pettersen entered the week as the No. 4 and No. 3 players in the
world rankings, respectively, with designs on becoming No. 1. Both were within
striking distance of Wie for much of the day. Neither was able to pass her.
"I think it was my ball striking that really kept me above water today," said
Wie, who earned $375,000 for the win.
Projected to move to No. 7 in the world rankings -- she entered the week at
No. 12 -- Wie is also set to begin the school year at Stanford. She will
return to college following the tournament in Arkansas in two weeks.
"I'm just going to go back to the States, have a good week off, work on my
body and get ready for Arkansas," Wie said.
Priority No. 1 might be to figure out what's wrong with her back. Wie clutched
at her lower back several times during the third round and tweeted Saturday
night that she laid down on a tennis ball to help relieve the pain.
Wie looked uncomfortable again after teeing off into the No. 13 fairway on
Sunday. She made a bogey on the previous hole to trim her lead to a shot over
Pettersen.
Bouncing back, Wie knocked her second shot at the par-five 13th just off the
right side of the green. She lagged a putt to about four feet and made the
birdie to take a two-shot lead over four players.
"It was good to make that," said Wie.
It started a streak of three consecutive birdies for Wie that included a
bunker shot onto the green at the 14th, where she drained a long putt to move
three strokes ahead.
Wie pumped her fist in celebration, but it was nothing compared to her
histrionic celebration at the 15th, where she chipped in from about 25 feet
for birdie.
"I just made sure I made good contact on it, landed right there and it went
in, so it was awesome," said Wie, who then got up-and-down from a bunker to
save par at the 16th.
After she and Shin both made bogeys at the 17th hole, Wie walked up the 18th
fairway with a three-shot lead.
For a player who has spent so much time in the public eye, facing frequent
criticism and sky-high expectations, it must have been a relief that it ended
so easily.
"It's really nice to see that [the work] pays off," said Wie.
Of course, it didn't look so easy at first. Wie made two birdies and one bogey
on the front nine Sunday and did all she could to fend off charges by Shin,
Pettersen and others.
After two-putting for her final par at the 18th, Wie had one last dash in her.
Close friend Christina Kim showed up with a champagne bottle, spraying the
champion from head to toe.
"I was trying to run away from her," said Wie. "All I was thinking in my mind
was I'm wearing white pants."
NOTES: In-Kyung Kim (69) finished in sixth place at eight-under 280 and Morgan
Pressel (69) took seventh at 281...Se Ri Pak (68), Cristie Kerr (69) and
Karine Icher (71) ended another shot further back at 282...Australian Rachel
Hetherington, an eight-time LPGA winner, retired from the tour following the
round...Wie's wire-to-wire win started with a 65 on Thursday, which included a
hole-in-one.
08/29 20:15:06 ET
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