About Time: Michelle Wie FINALLY Wins a Golf Tourny

On the 72nd hole of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, Michelle Wie hit a greenside bunker shot to gimmie length, giving her her first Pro Golf title. Wie shot a 3-under 69 on Sunday, for a two-stroke victory over fellow up and coming LPGA star Paula Creamer.

“It’s definitely off by my back,” Wie said. “I think that hopefully life will be a lot better, but I still have a lot of work to do.”

After finishing out on 18, Morgan Pressel and Creamer covered Michelle in Beer. Luckily for 20 year old Michelle, the tourny was in Mexico. Otherwise, I am sure some overprotective moms would have freaked out.

Michelle Wie has been under the microscope for her entire pro career. Besides catching heat for entering men’s tournaments, Wie angered LPGA legend Annika Sörenstam. Wie once withdrew from an LPGA event, for fear of breaking the rule of 88. In winning the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, Wie has helped herself erase past mistakes.

In winning her first title, Wie will bring $220k back to Stanford. For the season, Wie has earned just south of a million dollars.

This tournament was Wie’s first title in 65 pro starts. For comparison, Tiger Woods won 184 titles in his first 65 starts.

Via the AP:

Wie first qualified for a USGA event at age 10 and played an LPGA event when she was 12. She joined the LPGA this season and has begun to show the sizzling game that has made her arguably the biggest attraction in women’s golf.

Dressed head to toe in red, Wie had a few shaky moments but she was steadier down the stretch as her rivals faltered. In the past, it’s often been the Hawaiian who has stumbled.

The 6-foot Wie stood tall despite a nagging sprained left ankle that forced her to wear a large, black brace that extends 6 inches above her shoe top.

Wie had chances to pull away on the front nine, but couldn’t quite do it and finished with a 2-under 34 — 12 under for the tournament. She went to 13 under with a birdie on 11, giving her a one-shot lead over Creamer and Kerr. Wie bogeyed the next hole when her escape shot from under a cluster of trees squarely hit a trunk, the ball rebounding into the fairway behind her.

But she made par through 17.

Creamer drew even with Wie with an eagle on 10. But two bogeys down the stretch ruined her chances of victory.

“I gave it a chance, and Michelle played great,” said Creamer, who has battled stomach problems for a year and fought off back and thumb injuries. She is winless this year after eight career victories.

Showing just how good a Stanford education is, Wie tweeted, “Wowwwww …… never thought this would feel THIS great!!!!”