updated 4:05 p.m. ET July 29, 2006

EVIAN, France - Michelle Wie had a two-shot lead after 11 holes and seemed poised to answer all of the questions about when her first professional win was going to come.

Then the 16-year-old from Hawaii bogeyed the 13th hole.

That was all Karrie Webb needed.

Webb became the first woman to win three events this season after shooting a 4-under 68 in the final round of the Evian Masters on Saturday, denying Wie her first LPGA Tour victory.

Webb finished at 16-under 272 for the tournament, one stroke ahead of both Wie (68) and 42-year-old Laura Davies (67).

“I’m getting very close. Today was the closest I’ve ever been. It’s not as easy as it would seem,” Wie said of getting her first win. “I’m very proud that I’ve been playing this consistently. It’s an achievement on its own.”

It marked Wie’s best result this year and the fourth time in her career that she has finished as the runner-up in a professional tournament. In 2005, she was the runner-up at the McDonald’s Championship and tied for second at the SBS Open, as well as the Evian Masters. She and Lorena Ochoa finished eight shots behind Paula Creamer in last year’s tournament.

Wie was in a good position to become the youngest player to win an LPGA event Saturday, trailing Webb by just one shot after the third round. She has come close to victory on other occasions, leading after the third rounds of the U.S. Open in 2005 and 2006.

Despite waking up with a stiff neck, Wie looked strong all day as she played in a group with Webb and Davies.

“Karrie and Laura are awesome players and I was very honored to play them,” Wie said. “Laura made some awesome shots. I was blown out of my mind and Karrie played some great shots, too.

“I can learn from them but I didn’t feel I was lacking anything playing them.”

Wie tied Webb for the lead with an eagle on the par-5 ninth. She even took a two-shot lead after a birdie on the 11th, which Webb bogeyed.

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“I was excited. I’d made birdie but I didn’t feel anything different,” Wie said. “I knew there were a lot of holes left.”

The bogey on the 13th hole cost her.

She drove the ball into the bunker, and her next shot found the sand again. On her third stroke, Wie managed to get it onto the green, but her 30-foot putt went 6 inches left of the hole, leaving her in a three-way tie with Davies and Webb.

Webb, who birdied No. 12, took the lead for good with a birdie on the 14th. She adds this win to victories at the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the Michelob Ultra Open.

“I am very thrilled actually and really proud that I hung in there,” Webb said. “After I bogeyed and Michelle made a birdie for a two-shot lead I told myself to believe in myself.

“I feel proud that I gave myself a chance to win, which is how it worked out.”

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This season has marked a resurgence for the 31-year-old Australian, who went two years without a victory before winning the Kraft Nabisco in March — her first major victory since the 2002 Women’s British Open at Turnberry.

“Obviously, my win at the Kraft Nabisco was the first in a long time so it felt pretty good,” Webb said. “Though this feels pretty great, too.

“But any time you’re in a position for a chance to win it feels like the first, you’re dealing with a lot of emotion. You’re coaching yourself through every hole.”

Wie ran into more problems on the 15th, when her tee shot went soaring into the spectator area, landing near the boundary’s chain-link fence. There were also cables behind her feet, hindering her.

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