At long last, Michelle Wie gets 1st LPGA Tour win

GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) -Michelle Wie won the first LPGA title of her career on Sunday, fulfilling the promise of a decade with a 3-under par 69 to win the Lorena Ochoa Invitational by two strokes over Paula Creamer.

Wie finished off the victory in style, hitting a greenside bunker shot to 6 inches on the 18th hole and then tapping in for a birdie.

After pulling the ball out of the hole, the 20-year-old Wie turned to the gallery, looked to the sky and let out a large sigh of relief. The long wait is over.

"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."

Morgan Pressel (67), Jiyai Shin (71) and Cristie Kerr (72) were three shots behind in a share of third place. Wie finished a 13-under 275 after starting the day at the Guadalajara Country Club tied for the lead with Kerr at 10 under.

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.

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 player who has stumbled.

She had chances to pull away on the front nine, but couldn't quite do it. 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.

"Right now it feels fantastic," Wie said. "It's great year. I went through some ups and downs ... And obviously this tournament is the icing on the cake."

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

"I gave it a chance, and Michelle played great," said Creamer, who has struggled with stomach problems, back and thumb injuries. She is winless this year after eight career victories.

"I feel a lot better with my golf," she said. "It's just unfortunate that you're so close, yet you're so far away."

The co-leader with Wie after three rounds, Kerr was level par on the front nine and reached 12 under with birdies on 10 and 11. After 12 holes, Wie, Creamer and Kerr were tied, but Kerr faded with bogeys on 15 and 16.

Shin, the tour's rookie of the year, also slipped. Tournament host Ochoa shot 69 to finish six off the pace and Ai Miyazato, No. 2 on this year's money list, finished 10 back after closing with a 72.

Ochoa and Shin will vie next week for the player of the year award at the LPGA Tour Championship in Houston, the last event of the season. Ochoa has won the last three, but Shin leads the points race.

Shin is trying to become the first woman to win both titles since Nancy Lopez in 1978.

The LPGA, battered by economic problems and the forced resignation of its commissioner this summer, needs this as much as Wie.

"Literally, when Michelle Wie is atop the leaderboard it's like night and day and that's star power," LPGA spokesman David Higdon said the day before Wie's win. "That's all it is. This is somebody people want to follow. You see it in her presence, the way she walks around. The way people talk to her."

Wie played PGA Tour events against the men when she was 14 - the biggest stage there is. She was criticized at the time for not focusing on women's events. She turned pro in 2005 before even finishing high school.

She ignored the criticism and, at 16, she was poised to become the first woman to qualify for the men's U.S. Open before her putter failed her.

Shortly after that she began to lose confidence and the biggest attraction in women's golf went into a long, painful slump that was made worst by a wrist injury that ruined her 2007 season.

She has slowly worked her way back, earning her LPGA card for this season, gaining credibility with players and emerging as a star on this year's Solheim Cup, going undefeated in four matches.

When she is on her game, it flies with soaring drives and better and better touch on the greens. Wie has finished second twice this season, and has two other third-place finishes on the LPGA Tour.

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