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Michelle Wie wins Women's Amateur Public Links trophy

The walls in Michelle Wie's bedroom are plastered with pictures of Tiger Woods. She copied his Sunday wardrobe, changing into a red shirt between rounds because her mother wanted her to wear a strong color.

Even some of the shots were familiar.

None was more spectacular than a 5-iron out of the bunker, over the water and right at the pin on the par-5 sixth hole to make birdie at a critical juncture in her comeback to win the US Women's Amateur Public Links on Sunday.

Everyone knew the 13-year-old player from Hawaii had unlimited talent.

Now she has a trophy.

"I've never won a national title," Wie said. "Pretty cool."

Wie outlasted former NCAA champion Virada Nirapathpongporn of Thailand for a 1-up victory at Ocean Hammock to become the youngest winner in the 27-year history of the Women's Amateur Public Links.

"I'm happy out of my mind," said Wie, who starts the ninth grade at Punahou School in Honolulu later this summer. "I like beating a lot of people. I'm glad I survived all those matches."

It wasn't easy for the 1.8m-tall girl, whom Tom Lehman once dubbed the "Big Wiesy" because her swing reminds so many of Ernie Els.

She was 1-down and standing in a waste bunker on No. 6 in the afternoon round, listening to her father and caddie, B.J. Wie, hesitate over her club selection.

"He was like, `Uh, uh ...' and I was like, `I'm going for it,'" Wie said.

The ball shot out of the sand and went for the flag, stopping just over the green for a birdie, part of a three-hole stretch when she took control of the match.
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