US veteran Cristie Kerr captured her first major golf title here on Sunday, outdueling top-ranked Lorena Ochoa down the final holes to win the 62nd US Women's Open by two strokes.
Kerr fired a final-round one-under par 70 in the afternoon after finishing a third round 66 in the morning to complete 72 holes on five-under par 279 and take her 10th career title.
"Today was my day," Kerr said. "To hold it together down the stretch and make all those putts all week, it was really unbelievable."
PHOTO: AP
Kerr's nearest misses in prior majors included runner-up finishes at last year's Women's British Open and the 2000 US Women's Open, third places at the Kraft Nabisco in 2002 and 2005 and five other top-five major finishes.
Mexican star Ochoa and Kerr, each trying to win their first major title, dueled down the final holes for the US$560,000 top prize at the US$3.1 million event, the third major championship of the LPGA season.
"Whatever it took, I was going to win this tournament," Kerr said. "Some things are meant to happen. When I came here in 1996 I was low amateur and last time in 2001 I finished fourth."
Kerr, using a putter she bought in South Korea, birdied the third hole and took a bogey at the fifth, but the crucial stroke was a 6.6m birdie putt at the par-4 14th to seize a one-stroke lead over Ochoa.
"That birdie at 14 was unbelievable," Kerr said.
Ochoa opened with birdies at the first and third holes and then made 13 pars in a row, including a testy 3.3m putt at the 15th after going over the green, but a bogey at the 17th gave Kerr a two-stoke edge as she walked to the final tee.
Ochoa kept the pressure on Kerr to the final green but again was denied in her bid for a first major triumph, setting for a share of second with Brazil's Angela Park on 281.
"It hurts, but I did everything I could," Ochoa said. "I was very happy the way I managed myself, saving pars and making sure I was with the leader in contention."
Ochoa made a par at 18 to finish with a final-round 71, but Kerr tapped-in for the victory, squatted, then put her head in her hands and began to cry before accepting congratulatory hugs from her caddie and Ochoa.
"It was hard to fight back the tears," Kerr said. "It was a very, very emotional day."
Angela Park and US teen Park In-bee, who finished fourth on 282 with Korean veteran Pak Se-ri, are all of Korean heritage.
Korean teen Shin Ji-yai was sixth on 284, one stroke ahead of compatriot Lee Hee-young and two better than compatriots Kim Mi-hyun and Jang Jeong.
Kerr, who won her first title in 2002, completed the final five holes of her third round on Sunday to lead by a stroke after 54 holes. She resumed with a bogey before a birdie at the par-5 15th and three concluding pars left her on top.
US teen star Morgan Pressel, who won her first major earlier this year, faded in the final holes and fired a 77 to share 10th.
Former world No. 1 Annika Sorenstam, back recently from a two-month layoff due to a herniated disk, fired a 73 to finish 13 strokes off the pace.
Kerr used diet and exercise to trim her weight and shape up her game.
"I just got sick of myself," she said. "I didn't feel well and I wasn't performing on the course the way that I envisioned that I could, so I went to see a nutritionist and a trainer and I did it the right way," she said.
"I just ate well and worked out five or six times a week," she said.
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