LEBANON, Ohio — Clay Ogden, who beat Honolulu's Michelle Wie in the quarterfinals of the U.S. men's Public Links Championship, won the title yesterday with a 1-up victory over Martin Ureta.

Ogden, a junior at Brigham Young, earned the invitation to next April's Masters that had been coveted by the 15-year-old Wie, who was trying to become the first female in the tournament.

Ogden credited Wie's presence — and the large following she drew - for helping him focus throughout the week.

"Like I said, without her in the tournament, I mean, sure, I could have probably won a few matches or maybe, obviously, could have won it," Ogden said. "But she made it a lot bigger deal, got the crowd into it a little more. Honestly got me incredibly focused ... and I tried to carry that same focus into today because I knew it meant just as much."

Ogden, who lost in a quarterfinal to eventual champion Ryan Moore in last year's Public Links, trailed for most of yesterday's 36-hole final at the Shaker Run Golf Club. The 20-year-old did not take the lead until the 34th hole — the 441-yard 16th — when he hit a pitching wedge to 2 feet from 118 yards and made birdie.

"It was probably one of the best shots I've ever hit under the circumstances," Ogden said. "My dad (who was his caddie), I was thinking about maybe hitting a little 9. He said, 'I think it's a good wedge.' I hit the good wedge and it worked out pretty well."

Ureta, a junior at North Carolina, couldn't catch up.

On the last hole, the 420-yard 18th, both players hit their approach shots long.

Ureta's chip from 20 feet came to rest a foot from the hole, and he was conceded his par by Ogden. Ogden, 18 feet away, chipped to two feet and made the putt to clinch the championship.

"Longest 2-footer I've ever had in my life," he said.

It capped a remarkable week for Ogden, who had to endure a three-hole playoff just to make match play. Yesterday, he rallied from 4 down after seven holes in the morning 18 to win it all.

"Oh, it's hard to believe. I kind of come into all of my tournaments without anybody even ... I'm not a name to look at," Ogden said. "But to be honest, obviously none of this would happen without Michelle here. So everybody is into what she was doing, everybody was kind of ... I think there were a lot of people hoping that she would keep going, and I'm pretty sure none of this would be going on without her playing in the tournament."

The United States Golf Association Web site contributed to this report.

WOMEN

SOUTH KOREAN PREVAILS IN PLAYOFF

ASSOCIATED PRESS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Eun Jun Lee of South Korea rallied from five holes down and defeated Tiffany Chudy with a par putt on the 37th hole yesterday in the first-ever playoff at the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links championship.

Chudy, a sophomore at Florida, was up by one going into the 36th, but missed a 4-foot putt for par that could have clinched a victory.

Chudy's tee shot on the extra hole went into the trees, but she made a remarkable shot to get on the fairway, 25 yards short of the green. She missed an 8-footer for a par, while Lee made a 2-foot putt for the win.

"Even when I was five holes down, I felt confident," the 17-year-old Lee said.