Mark Rolfing, a 30-year Hawai'i resident and golf commentator for NBC and The Golf Channel, has been providing insights on the U.S. Women's Open from Newport, R.I. Here is his final report.

It was a long day for the U.S. Women's Open players and Mark Rolfing, who spent 11 hours covering Michelle Wie's 36 holes yesterday for ESPN2 and NBC.

"All I saw was Michelle, I thought she played great," Rolfing said. "People are going to say I'm biased, but she played great. She did not lose this U.S. Open by any stretch of the imagination."

After tying for the lead with six holes remaining, Wie bogeyed the par-3 No. 13 and was unable to catch leaders Annika Sorenstam and Pat Hurst.

Wie shot 2-over-par 73 in her final 18 and finished at 2-over 286 for the tournament, two shots behind Sorenstam and Hurst.

"After the bogey she made at 13, which she had trouble with all week, she might look back and ask, 'Why can't I play that 13th hole?' After that one, she parred every hole. That's pretty good in U.S. Open conditions," Rolfing said.

Rolfing said Wie's putting was good yesterday, but she made only one birdie in the last 28 holes. She had a respectable 27 putts in the final round.

"Her pace was good today," he said. "She had four or five putts in the 3- to 4-foot range — she didn't miss any. She also had a couple of really long ones. She almost made the one at 17 from about 80 feet."

Rolfing said he thought Wie's bogey on the par-4 No. 9 in the final round at Newport Country Club "was one of the best I have ever seen."

Wie's tee shot skipped into a bunker and out into knee-high grass. She barely got her ball out and it settled in ankle-deep rough. Her approach found a bunker, but she pitched to 9 feet and made the putt.

"At the time I said on the air if she goes on to win the championship, that 5 might be the one that won it for her," Rolfing said. "That one stood out."

Rolfing said he thought Wie didn't drive the ball as well as she could have.

"You have to remember she was out there for 11 hours — think about that — it was a long hard day and she missed a lot more fairways than she would have for an 18-hole day," he said. "(If she drove the ball better), she could have attacked hole locations and made some birdies."

Rolfing also said Wie didn't get any good bounces that changed her score.

"I asked her how she thought she played. She said she played really good. Think about it, last year at the U.S. Open she was leading going into fourth round, then she shot 82. So I think obviously it's a huge improvement."

Yesterday, Wie shared the third-round lead with Sorenstam and Brittany Lincicome after shooting even-par 71 in the morning 18.

Rolfing said his last question to Wie yesterday was, "Are you close (to winning)? Is it going to be soon?"

She said, "Yes, I think so."

Wie's next tournament is the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship, which begins Thursday at the Hamilton Farms Golf Club in Gladstone, N.J.

Rolfing said he thought Sorenstam should be the favorite in today's 18-hole playoff.

"Pat holed a lot of putts — smoke and mirrors — she made some birdies from unbelievable spots," he said. "She's not going to be able to do that (today) if she wants to beat Annika."