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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, October 5, 2009

Wie fires 66, ties for second


By JOHN ZENOR
Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Michelle Wie finished four shots behind Lorena Ochoa in the Navistar LPGA Classic.

JAMIE MARTIN | Associated Press

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PRATTVILLE, Ala. — Lorena Ochoa fashioned a few more nice memories from the Navistar LPGA Classic.

Getting a celebratory beer shower on the 18th green. Making a nice birdie on No. 17 — again. And, yes, winning.

Ochoa successfully defended her title, overcoming early troubles to shoot a 2-under 70 yesterday for a four-stroke victory over Honolulu's Michelle Wie and Brittany Lang.

Ochoa finished at 18-under 270 on The Senator course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail's Capitol Hill complex to snap an 11-start winless streak dating to the Corona Championship in late April. The top-ranked Mexican star has three victories this year and 27 overall on the LPGA Tour.

"There are places where you feel comfortable and you feel a good vibe and you like the course," Ochoa said. "I have a lot of emotions because it hasn't been easy. I'm ready to keep playing good ball and would love the chance to finish with a few more wins."

Ochoa squandered her three-stroke lead coming into the day with a bogey and double bogey in the first five holes, sending her drive into the trees for an unplayable ball on No. 5.

"I told myself, 'Forget it; you have many holes to play and just be patient,' " Ochoa said.

She erased any drama with a birdie on No. 17 for the third straight day. Ochoa two-putted from some 50 feet.

The conditions made for few low scores on the day, and rain began shortly after the round ended.

Wie overcame a gimpy left ankle to close with a 66, while Lang had a 70 to keep pace with Ochoa.

Yani Tseng (70) and Janice Moody (71) were five strokes back.

Wie sprained her left ankle about a month and a half ago, reinjured it Thursday by stepping in a hole and tweaked it again Saturday.

She had five birdies on the final nine holes, and the ankle might have actually taken some of the pressure off her.

"I'm very proud of the way I grinded it out there, especially on the back nine," said Wie, who won $101,453 for her second runner-up finish this year. "There were a lot of times where I felt like I had to stop and catch my breath and keep going.

"My ankle was the only thing I could think about — one step forward, another step forward. That was all I was thinking about on the back nine. Score wasn't really a factor. I just wanted to finish."

Fourteen-year-old Alexis Thompson, who opened with rounds of 65 and 69 to share the second-round lead, shot her second straight 74 to tie for 27th at 6 under. She finished with a crowd-pleasing shot to set up a 6-inch tap-in on the final hole, pumping both fists in the air as the ball rolled toward the hole.

Thompson was bombarded by autograph seekers, including plenty of girls about her age.

"It was a great experience," she said. "I wish I would have finished better. I didn't expect to do this bad. The first two days, it was pretty good."