PALM DESERT, Calif. — Lorena Ochoa enjoys life at the top, and she intends to stay there for a while.

Honolulu's Michelle Wie likely won't get there any time soon.

Ochoa clinched her second straight LPGA Tour player of the year award with a runaway victory yesterday in the Samsung World Championship.

Ochoa retained her title in the elite event by crafting a 6-under 66 in what began as a pressure-packed final round. The title was her seventh of the year and 16th overall.

Ochoa finished at 18-under 270 — four shots ahead of Mi Hyun Kim — and earned $250,000 to push her record total to $3,318,421.

"After what happened in 2006, I thought it would be hard to improve, but here I am," said the smiling Ochoa, who won six times last year.

Asked how she plans to remain No. 1, she said, "I always try to be one step ahead; not let any distractions get in the way, get in my practice and my rest.

"And there are a lot of things to improve. I'm going to work hard."

Kim closed with a 69. Angela Park, this year's rookie of the year, and Jeong Jang shot 70s to tie for third at 13 under.

Ochoa, who turns 26 next month, began the day tied at the top with Norway's Suzann Pettersen, who beat her in a playoff a week earlier.

Kim, Jang and Park all began the final round at Big Horn Golf Club just one shot behind the co-leaders.

Wie shot a final-round 71 — her best round by six strokes — to finish at 307. She finished 19th out of 20 with Bettina Hauert one stroke behind.

Wie, a Punahou School graduate and current Stanford freshman, won $13,125. She had earned $9,899 in prize money all year.

"I didn't play for a while (because of wrist injuries) and it took me a lot longer than I thought to get back into the game," she said. "Definitely this was a lot better. I was really proud of myself for not giving up the whole week, that I just fought through."

ELSEWHERE

Frys.com Open: George McNeill won his first career PGA Tour title in commanding fashion, shooting a 5-under 67 for a 23-under 264 total and a four-stroke victory over D.J. Trahan in the www.Frys.com Open at Las Vegas. McNeill, who last December won Q-school by five strokes, was coming off rounds of 66, 64 and 67. Trahan finished with a 66.

Administaff Small Business Classic: Bernhard Langer matched the Champions Tour scoring records for a 54-hole event, closing with an 8-under 64 for an eight-stroke victory in the Administaff Small Business Classic at Spring, Texas. The German star birdied the final three holes to finish at 25-under 191 and match the scoring records for relation to par and low score.

World Match Play Championship: Ernie Els won his record seventh World Match Play Championship title, beating Angel Cabrera, 6 and 4, at Virginia Water, England. The South African star also won in 1994-96 and 2002-04.

Madrid Open: Denmark's Mads Vibe-Hastrup won the Madrid Open (Spain), his first European Tour title, closing with a 5-under 67 for a three-stroke victory over Spain's Alejandro Canizares. Vibe-Hastrup had a 16-under 272 total. Canizares shot a 68.