Pine and Dandy

The Sunday showdown between Kerr and Ochoa, the two active players with the most career victories without a major coming into Pine Needles--nine and 12 respectively--was highly entertaining and very well played. While the major championship monkey was removed from Kerr's back, it intensified its grasp on Ochoa. She closed with a 71 to Kerr's 70, but again displayed a tendency to make bad swings with the driver at inopportune moments.

"I've been in worse places," Ochoa said about the loss. "It hurts, but I just did everything I could. I tried really hard every day, every shot. It just didn't happen for me. If you think about it, it's been good. I gave myself a chance, and I wouldn't change that for anything."

Ochoa was Kerr's equal early in the final round, but the 12-time winner is still looking for her first major victory.

Ochoa tied Kerr for the final-round lead with a birdie on No. 1 but gave it back with a bogey on the next hole. They then halved the third with birdies, and Ochoa moved back into a tie when Kerr bogeyed No. 8. It stayed that way until No. 14 when Kerr rolled in an 18-foot birdie putt to take the lead, throwing in a little gamesmanship with a Nicklaus-like putter raise, a Tiger-like quick walk to the cup and an Ochoa-like flip and catch of her ball marker, which appeared to be a not-so-subtle "take that." It was a supremely confident gesture. "She was very peaceful," Gilroyed said about Kerr's final-round demeanor. "We talked about things other than golf--hockey, football, restaurants."

Ochoa, whose usual miss with the driver under pressure is a hook (see: final hole of the U.S. Women's Open at Cherry Hills in 2005; playoff in the 2005 Safeway International) failed to respond to the birdie by Kerr at No. 14. She drove into the left fairway bunker on No. 15, a par 5 she could easily reach in two, and failed to make birdie, and then ended her chances with a bogey on No. 17 when she again drove into the left fairway bunker.

"The 17th hole was probably the one that cost me, that driver, that tee shot," Ochoa said. Trying to fade a 5-wood from 200 yards out of the sand, she topped the shot, advancing the ball only about 70 yards. When Ochoa missed her 20-foot par putt, Kerr had a two-stroke lead going to the final hole, which she played flawlessly, splitting the fairway and hitting the center of the green.

When she tapped in the final putt, Kerr crouched in a gesture dripping more with exhaustion than elation and let the tears flow. Then she saw Stevens, leaped into his embrace and wrapped both her arms and legs around him. Gulbis, clutching a bottle of champagne on which she would cross out the name and write "Cristal," was there to share the moment with her friend. "I saw it all week," Kerr said about the mental image she had of this victory celebration. "The same scene. And it happened. So it's pretty amazing."

The two other times the U.S. Women's Open was played at Pine Needles, when Annika Sorenstam won in 1996 and Karrie Webb won in 2001, the championship started the last week of May to avoid the summer heat and thunderstorms. Nature showed why this year. Lightning delays made a shambles of the first two rounds, which led to Kerr playing 23 holes Sunday and Ochoa 25.

When Thursday's first round was completed Friday, Angela Park's 68 was one stroke better than In-Bee Park and Shiho Oyama of Japan. Kerr and Ochoa opened at even-par 71. Park doubled her lead with a second-round 69 to be at 137 after 36 holes. Ochoa was at 142 with Kerr at 143. Suzann Pettersen, who won the McDonald's LPGA Championship, was at 149 to miss the cut by one stroke. Webb was at 154 to miss by a mile. Sorenstam, the defending champion still recovering from a neck injury, shot a second-round 77 to fall 10 strokes off the lead and was never again a factor, finishing T-32 at 292. And the Michelle Wie saga took another nasty turn when she opened with an 82 and then withdrew with an injured wrist after taking 42 shots on the first nine of the second round.

When third-round play resumed at 7:30 Sunday morning, Kerr was on the 14th hole. She finished off a third-round 66--the low score of the week--to take the 54-hole lead at 209. Ochoa (68), Pressel (69) and Shin (71) were one back. The biggest moves of the final round were Pak's 68, Sunday's low score, and In-Bee Park's 69, which left them tied for fourth at 282. Angela Park's closing 70 served notice that she is the real thing.