Eun Hee Ji made a 20-footer for birdie at the 72^nd hole to win the 64^th U.S. Women's Open Championship.  Candie Kung finished in second place, one shot back at +1.  Cristie Kerr and In-Kyung Kim tied for third at +2 while Brittany Lincicome finished fifth at +3.

Kerr started the day with a two-shot lead but gave one back immediately, bogeying the par-5 1^st hole for the second time this week.  She rebounded at 3 with a birdie which, coupled with Ji's bogey at 2, gave Cristie a three-shot cushion.  Kung was five shots down at the start but got off great with birdies at the first two holes.  A bogey at 7 left her at +2.  Kerr's cushion was short-lived, as she took bogeys at 5 and 6 to fall to even par.  Ji had bogeyed 4 to drop to +2 but her birdie at 6 drew her back within a shot.  When Candie birdied 8, she was tied for second with Ji and also down by one.  Meanwhile, Inky birdied both 8 and 9 to reach +2 and enter the fray.

As I mentioned during the Live-Blog, the officials moved up some of the tee boxes on the back nine and created a second driveable par-4 at 15 to add to the one at 10.  I love it when they do that - the temptation to go for it, while usually a bad choice, is often too much for a player to turn down.  Yesterday Paula Creamer fell into the trap at 10 and today Eun Hee Ji did.  Ji landed in the very same bunker Creamer did, blasted into another bunker, hung her third up in the rough, chipped to four feet and missed her bogey putt.  The double dropped Ji to +3 and three shots back.  About that same time, Lincicome was making a run.  After birdie at 10, Brittany reached the par-5 12^th in two and two-putted to reach +3.  Her approach to 13 wound up three feet from the hole, setting up her third birdie in four holes and moving her to +2.

Kung tied Kerr for the lead at even par when Candie dropped a four-footer at 12.  At this point, the two led Lincicome and Inky by two and Ji by three.  At the driveable 15^th, Brittany went for it but yanked her drive way left and only managed par.  Kerr had six feet for birdie at 12 but missed it left.  Ji also had six feet for birdie at 12 but also missed.  Inky missed right from a similar distance at 15.  At 13 came a huge two-shot swing.  Ji roped her approach to two feet and made birdie.  Kerr missed the green right and couldn't save her par from four feet.  Lincicome missed from three feet at 16 and fell to +3.  Kung rolled home a six-footer at 15 to save par and stay up by one.  Inky dropped a sidewinder from 10 feet at 16 go +1 and tie Kerr for second.  Confused?  Here's how they stood at that moment:

From here on it's pretty simple.  Lincicome had reasonable birdie chances at both 17 and 18 but missed them both to finish +3.  Inky slammed home a 10-footer to save par at 17 but badly misplayed her third at 18 (she putted 30 feet short from off the green) and bogeyed to finish +2.  Kung made a great 10-footer to save par at 16, found the bunker at 17 and couldn't get up and down, but made par at 18 to finish +1.  Kerr made some nice par saves then had 10 feet for birdie at 16 and three-putted (her first was pushed so badly right she had a downhill four-footer for par) to drop to +2. 

That leaves Eun Hee Ji.  She made the (first) Putt Of The Week when she dropped one from at least 40 feet for birdie at 14 to reach +1.  She just missed from 20 feet at 15.  She burned the left edge from six feet at 16.  She saved par from four feet at 17.  I already told you what she did at 18.

It was a tremendous come-from-behind victory for Ji that was quite a bit more of her taking it (especially from Kung) than of it being given to her (by Kerr or Kung's bogey at 17).  I can't let the irony of the win slide either.  On the final weekend that Carolyn Bivens will hold the office of Commissioner of the LPGA, the winner of the U.S. Women's Open conducted her greenside interview with an interpreter - the same winner whose victory last summer was said to have sparked the English-only policy/program.  The joy (and shock) of the victory was readily apparent to everyone, no matter what language they speak.