CN Canadian Women's Open - Final Round

Michelle Wie took the solo lead with a 15-footer for birdie at the 8^th hole and put it away with three straight birdies to win the CN Canadian Women's Open by three strokes.  It is the second career victory for Wie and her first of 2010.  Jiyai Shin, Suzann Pettersen, Jee Young Lee and Kristy McPherson tied for second place at -9 while In-Kyung Kim finished alone in sixth at -8.

Wie and Shin began the round tied with a three-shot cushion on the field but they gave a whole lot of players hope when they each took bogey early.  Jiyai was unable to save par from 25 feet at 3 while Michelle missed a 12-footer for par at 4.  Climbing to within a shot at -8 were Pettersen, Na Yeon Choi (both with birdies at 3 & 4), Lee (-2 through 6 despite two bogeys) and Kyeong Bae, who had just completed a blistering run of eight birdies in 11 holes.  In fact, 15 players were within four shots of the lead at that point.  At the par-5 5^th, the two leaders tapped in short birdie putts to go up by two.  Both were within seven feet for birdie at 7 but neither could cash in.  8 brought a two-shot swing - Shin's chip from the left rough went seven feet past and she missed the comebacker for par, while Wie rolled home the birdie to suddenly go two up by herself.

At 9, Shin had 12 feet for birdie and Wie had only six but neither capitalized.  Lee made a six-footer at 10 and Pettersen a 12-footer at 11 to tie Shin for second at -9.  The final twosome were both within ten feet at 10 but Jiyai lipped hers out while Michelle missed left.  Jelly found a greenside bunker off the 11^th tee and wound up taking bogey to fall three back.  Shin and Wie two-putted for par at 11 from just over 20 feet.  At 12, Jiyai three-putted from 75 feet for bogey and fell to -8.  Michelle overcooked her bunker shot to the opposite fringe and came up just inches short on her chip to save par, dropping her to -10.  Here's where McPherson crept into the picture - after a birdie at 14, a 15-footer for birdie at 16 moved her to -9 and suddenly only one shot behind Wie.

Tell me if you've seen this movie before - Pettersen had half-a-dozen reasonable birdie chances (reasonable meaning anywhere up to 20 feet) on the back nine and aside from the one at 11, looked bad on all of them.  She did nearly drop one from 60 feet at 15 but her overall putting woes left her at -9 at the end of the day.  Jelly followed her bogey at 11 with another at 12 but cancelled them both out by chipping in for eagle at 13.  After parring only three of the first 13 holes, Lee parred the last five to also finish at -9.  McPherson couldn't grab another shot on the last two holes.  Choi and Bae had faltered long before this so it was basically left for Shin to spoil Wie's day.  At the par-5 13^th they both birdied from under six feet.  14 is another par-5 - Jiyai layed up while Michelle found a greenside bunker.  Shin's third caught up in a tree, forcing her to scramble and save par from 10 feet.  Wie's sand shot wasn't any great shakes but her 20-footer for birdie was true, giving her a three-shot lead with four to play.  It basically ended at 15 when Michelle chipped in from 25 feet for birdie to go up by four.  Shin shaved one off the lead at 16 with a birdie but she gave it back at 17.  Wie also bogeyed 17 but it didn't matter.

It was a little longer in coming than we expected (though not nearly as long a wait as the first!) but Michelle Wie's second victory couldn't have been much more impressive.  Leading or sharing the lead after each round and holding off one of the world's best head-to-head the last two days (not to mention the group of Top 20 players lurking just behind) and pulling away at the end is the kind of stuff we always thought Michelle was capable of.  The third one might just be around the corner, I think.