Trail, B.C. (Golf Canada) – Birchbank Golf Course in Trail, B.C. will play host to the fourth CN Future Links event of the season – CN Future Links Western – from July 1-4, 2014, with a practice round being staged on July 1.

The 54-hole stroke play championship will feature some of the West Coast’s top junior golfers aged 11-18. Players will vie for titles in a Junior Boys and Junior Girls division.

“Golf Canada is looking forward to hosting this exciting junior event in Trail, B.C.” said Golf Canada Tournament Director Mary Beth McKenna. “Many of B.C.’s junior golfers have had a great amount of success at CN Future Links Championships in the 2014 season thus far. It will be exciting to see who will claim the champion titles at this event.”

Located just 20 kilometers South of Castlegar, B.C., Birchbank Golf Course has previously played host to the 2011 British Columbia Junior Boys Championship.

“We’re really looking forward to seeing so many talented junior golfers from across the country play our course,” said Birchbank’s Director of Golf, Dennis Bradley. “We were looking for an opportunity to help promote junior golf in Canada, so when this opportunity arose, we couldn’t refuse.”

Present in the field this year are many of British Columbia’s most talented junior golfers, including Zach Anderson, 17, of Nanaimo. Anderson was the 2013 CN Future Links Prairie Champion, as well as the CN Future Links Pacific Champion in 2012. Anderson has yet to claim a CN Future Links Champion title in 2014, making him one to watch in Trail this year. Other B.C. natives in the Junior Boys division include Logan Yanick, 17, of Courtenay and Trevor Yu, 17, of Vancouver.

Representing B.C. in the Junior Girls division is 18-year old Annie Songeun- Lee of Surrey, who has already made strong 2014 appearances in both the CN Future Links Pacific Championship and the Canadian Women’s Tour event in Parksville. Joining Lee in the field is Ashley Cai, 15, and Marie Donicci, 18, both of Vancouver.

The top six competitors in the Junior Boys division of each CN Future Links Championship will earn exemptions into the 2014 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, which will be contested July 28 – August 1 at the Legends on the Niagara Battlefield Course in Niagara Falls, Ont.  The Champions of this year’s first three CN Future Links events include Alex Francois, 16, of Burnaby, B.C. (Pacific Championship) Sun Kim, 16, of L’Ile Perrot, Que. (Ontario Championship) and Andrew Brown, 17 of Calgary, Alta. (Prairie Championship).

The top six competitors in the Junior Girls division will earn an exemption into the 2014 Canadian Junior Girls Championship which runs July 28 – August 1 at Thornhill Golf and Country Club in Thornhill, Ont. Additionally, the 2014 Junior Girls Champion will earn an exemption into a 2015 Canadian Women’s Tour event.  The Junior Girls Champions in 2014’s first three CN Future Links events include Valérie Tanguay, 18, of St-Hyacinthe, Que. (Pacific Championship), Naomi Ko, 16, of Victoria, B.C. (Ontario Championship), and Jaclyn Lee, 16, of Calgary, Alta. (Prairie Championship).

Starting times, post-round results and a full field list are available online here.

The CN Future Links Junior Golf Championships are part of CN’s ongoing partnership with Golf Canada and their commitment to junior golf. Focused on supporting safe and fun activities that have a positive impact on children’s health and well being, CN’s investment into CN Future Links is helping to increase grassroots junior golf participation in communities across Canada.

The CN Future Links tournament schedule also includes the CN Future Links Quebec Championship (July 7-10, 2014 at Club de golf Continental in Ste-Victoire de Sorel, Que.) and the CN Future Links Atlantic Championship (July 13-16, 2014 at Humber Valley Resort in Little Rapids, Newfoundland).

Manitoba’s Aaron Cockerill battled through tough conditions to capture the Elmhurst Invitational on Sunday in Winnipeg.

Cockerill, from Gunton, Man., held the opening round lead after carding a 6-under 66 during Friday’s opening-round and held on to win by six strokes after the tournament was shortened to 27 holes.

Josh Wytinck finished in solo second to claim the second exemption into the 2014 Canadian Men’s Amateur to be held in just over a month at Elmhurst Golf and Country Club along with co-host Southwood Golf and Country Club.

As part of Elmhurst’s 100-year celebration the invitational was created to fill a gap that was left behind when the Manitoba Amateur Golf Tour ceased to exist.

For more information on the 2014 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, click here.

ROGERS, Ark. – Stacy Lewis has worked tirelessly over her career to embrace the overwhelming support in her adopted state of Arkansas.

The recovering introvert finally found a way to do so while overcoming her self-imposed pressure Sunday – shooting a 6-under 65 and rallying for a much-sought after official win in the NW Arkansas Championship.

Lewis earned an unofficial rain-shortened win at the tournament as an amateur in 2007, but she had struggled to match that effort since as her popularity – and ranking – soared.

She earned $300,000 for her third LPGA Tour victory of the year, but more importantly the 11-time winner earned a welcomed sigh of relief in front of a college-like atmosphere full of fans cheering for the former four-time All-American at Arkansas.

“When I first came here to school, I was extremely shy, and I think I’ve definitely grown out of that over the years,” Lewis said. “… I’ve just found that the more I interact with fans, it makes me more relaxed, and enjoying it more is what I’m trying to do.”

The top-ranked and native Texan secured the one-stroke win with a 7-foot birdie putt on the final hole at Pinnacle Country Club. The putt capped a stretch of three birdies over her final four holes, helping the two-time major winner finish at 12-under 201 – one shot ahead of 17-year-old Lydia Ko, Cristie Kerr and Angela Stanford.

Kerr had a chance to match Lewis at 12 under with a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th. However, her putt came up short.

Then, after So Yeon Ryu failed to make an eagle on the final hole, Lewis’ win was secured. Ryu ended up fifth at 10 under after a 69.

Lewis’ final putt resulted in a huge ovation from the pro-Arkansas gallery as well as a fist pump and sigh of relief from the local favorite. Her after-party inside Pinnacle Country Club included a hug from Arkansas women’s golf coach Shauna Estes-Taylor, among others, and chants of “Stacy’s No. 1.”

“This place just means so much to me,” Lewis said. “So, to win here, it’s just crazy how far I’ve come … It’s just really, really special to win here.”

Michelle Wie began the final round with a two-shot lead after back-to-back 5-under 66s, but she missed short birdie putts on the first two holes and struggled to a 1-over front nine – capped by a three-putt bogey on the ninth.

She finished with a 73 on Sunday to tie for eighth at 8 under.

The whirlwind media tour following last week’s win at the U.S. Women’s Open appeared to finally catch up with Wie, who followed her bogey on No. 9 with bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11 to effectively end her contention. She finished with 35 putts after needing 28 the first round and 29 in the second.

With Wie coming back to the field, several players climbed up the leaderboard and into contention on the back nine – with Lewis, Ko, Kerr and Stanford part of a four-way tie atop the leaderboard at one point.

Kerr was a group behind Lewis and had chances to take the lead, but she left birdie putts short on the par-3 17th and final hole. She and Stanford finished with final-round 67s, while Ko shot 65 to be a part of the threesome that earned $141,128 for second place.

“It didn’t go wrong, it just didn’t go right enough,” Kerr said.

Lewis won the Shoprite Classic this month as well as the North Texas Shootout in May.

Lewis was tied for the lead entering the final round last year before finishing in a tie for fourth, but her final birdie spree finally secured her sought-after win Sunday.

“(Lewis) is playing some awesome golf,” Ko said. “…She’s having consistent top 10s like Michelle, and I think it’s great that we’re playing in her hometown, and the best thing is she’s world No. 1 and they’re proud to say it.”

Lewis began the tournament 2 over after her first four holes Friday, but she closed by shooting 14 under over her final 68 holes.

She took advantage of the opening with Wie’s stumble and vaulted into the solo lead at 11 under with a birdie on the par-4 16th.

Ko and Kerr answered with birdies to climb back to part of a three-way tie at 11 under, but Lewis had the last answer – a 7-foot left-to-right birdie putt on No. 18. It was one of only 25 putts on Sunday for Lewis, who needed only 24 in the second round.

It was just the start of the celebration for Lewis and her legion of Arkansas fans.

“That’s why I play,” Lewis said.

Opening-round leader Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont. finished tied for 31st at 4-under 209.

BETHESDA, Md. – The U.S. Open marked the wrong kind of anniversary for Justin Rose.

When he left Pinehurst No. 2 two weeks ago, that marked one year and 25 tournaments around the world that Rose had failed to win. He had won during each of the previous four years, on some of the best courses, and while the 33-year-old from England knows better than most not to take winning for granted, it was on his mind.

That’s what made winning the Quicken Loans National on Sunday so important.

It’s a big boost,” Rose said. “And it has not been lost on me that I have not won for over a year. Obviously, the clock passed a year at the U.S. Open, so it was nice to get on the right side of that very quickly.”

It took another U.S. Open to change his fortunes. Or at least a tournament that felt line one.

Congressional has hosted the U.S. Open three times – most recently on a soggy course in 2011 that produced a record score by Rory McIlroy – and one PGA Championship. The course played as tough as those majors, certainly tougher than 2011.

Rose and Shawn Stefani finished at 4-under 280 – 12 shots higher than when McIlroy won. Only six players broke par in the final round, none better than a 68. Seven players had at least a share of the lead at one point Sunday, and most of them went the other direction.

“Congressional got its reputation back after the U.S. Open,” Rose said. “I really enjoy this type of golf and this type of test. I think it tested all of us. I’m delighted.”

It wasn’t easy.

Patrick Reed, who had a two-shot lead at the start of the final round and a two-shot lead at the turn, crumbled with back-to-back double bogeys and shot 41 on the back nine for a 77 that knocked him out of the top 10 (on the leaderboard, not the world ranking).

That gave Rose a chance, and he took advantage with a 5-iron into 5 feet on No. 11 for one of only four birdies Sunday on the toughest hole at Congressional. In trouble on the 14th, he was thinking about laying up with a 7-iron until boldly playing 3-wood to gouge it out of thick grass and thread the bunkers onto the green for a simple par.

It was all falling into his lap – until he nearly threw it all away.

Tied for the lead at 5-under par with Stefani, who was a hole behind him and playing like he had been in this position on a regular basis, Rose tried to hit a 4-iron through a tiny gap in the trees. But he turned it over too quickly, and while he got out of the trees, the ball bounded left down the fairway and into the water.

Rose figured he had blown it.

“I kind of made a hash of it,” he said.

But that’s when his caddie, Mark Fulcher, informed him that Stefani had failed to save par on the 17th hole. A bogey would keep Rose in a tie for the lead.

“Everything else was forgotten at that point,” Rose said. “I wiped the slate clean and just focused on my putt on 18. An amazing feeling in any sort of championship when you make a putt like that. That means something. That’s special.

“And then the playoff, it was just up to me to not do what I did the first time around.”

He left that to Stefani, who had drilled his tee shot in regulation and narrowly missed a 20-foot birdie putt for his first PGA Tour victory. In the playoff, Stefani pulled his tee shot in the trees and got relief from grandstands blocking his view of the green. He chose a 6-iron to punch it around the trees.

“The grass closed the club down,” Stefani said, “and it went left into the water. I was trying to play it down the right side and have a chance at a putt, two putts for a par. That’s the way it goes. It was great to have a chance to win.”

Both closed with a 1-under 70.

The consolation for Stefani was a spot in the British Open – his second major. The leading four players not already exempt from the top 12 at Congressional earned a place at Royal Liverpool next month. The other three were Ben Martin and Charley Hoffman – both made two birdies on the last three holes – and Brendan Steele, who got in despite a double bogey in the water on the last hole. Steele earned it ahead of Andres Romero, who shot 68, because of a higher world ranking.

Rose was already in, though he has never been to Royal Liverpool. He was playing poorly in 2006 when the Open last was held there. Now he goes in with confidence.

He’s a winner again, moving up to No. 7 in the world, and he has proven to win on the best courses. His six PGA Tour wins have been at Aronimink, Cog Hill, Muirfield Village, Merion, Doral and now Congressional.

He won this event at Aronimink in 2010 and received a trophy the shape of a Liberty Bell. This trophy was in the shape of the Capitol.

The way Congressional play, it might have felt like that U.S. Open trophy he won last year.

NEWBURGH, Ind. – England’s Greg Owen won the United Leasing Championship on Sunday for his first Web.com Tour title, overcoming a seven-stroke deficit with a 5-under 67 for a one-stroke victory.

The 43-year-old Owen, the winner of the European Tour’s 2003 British Masters, had a 9-under 279 total at Victoria National and earned $108,000.

“It’s just a crazy game,” Owen said. “I’m delighted. This was unexpected. … It’s been a long time. I’ve had back surgery and changed continents. You always wonder where you are and how to compete these days. The game kicks you in the teeth so many times. If I could do anything else I wouldn’t be playing this game. It’s a tough sport but only one of 156 can do this each week so it feels very special to be holding this trophy.”

Playing more than an hour ahead of the final groups, Owen opened with a triple bogey, birdied Nos. 6 and 7, and played the first eight holes on the back nine in 7 under – making five birdies and an eagle – before closing with a bogey.

“I got off to the worst start I’ve ever had on a golf course and I was thinking it was going to be a very long day at that point,” Owen. “I was pretty low and thought that if I could get back to even par for the day I’d be doing pretty good. I could have easily given up and shot 80, but that’s not me and that’s not how I was brought up. I was proud of myself for hanging in there.”

Ryan Armour and third-round leader Mark Hubbard tied for second. Armour finished with a 68, and Hubbard had a 75.

PITTSBURGH – Bernhard Langer made a short birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff with Jeff Sluman to win the Senior Players Championship on Sunday.

Langer appeared to be in trouble when his second shot on the par-5 18th ended up in the rough short of the green. He hit a brilliant pitch to 5 feet and made the putt after Sluman’s birdie attempt rolled just wide.

The victory was the 56-year-old Langer’s third of the year and his third major title on the Champions Tour. The two-time Masters champion shot an even-par 70 to finish at 15-under 265 at Fox Chapel.

Sluman had a bogey-free 65 to match Langer, but narrowly missed a birdie putt on the first playoff hole that would have won it.

Russ Cochran, who trailed by seven shots early in the final round, had a 67 to finish third at 14 under.

Defending champion Kenny Perry tied Langer for the lead heading into the back nine, but faded badly over the closing holes. Perry’s 69 left him two shots out of the playoff.

Langer nearly missed out on the playoff himself. He fought a balky putter much of the day only to hole a 35-foot birdie putt on the 17th that lifted him into a tie with Sluman. The normally reserved German pumped his fist in disbelief after the ball dropped into the cup. He parred 18 to match Sluman at 15 under and escaped one more time when Sluman’s birdie attempt on the first playoff hole burned the right edge.

Sluman, the 1988 PGA champion, covered his hands in disbelief after the putt stayed out. Langer didn’t let the reprieve go to waste, birdieing the 18th on his third try to earn his first major title on the 50-and-over circuit since the 2010 Senior British Open.

It didn’t come easy for a player who started the day with a comfortable three-shot advantage over Perry.

The steady play that kept Langer atop the leaderboard for the better part of 54 holes abandoned him early in the round, opening the door for the rest of the field. Langer missed a short par putt at the par-4 fourth, and he turned the 295-yard par-4 seventh into an adventure when his pitch sailed over the green and his 5-foot comebacker for par popped off the back edge of the cup.

Perry, who promised to go into “attack mode” to chase down his good friend, had little trouble tracking Langer down. He pulled even with a birdie at the seventh and did it again at the ninth, when he bounced back from a bogey at the eighth by holing out from a greenside bunker for birdie.

A back-nine duel, however, never materialized. Both players started spraying shots – including an ugly double bogey for Langer at the par-4 12th – while Sluman quietly went about his business in the group ahead.

Sluman slowly reeled in the front-runners, taking the lead with a birdie on the par-4 14th and adding another at the par-4 16th while Perry and Langer faltered behind him.

The streaky Perry, trying to join Arnold Palmer as the only player to win consecutive Senior Players titles, cooled as the pressure mounted. He shot 3-over 38 on the back, failing to make a single birdie down the stretch as the crisp iron game that vaulted him into contention vanished.

Canada’s Jim Rutledge (72-70-74) and Rod Spittle (69-73-71) finished at 3-over 283 and tied for 54th.

COLOGNE, Germany – Fabrizio Zanotti won a four-way playoff to take the BMW International Open title Sunday and become the first player from Paraguay to win on the European Tour.

“This is huge. I think everybody in Paraguay is going to be so happy,” Zanotti said after winning his first playoff. “Everybody in Paraguay was awaiting this moment, like me.”

Zanotti won when No. 2-ranked Henrik Stenson conceded after failing to make a bunker shot on the fifth playoff hole. Gregory Havret of France and Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain went out on the second and fourth holes, respectively.

“I’ve been working a lot for this and thank God the moment came,” said the 305th-ranked Zanotti. “I’ve been working on my game and made some big changes and now I can see (the result).”

The 31-year-old Zanotti earlier made seven birdies for a 7-under 65 final round to finish on 19-under 269 on the Gut Laerchenhof course. It was his second successive 65 after rounds of 72 and then 67.

“I was just trying to enjoy the moment, shot by shot,” Zanotti said. “Then when I got to the playoff, it was very up and down for the first one. Then in the second I got a good birdie after Henrik. Then I started thinking, maybe today is my day.”

Stenson came close to snatching victory before the playoff but settled for par on the last hole. The Swede made up for two bogeys with five birdies and an eagle. He came agonizingly close to ending the playoff at the first hole.

Cabrera-Bello earned his playoff place with a birdie-eagle-birdie finish. He almost made an eagle to end the playoff at the third hole as rain began falling.

Overnight leader Pablo Larrazabal, who held a three-stroke advantage, could only finish joint-eighth on 17 under after two bogeys – the Spaniard’s first missed shots of the week – and two birdies gave him a final round of 72.

Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand, Simon Dyson of England and Welshman Jamie Donaldson finished tied for fifth on 18 under, ahead of former champions Larrazabal (2011), Danny Willett (2012), Thomas Bjorn (2000 and 2002) as well as Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo.

Spain’s Sergio Garcia, Ireland’s Shane Lowry, England’s Paul Waring and Alex Cejka – the highest placed German – were in a group of 10 players in joint-12th.

James Heath scored a hole in one on the 16th to win a sports car. The Englishman finished 11-under 277 overall.

“I still can’t quite believe it,” the 21-year-old said. “It more than triples the highest check I’ve ever made.”

HARRIS, Mich. – Molly Aronsson won the Island Resort Championship on Sunday for her first Symetra Tour title, beating former University of Washington teammate Sadena Parks by a stroke.

The 26-year-old Aronsson, from Shelburne, Vermont, closed with an even-par 72 to finish at 1-under 215 at Sweetgrass Golf Club. She earned $18,750 to jump from 117th to 13th on the money list with $21,287. The final top 10 will earn 2015 LPGA Tour cards.

“This is a really special place to me and to win here with family ties is amazing,” said Aronsson, whose ancestors came from Sweden and settled in Escanaba. “I love the resort. I love the course. It is just spectacular and the fans were outstanding. I just had a blast all week and that contributed a lot to the win.”

Parks finished with a 75.

“Going neck and neck with Sadena was really cool,” Aronsson said. “I think she is an incredible athlete and she is a former teammate of mine. I think playing with her yesterday kept me in it. … It’s pretty cool to finish one and two for two Huskies.”

Katie Kempter and Canada’s Sara-Maude Juneau tied for third at 1 over. Kempter finished with a 75, and Juneau shot 74.

Two other Canadians cracked the top-15, including Maude-Aimee LeBlanc who finished tied for fifth at 2 over and Samantha Richdale who tied for 14th at 4 over.

BETHESDA, Md. – Patrick Reed is not interested in talking about being top five in the world.

He only cares about PGA Tour victory No. 4.

Reed, who turned off some of his peers when he won at Doral and said he was among the top five players in the world, held it together Saturday at steamy Congressional for an even-par 71 to build a two-shot lead in the Quicken Loans National.

As if Congressional wasn’t difficult, the rest of the field now has to chase a guy who has won all three previous PGA Tour events when he had at least a share of the lead going into the final round.

On a day when making pars often meant moving forward, Reed overcame three bogeys in a seven-hole stretch by playing the last five holes at 1 under for a two-shot margin over Seung-yul Noh, Freddie Jacobson and Marc Leishman.

“You can’t get ahead of yourself,” Reed said. “If you think about having the lead or if you think about what you’re going to do coming down 18, you’re going to lose focus on the rest of the holes.”

Reed was at 6-under 207.

The final round will have a player in the last group with a red shirt, only it won’t be tournament host Tiger Woods, who missed the cut. Reed has been wearing a red shirt and black pants on Sunday to pattern himself after Woods. He also cited Woods when asked which player was his idol in being confident.

Reed took that to a new level when he won at Doral and said he felt he was among the top five in the world. He currently is No. 29.

“You can’t play this game with lack of confidence,” Reed said. “So just one of those things that, you know, we’re all trying to strive for the same thing, and some guys get there and that’s all we’re trying to do.”

Dating to his first PGA Tour win at the Wyndham Championship last August, the only top 10s Reed has had have been victories. He attributes his sporadic play to his wife having their first child last month. Now, Reed says his life is becoming settled and his game is rounding into shape.

Noh finished off his 5-under 66 – the best score of the third round – about the time the leaders went off. He was at 4-under 209, which looked better by the hour.

Jacobson made four birdies in his opening eight holes to reach 8 under, only to take double bogey on the 11th hole and a sloppy bogey on the par-5 16th hole. He wound up with a 71. Leishman was still only one shot behind until he failed to get up-and-down for par on the 17th and fell to a 73.

“At the start of the day, we probably knew that anything under par was going to be a really good score,” Leishman said. “I actually said to my caddie, `It feels a bit like a U.S. Open’ because there were a few pins that you really didn’t have a chance to get at. But I think that’s good. It’s a tough golf course. It’s long. If you’re not in the fairway, you have no chance.”

Reed was not in the fairway on two holes where he made birdie, and he managed to pull it off.

In deep rough to the right of the fourth fairway, he was 169 yards away and decided to smash a 9-iron to clear the bunker instead of trying a soft 8-iron. It worked out perfectly. The ball bounded past the hole and up a slope, and slowly rolled back to within inches of the cup.

“I thought there was about a 3 percent chance I could cover that bunker, and I ended up being perfect,” Reed said. “It was nice whenever I saw it roll up the hill and I saw it come back down because I thought, `All right, we have about 5, 7 feet for birdie.’ Didn’t know it was a couple inches, which was nice.”

Oliver Goss of Australia, the U.S. Amateur runner-up last year making his second pro start, was part of a four-way tie for the lead going into the third round. He was still in the mix until a three-putt from 10 feet for double bogey on No. 11. He had a 76, though he was still only five shots behind.

Justin Rose was within two shots of the lead after a hot start, only to make bogey on the par-5 ninth and a double bogey on the 11th hole. He battled back with a pair of late birdies, only to drop another shot on the 18th for a 71. Even so, he was only three shots behind.

This could be a perfect fit for a U.S. Open champion. None of the last 26 players who teed off broke 70. Rose took note of the rapidly changing color of the greens, and his only fear was officials watering the greens overnight, which would make it easier for the early starters.

“I’d be a fan of them letting them go a little bit and making this a tough tournament and sort of having another U.S. Open,” Rose said. “That would be my wish right now. But obviously, the course is firm. Wedges were releasing 10 yards by the end of the day. It’s definitely a test. It was fun. I enjoy that type of golf.”

ROGERS, Ark. – Michelle Wie shot her second straight 5-under 66 on Saturday to take a two-shot lead in the suspended second round of the NW Arkansas Championship.

Coming off a victory Sunday in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst, Wie had six birdies and a bogey in her morning round at Pinnacle Country Club.

So Yeon Ryu, paired with Wie, was second after her second straight 67.

All 72 players in the afternoon session were unable to finish because of thunderstorms. Included in those players was opening-round leader Alena Sharp. The Hamilton, Ont. native was 2-over Saturday before rain was delayed, which saw her slip into a tied for 15th with three holes remaining.

Suzann Pettersen, Chella Choi and Line Vedel were three strokes back, and top-ranked and local favorite Stacy Lewis was four shots behind at 6 under.

Pettersen had a 67, Choi shot 65, and Vedel had five holes left.

Lewis birdied four of her first eight holes and finished with a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 9 for a 67. First-round leader Alena Sharp was 4 under overall after 15 holes.

Lewis made the early charge Saturday to close within a shot of Sharp, much to the delight of the pro-Arkansas crowd – where Lewis played collegiately.

For the second straight day, however, Wie saved her best for the back.

She jumped into contention with a 4-under 31 on the back nine on Friday. After teeing off on the back nine Saturday, she once again closed with a flurry – birdieing four of her final seven holes to shoot a 4-under 32 and surge into the lead.

Wie put the finishing touch on her round – and quest for a second straight tournament victory – with a 3-foot birdie putt on No. 9.

Wie held off Lewis by a shot to win her first major title in the U.S Women’s Open. Playing a group behind Lewis on Saturday, Wie bogeyed her second hole, No. 11, and recovered with a birdie on the par-5 14th.

She followed that with a second straight birdie on a par 5, getting up and down off the fringe on No. 18 to reach 6 under. Her birdie spree followed on the front nine, with large galleries following both Lewis and Wie.

Lewis followed a sluggish first round in which she putted 31 times by needing only 24 putts on Saturday. She stumbled with a bogey out of the greenside bunker on the par-3 fourth hole before recovering with birdies on No. 5 and 9.

The players are expected to finish the second round early Sunday before the final round begins later in the morning.