PINEHURST, N.C.– Michelle Wie finally delivered a performance worthy of the hype that has been heaped on her since she was a teenager.

Wie bounced back from a late mistake at Pinehurst No. 2 to bury a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole, sending the 24-year-old from Hawaii to her first major championship Sunday, a two-shot victory over Stacy Lewis in the U.S. Women’s Open.

Wie closed with an even-par 70 and covered her mouth with her hand before thrusting both arms in the air.

Lewis, the No. 1 player in women’s golf, made her work for it. She made eight birdies to match the best score of the tournament with a 66, and then was on the practice range preparing for a playoff when her caddie told her Wie had made the sharp-breaking birdie putt on the 17th.

Lewis returned to the 18th green to hug the winner after other players doused Wie with champagne.

What a journey for Wie, who now has four career victories – all in North America, the first on the U.S. mainland – and moved to the top of the LPGA money list after winning the biggest event in women’s golf.

She has been one of the biggest stars in women’s golf since she was 13 and played in the final group of a major. Her popular soared along with criticism when she competed against the men on the PGA Tour while still in high school and talked about wanting to play in the Masters.

That seems like a lifetime ago. The 6-foot Wie is all grown up, a Stanford graduate, popular among pros of both genders and now a major champion.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening,” Wie said.

It almost didn’t. Just like her so much of her life, the path included a sharp twist no one saw coming. Wie started the final round tied with Amy Yang, took the lead when Yang made double bogey on No. 2 and didn’t let anyone catch her the rest of the day.

In trouble on the tough fourth hole, she got up-and-down from 135 yards with a shot into 3 feet. Right when Lewis was making a big run, Wie answered by ripping a drive on the shortened par-5 10th and hitting a cut 8-iron into 10 feet for eagle and a four-shot lead.

She had not made a bogey since the first hole – and then it all nearly unraveled.

From a fairway bunker on the 16th, holding a three-shot lead, she stayed aggressive and hit hybrid from the sand. After a three-minute search, the ball was found in a wiregrass bush that caused her to take a penalty drop behind her in the fairway. She chipped on to about 35 feet and rapped her bogey putt 5 feet past the hole.

Miss it and she would be tied.

Bent over in that table-top putting stance, she poured it in to avoid her first three-putt of the week. Smiling as she left the green, even though her lead was down to one, Wie hit 8-iron safely on the 17th green and holed the tough birdie putt. She pumped her fist, then slammed it twice in succession, a determination rarely seen when she was contending for majors nearly a decade ago as a teen prodigy.

“Obviously, there are moments of doubt in there,” Wie said. “But obviously, I had so many people surrounding me. They never lost faith in me. That’s pushed me forward.”

Wie finished at 2-under 278, the only player to beat par in the second week of championship golf at Pinehurst. Martin Kaymer won by eight shots last week at 9-under 271, the second-lowest score in U.S. Open history.

Lewis got within one shot of the lead with a birdie on No. 13, and after two bogeys, kept her hopes alive by finishing with back-to-back birdies.

“I knew I needed to get out early and post some numbers and make Michelle Wie earn it,” Lewis said.

Stephanie Meadow of Northern Ireland made her pro debut by closing with a 69 to finish alone in third, earning $271,373. That should be enough to secure her LPGA Tour card for next season. Yang never recovered from her bad start and closed with a 74 to finish fourth.

Juli Inkster never got going, either. The 53-year-old Hall of Famer, playing in her 35th and final U.S. Women’s Open, started four shots out of the lead and didn’t make a birdie until the eighth hole. She closed with a 75 and tied for 15th.

She received a standing ovation walking up the 18th green, a remarkable career that includes three straight U.S. Amateur titles, two majors as a rookie, two daughters, and then seven more majors for the career Grand Slam.

“They were so pulling for me, but it’s really hard to acknowledge them when you’re 5-over par and struggling,” Inkster said. “It was very nice, especially the reception on No. 1 tee and the reception on 18, and all around the golf course. It was great – very, very, very honored.”

And she was thrilled for Wie, who has endured already so much for someone so young. Wie is the same age as Annika Sorenstam when the Swede won her first major.

CROMWELL, Conn. – Kevin Streelman birdied the last seven holes to win the Travelers Championship by a stroke Sunday at TPC River Highlands.

Streelman shot his second straight 6-under 64 to finish at 15-under 265. He broke the tour record for consecutive closing birdies by a winner of six set by Mike Souchak in the 1956 St. Paul Open.

The 35-year-old Streelman also won the Tampa Bay Championship last season. He missed the cuts in his previous four starts on tour.

“I didn’t have too many expectations coming here,” Streelman said.

Sergio Garcia and K.J. Choi tied for second. They each shot 67.

Aaron Baddeley was fourth at 13 under after a 69.

Streelman was 1 over for the day before starting the birdie run on No. 12. The streak reached five with a 37-foot putt at No. 16, and he capped it by hitting a wedge to 9 feet and rolling in another putt at No. 18.

Streelman said he hasn’t focus on golf exclusively lately, trying to spend more time with wife Courtney and 6-month-old daughter Sophie.

“I was thinking about her (Sophie) on those last couple of putts. I was thinking, `You know what? If these go in, great. If not, great. She’s going to love me either way and we have a nice family vacation coming up either way,'” Streelman said.

Garcia has six top-10 finishes in 10 PGA Tour starts this season, and won the European Tour’s Qatar Masters in January.

“At the end of the day he played really, really well,” Garcia said about Streelman. “I feel like I played quite nicely and it just wasn’t my time.”

For the sixth straight year at the Travelers the player who held the 54-hole lead was unable to win. Ryan Moore was one stroke ahead after three rounds, but closed with a 71 to tie for fifth at 12 under.

Second-round leader Scott Langley birdied his first three holes and briefly pulled into the lead at 14 under. He, too, finished with a 71 to tie for 11th at 10 under.

Miguel Angel Carballo became the second player to make three eagles in a round on the PGA Tour this season as part of a 63 early Saturday. He finished at 9 under.

Patrick Rodgers, the former Stanford star making his pro debut, shot a 70 to tie for 46th at 4 under.

Ken Duke, the winner last year, had a 68 to also finish at 4 under.

Canada’s Graham DeLaet tied for 51st at 3-under 277.

WICHITA, Kan. – Monday qualifier Sebastian Cappelen won the Air Capital Classic on Sunday for his first Web.om Tour title, finishing with a 4-under 66 for a one-stroke victory over Matt Weibring.

Cappelen, from Denmark, had an 18-under 262 total after opening with rounds of 66, 65 and 65 at Crestview Country Club. The 24-year-old former University of Arkansas player earned $108,000.

Cappelen is the 21st Monday qualifier to win a Web.com Tour event and the first since 2011.

Weibring shot a 64.

Cameron Percy and Jeff Gove tied for third at 14. Percy had a 62, and Gove shot 66.

GLENVIEW, Ill. – After struggling with his putting much of the round, Tom Lehman made a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday to win the Champions Tour’s Encompass Championship.

The 55-year-old Lehman closed with a 2-under 70 at North Shore and had a 15-under 201 total for his eighth senior title and first since 2012. He rebounded from bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14 – his only dropped strokes of the week – with birdies on Nos. 15 and 16, parred the par-3 17th and won on the par-4 18th.

“It wasn’t my very best performance today, but it was good enough,” Lehman said.

Michael Allen and Kirk Triplett tied for second, a stroke back. Allen shot 67, and Triplett had a 68.

Lehman, the 1996 British Open winner, opened with rounds of 65 and 66 to take a three-stroke lead into the final round. He ended a 27-event victory drought and won $270,000.

“The check is sweet, but the trophy is sweeter,” Lehman said.

His last win was the Schwab Cup Championship at the end of the 2012 season.

Lehman, who was bogey-free and made 13 birdies in the first two rounds, parred the first 11 holes before birdieing No. 12.

“I had a rough start and wasn’t putting like I did the first two days,” Lehman said. “It put me in a bit of a bind. After 14, I told my caddie, `Let’s have the best four holes of the week.'”

Lehman sank an 18-footer on the 15th and a 6-footer on the 16th to get back to 14 under.

Triplett birdied the first, sixth, 13th and 16th holes in his bogey-free round. His approach on the final hole stopped in the back fringe. He missed a 20-foot birdie attempt.

“I said early in the week that 15 under would win and 15 under wins,” Triplett said. “I had some chances, missed a couple and made a couple. I had a pretty tough putt on 18 coming down that hill to keep it on line. So, next week.”

Allen birdied three of the last four holes, with his approach on 18 hitting the flagstick and stopping 4 inches from the cup.

Doug Garwood was fourth at 13 under after a 66. He played the first 10 holes in 4 under and briefly grabbed a share of the lead at 13 under with an eagle on the 16th hole, but three-putted for bogey on the 17th to fall back.

Russ Cochran took advantage of a swing adjustment to shooting the best round of the tournament, an 8-under 64 that left him in a tie for sixth at 10 under.

“I got up on my toes more,” Cochran said. “Seems like a little thing, but it seemed like it did the trick.”

Colin Montgomerie was 10 under after a 70.

Hale Irwin matched his age with a 69 to tie for 39th at 3 under.

Canada’s Rod Spittle and Jim Rutledge finished tied for 49th and tied for 73rd respectively.

ROYAL PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Scotland’s Bradley Neil won the Amateur Championship at Royal Portrush after a closely fought final with South African Zander Lombard.

Neil clinched the match with a half on the par 5 35th hole for a 2&1 victory in the 36-hole final. The 18-year-old becames the first Scot to win the Amateur Championship since Stuart Wilson at St Andrews in 2004.

Neil’s form on the back nine and coolness under pressure helped him clinch the title and earned him a place in next month’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, the 2015 US Open at Chambers Bay and a traditional invitation to the Masters.

“To play in front of big crowds like this is incredible,” he said. “I would like to thank my caddie Michael Stewart. This win is not just for me it is for everyone that has helped me. I am so proud that my name will be added to the list of past winners.

“It means a lot to me to have the chance to compete with Major champions in The Open.  It will be fantastic it will be a strong test and it will be good to see how my game copes.

“Zander is a brilliant guy and we have been good friends for the last six months. He is a very strong, determined player. He didn’t make it easy for me. He’s got a lot of game and he is a really good talent.”

Despite his disappointment, the 19-year-old Lombard, who was hoping to become only the second South African winner after Bobby Cole in 1966, was delighted to have reached the final and has earned a place in Final Qualifying for The Open Championship.

“I’m very pleased with my achievement,” he said. “My golf’s been good all week. We both played really solid today and I have to say thumbs up to Bradley, he’s an awesome golfer with a lot of talent. We are pretty good friends and it is always nice having really good company on the golf course.

“We both just made a lot of pars and played really solid golf without making any mistakes. I had a few errant shots around the turn of the afternoon round but all in all I am really happy with my performance and my golf and am really looking forward to the rest of my career.”

The final was all square after a closely fought 18 holes in the morning in which both players recorded level par rounds of 70, with Lombard playing the steadier golf. The South African hit 16 of 18 greens in the morning round and had six birdie putts he failed to convert. Neil only managed to find eight greens in regulation but his short game kept him hard on Lombard’s heels.

After the opening exchanges Lombard remained one hole up until the 12th when he missed his first green of the day and failed to get up and down to take the match back to all square. Neil went ahead at the 16th when Lombard bunkered his tee shot and couldn’t advance the ball to the green. Neil meanwhile holed a 10 foot birdie putt. The match went back all square on the par-5, 17th when Neil recorded a bogey after finding the left rough off the tee and Lombard managed a fine birdie.

The afternoon round began the way the morning session ended for Lombard, with the South African failing to take advantage of birdie chances. He watched with dismay as a 15 foot putt at the 19th just curled away from the hole. He missed another birdie putt at the par-3 21st hole, when his 18 foot attempt just shaved the left edge of the hole.

In between, the Pretoria native hit a poor drive at the par-5, 20th hole to find the left rough. His second shot didn’t clear the rough and he lost the hole when Neil made a birdie. Neil was much more composed at the beginning of the afternoon session and he hit seven of the first nine greens.

Lombard got the match back to all square with a birdie three at the 25th when he holed a 20 foot birdie putt. The pair traded holes at the 26th and 27th holes. A wild tee shot into the left rough on the 26th meant a bogey and back to one down for Lombard. He quickly got that back, though, when he holed a six foot putt for birdie to take the match to the 28th all-square.

Neil moved ahead on the back nine, however, when Lombard bogeyed the par 4 28th and the par 3 29th. When Neil won the 31st hole with a bogey five, after Lombard lost his ball with his drive, and the next with a par three, the situation looked ominous for Lombard as he fell four behind. The South African showed his resilience to win the next two holes with birdie threes, including holing from off the green from 20 feet on the 34th hole, but when both players halved in par at the penultimate hole the match was over. Neil had two putts from ten feet to seal his win.

“When he bogeyed 10 and 11, I think that really swung things in my favour,” added Neil. “I went two up and it was going to be tough for him to get back from that. When he lost a ball down 13, I went three up with five to go so it is going to be tough for anyone, especially when I then went four up with four to go. I really wanted it to be over but I’m just glad it is done now.”

Neil, who is currently ranked 38th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking^TM, has followed in the footsteps of players such as Matteo Manassero, Sergio Garcia and Mikko Ilonen in winning the Amateur Championship and can now look forward to playing in The Open at Hoylake next month.

For the full scoring details from the Final visit, click here.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Canada’s Nicole Vandermade won the Four Winds Invitational on Sunday for her first Symetra Tour title, closing with a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke victory.

Vandermade, from Brantford, Ont., had a 12-under 204 total at Blackthorn Golf Club. The 24-year-old former University of Texas player and Team Canada member earned $22,500 to jump from 90th to eighth on the money list with $26,278, with the final top 10 earning 2015 LPGA Tour cards.

“I’m so grateful to everyone that has been supportive of me for the last two years and for my career.” Vandermade said. “This means so much at the moment. It definitely hasn’t been the easiest road to get here so I think it makes this moment even sweeter. I’m just going to enjoy this.”

Lee Lopez was second after a 70. Jackie Stoelting and Jaclyn Jansen tied for second at 9 under. Stoelting finished with a 65, and Jansen shot 67.

Vandermade had a tap-in eagle on the par-5 16th, followed with a par on the par-3 17th and closed with a bogey on the par-4 18th.

“On 16, I knew that it was my moment to be aggressive and I hit a good one,” Vandermade said. “On 17, I just missed the green and then chipped it really close, to within a few inches so that was nice to have an easy par. On 18, I drove it in the rough and I just told myself to hit it up there near the green. Unfortunately, I didn’t make my par putt, but I didn’t need to.”

Other Canadians in the mix were Erica Rivard of Tecumseh, Ont., who finished 12th at 5-under 211. Kelowna, B.C.’s finished 25th at 3-under 211. Natalie Gleadall of Stratford, Ont. even par at 216 and tied for 45th with Sara Maude-Juneau of Fossambault-sur-le-Lac, Que. Danielle Mills of Montreal tied for 72nd at 6-over 222.

CORK, Ireland – Mikko Ilonen shot a final round 70 on Sunday to win the Irish Open by 1 stroke after leading from start to finish.

The 34-year old Finn celebrated his 300th European event and his fourth tour victory with an overall 13-under 271 on the Fota Island course.

Italy’s Edoardo Molinari shot 67 to take second on 12 under.

Local favorite Graeme McDowell never appeared in the hunt for his first Irish Open success, posting a 71 to finish three shots behind Ilonen.

Molinari, along with the England duo of Danny Willett and Matthew Baldwin, secured the three spots available for next month’s British Open at Royal Liverpool.

Eric Locke and Myles Creighton won the Nova Scotia Golf Association (NSGA) Four Ball Championship by a comfortable four strokes after playing a confident and consistent game through 2 rounds of golf at Osprey Ridge this past weekend.

Leading after the first round by a stroke over Marc Lombard of Saulnierville, NS and Stephane Leblanc of Meteghan, NS, Locke and Creighton continued with another impressive performance Sunday, both tying for the lowest round of the day at 66 (-5).

When asked what lead to the strong performance both golfers said it was a combination of staying out of trouble and hitting greens in regulation.

“Today we only really got in trouble on hole No. 4,” said Locke. “Myles hit a stray tee shot and I made a tough par – otherwise we played very well, lots of on in two shots.”

Despite their eventual four-stroke victory, things were close. River Hill’s Ryan Dixon and Jody Swim of Shelburne, NS had moved within one shot of Locke and Creighton through 9 holes.

“At the turn we heard we were one stroke up,” said Creighton. “Fortunately we birdied #11 and #12, then there was a delay on #13 and we saw Dixon and Swim had a tough hole, so we knew we had a bit of breathing room then.”

The win is particularly special for childhood friends Locke and Creighton.

“It’s really special,” explained Locke.  “We played together at a young age, and Myles is my best friend. To able to win with him is special.”

Having played together so long has turned the duo into virtual caddies for one another.

“Eric was the one who got me into golf,” Creighton added. “We know each other so well, how far we hit each club. Eric pretty much told me every club I should hit today. He’s very familiar with my game”.

Both have had success at the provincial level before. Locke with provincial junior titles in 2008, 2009 and Creighton with Midget and Juvenile titles, and this latest win has undoubtedly added to their confidence.

Finishing in second was Yarmouth’s Morgan Penney and Derek Boudreau who carded a stellar 9-under. Lombard and Leblanc came in third at 7-under.

For full results of the 2014 NSGA Men’s Four Ball Championship please, click here.

(FORT MCMURRAY, Alta.) – In what is becoming a regular occurrence on PGA Tour Canada this season, Clarkston, Washington’s Joel Dahmen finds himself atop the leaderboard once again after shooting 4-under par at Fort McMurray Golf Club to take a five stroke lead into the final round of the Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON.

The Order of Merit leader got his day started right with birdies on two of his first three holes to break away from the field and look as though he may run away and hide with the Order of Merit lead through three events. Dahmen led by five over Las Cruces, New Mexico’s Tim Madigan and by six over Syracuse, N.Y.’s Daniel McCarthy and defending champion Riley Wheeldon of Comox, B.C. through three rounds.

“I didn’t make a bogey today, which is huge. It was kind of a goal of mine,” said Dahmen, who has made just two bogeys for the week and is without a blemish on the scorecard in his last 35 holes. “It’s been great.”

After cruising along for much of the day without trouble, the 26-year old faced a difficult sand save on the par-3 15^th and a 15-foot par putt following an indifferent bunker shot. The ensuing putt, however, found the cup for par, keeping Dahmen’s momentum going.

“I hadn’t been close to a bogey all day, so I said to my caddie, ‘We have to make this one.’ There was a little fist pump in there. That was huge,” said Dahmen, who shared the 54-hole lead here last year before finishing tied for fourth.

Despite the considerable lead heading into Sunday and the chance to take a vice grip on PGA TourCanada’s Order of Merit, the former University of Washington Husky isn’t getting too far ahead of himself before a chance to close the deal in the final round.

“It’s far from over,” said Dahmen. “One swing and you make double or triple and a guy makes birdie and it’s back to square one. If I go out tomorrow and shoot four- or five-under and play well it’s going to be very difficult for somebody to catch me, and that’s going to be the plan.”

Dahmen added that the big lead wouldn’t lead to a change in his strategy at Fort McMurray Golf Club on Sunday.

“I’m not taking too many chances, but it’s more of a conservative strategy with an aggressive swing,” said Dahmen. “My strategy isn’t overly aggressive, but my mind frame has to be.”

Canada is well represented in the top 10 thru three rounds. Riley Wheeldon shot 66 Saturday and is tied for third. Montreal’s Beon Young Lee, who recently earned an exemption into the 2014 RBC Canadian Open, shot 69 and is tied for fifth with Ryan Williams, who carded 72.

Devin Carrey of Burnaby BC is 11-under at the close of 3 solid rounds and is tied for eighth.

GLENVIEW, Ill. – Tom Lehman opened a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Champions Tour’s Encompass Championship, shooting a bogey-free 6-under 66 before play was suspended because of a thunderstorm.

Lehman had a 13-under 131 total at North Shore Country Club, playing the first 36 holes without a bogey. The 55-year-old Minnesotan won the last of his seven senior titles in 2012.

“It’s been a while since I had one bogey-free round, and to do two in a row is special,” Lehman said. “I haven’t missed many putts inside 6 feet. If you were to rate whether I’m making the most of my opportunities, I think you’d say I’m doing pretty well.”

The 1996 British Open winner chipped in from 20 feet for a birdie and made five putts, the longest from 7 feet, for his other birdies.

Thirty-one players were unable to finish the round.

Kirk Triplett, John Inman, Roger Chapman and Bart Bryant were 10 under. Triplett and Inman shot 67, Chapman had a 68, and Bryant had two holes left when play was washed out for the day. Bryant was 5 under for the day.

Triplett hit 14 greens, one-putted seven of them and chipped in for birdie on another.

“There are plenty of birdie chances here,” Triplett said about North Shore, hit by hard rain early in the week and another shower Saturday. “The greens are not going to firm up.”

Inman advanced to the quarterfinals in the 1983 U.S. Amateur at North Shore.

“I came out here and I didn’t remember a hole,” Inman said.

Michael Allen was four strokes back at 9 under, also with two holes left.

Colin Montgomerie, the Senior PGA Championship winner in his last tour start, was 5 under for the day and 8 under overall with two holes left.

Charles Schwab Cup points leader Bernhard Langer was 5 under with five holes to play.

Defending champion Craig Stadler was 1 over with two holes remaining.

Canada’s Rob Spittle shot 73 Saturday to place him among a group tied for 34th.