Michelle Wie came from four strokes down in the final round with a 5-under-par 67 to beat Angela Stanford by two and win the LPGA Lotte Championship before the home fans at Ko Olina Golf Club in Kapolei, Hawaii.
The 24-year-old Wie, a graduate of Stanford, won for the third time on the LPGA Tour, but the first since the 2010 CN Canadian Women’s Open, and the first time on U.S. soil. Her other victory came in the 2009 Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico.
“Just being back home, all the support, but I was still able to keep the pressure off myself,” said Wie, a native of Honolulu. “I just stayed patient and I just had so much fun all week and played so well. I’m so happy right now, I just can’t think straight.
“This is just a dream come true for me. This will give me so much confidence because I played so well today. It was just a blast.”
Stanford, who started the final round with a four-stroke lead and was looking for her fifth LPGA Tour victory, fell behind after making bogeys at the sixth and eight holes en route to a 73, as Wie took command with three birdies in the first six holes and didn’t make a bogey until No. 18.
Top-ranked Inbee Park of South Korea closed with a 67 to finish third, three strokes back, and 19-year-old Hyo Joo Kim, also of South Korea, posted a 71 and was another shot back in fourth.
Chella Choi of South Korea shot 67 and tied for fifth, five shots behind, with So Yeon Ryu, also of South Korea, who had a 69.
Haru Nomura of Japan closed with a 68 and tied for seventh with Amy Anderson, who came in at 71.
