Rosaeles gains wire to wire victory

Jennifer Rosales knew Michelle Wie was close. Rosales could hear the 15-year-old closing in on the lead.

Wie made a strong run at her first LPGA Tour victory, finishing two strokes behind Rosales, who went wire-to-wire for a victory in the season-opening SBS Open on Saturday.

"I heard a lot of roars from the crowd, I knew it was her," Rosales said. "She's an amazing player. There's no doubt about it. She's going to give us a lot of challenges and make us work harder."

Wie started the day five strokes behind Rosales, then shot her third straight 70 to finish tied for second at 210. Playing on her home island of Oahu, Wie was trying to become the youngest golfer to win an LPGA Tour event. She had to settle for her best finish in 18 LPGA Tour starts.

"This is the best finish I have had and it feels great to have it in my home state," said the soft-spoken Wie, the only player to shoot under par for three rounds. "It feels good."

Jennifer Rosales earned her second LPGA Tour title at the SBS Open. (AP)
Jennifer Rosales earned her second LPGA Tour title at the SBS Open. (AP)
Rosales shot a 1-over-par 73 and picked up her second Tour win by finishing at an 8-under 208 on the wind-swept Palmer Course at Turtle Bay Resort.

She said the island conditions reminded her of her home course in the Philippines.

Cristie Kerr shot a final-round 72 to tie Wie for second.

The only amateur in a field that didn't include Annika Sorenstam, the LPGA Tour's top player, Wie had trouble with her putter early. The hometown favorite missed a 6-foot par putt on No. 4 and overshot the green and three-putted No. 9.

"I got a little bit greedy," she said. "I should've just hit a 5-wood and get it up to the front on the green, but I hit a 3-wood and it just turned out bad."

She was able to rattle in a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-3 eighth to make the turn at 37. She moved up the leaderboard to reach 5-under with birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 and tapped in for another on her 54th hole.

She had six top-20 finishes in seven LPGA events last year, including fifth-place at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the tour's first major of the year.

Wie said her performance gives her confidence heading into the season. She will play seven more LPGA Tour events this year.

"I feel my game is getting a lot better and I'll just keep getting better and hopefully I can get to the top," she said.

But it was Rosales who held off her competitors and controlled the pin-bending, hat-grabbing tradewinds that gusted up to 30 mph. She took home $150,000 of the $1 million purse.

"Wow. The course plays different everyday," she said. "The course is getting longer and some holes were getting shorter."

Rosales had five top-10 finishes last year including her first LPGA Tour victory at last year's Chick-fil-A Charity Championship.

The 26-year-old started the day with a two-stroke cushion over Reilley Rankin and kept the pressure on the pursuers by birdieing two of her first six holes to reach 11-under.

She stumbled when her ambitious second shot from the deep rough got caught in the wind and fell short of the green, plopping into the water on the par-4 seventh. She carded a double bogey that hole and later bogeyed Nos. 13 and 15, leaving an opening for her opponents.

But no one was able to take advantage.

Rosales had a two-stroke lead over Kerr with two strokes left and could've sealed the win on No. 17, but missed her 12-foot birdie putt.

Kerr had two birdies on the front side, including the par-3 No. 8 to get within a stroke of Rosales, and made the turn at 34. But she had a rocky back nine with four bogeys and two birdies.

The Miami native had a breakout season last year with a career-best three wins and 11 top-10 finishes. She was fifth on the money list.

Rankin struggled with a 75 and finished a career-best fourth.

Heather Bowie closed with a 70 and tied for fifth at 213 with Hee-Won Han (73) and Nicole Perrot (72).

Gloria Park (72), who turns 25 on Sunday, was one stroke back at 214 with Catriona Matthew (70), Tina Barrett (72), Carin Koch (72) and Rosie Jones (75).

Grace Park, who was second on the money list last year with 12 top-10 finishes, closed with a 72 and had a 54-hole total of 218.

The inaugural SBS Open marked the return of the LPGA Tour to Wie's home state. The last LPGA event in Hawaii was the 2002 Takefuji Classic, where Wie became the youngest to qualify for an LPGA event at age 12.

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