Don't look now, but Michelle Wie is becoming a force in women's golf.
The 24-year-old Wie erased a four-stroke deficit entering the final round of the LPGA LOTTE Championship to defeat Angela Stafford by two strokes for the championship.
ESPN.com reported that Wie captured her third career victory on the LPGA Tour and first since taking the CN Canadian Women's Open in 2010. It was also her first career tour victory on American soil.
The victory also significant to Wie because it was on her soil - Honolulu.
"I'm just having fun out there," said Wie, who grew up in Honolulu, as reported by ESPN.com. "I was out there and nervous. Every time I felt nervous out there, I was looking around, I felt there was no place I'd rather be."
Wie shot a 5-under 67 on Saturday for a 14-under 274 at the event. Stafford, the third-round leader at 13 under, slumped to a 1-over 73 and settled for runner-up at 12-under 276.
World's No. 1 Inbee Park also shot a 5-under 67 to finish in third place at 11-under 277.
Wie was coming off a second-place finish at the first Major tournament of the 2014 season - the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Wie shot an 11-under 277 and was three strokes behind winner and 19-year-old Lexi Thompson.
The two were tied after the third round of the Kraft Nabisco.
Wie, however, said the familiar settings of Honolulu helped her get over the hump.
"I think being back home, I think just not putting pressure on myself, just feeling all the support from the people this week, and you know just being patient - I just had a blast this week," Wie told Golf Channel, according to golfweek.com. "This is a dream come true for me," she said. "... The amount of love I felt this week was unbelievable."
Wie burst on the scene 13 years ago as an 11-year-old who made the cut at the Kraft Nabisco. She tied for third at the U.S. Women's Open in 2006. Injuries and burnout derailed her career from there.
And so Wie can call 2014 her career resurrection.
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