Michelle Wie

Michelle Wie, 13, became the youngest champion in the 108-year history of United States Golf Association adult championships when she won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links.

Wie, of Honolulu, Hawaii, outlasted Virada Nirapathpongporn, 21, of Thailand, in a classic match play battle, 1 up, in the 36-hole final at the par-72, 6,068-yard course at Ocean Hammock Golf Club in Palm Coast, Fla.

The long-hitting Wie had never before won a tournament outside of her home state of Hawaii.

“It means a lot,” Wie said. “I never won a national championship. The Women’s Amateur Public Links was my first for everything. It was my first national tournament to play in, when I was 10, so I’m pretty glad.”

In a match of superb play, Wie was a stroke-play equivalent of seven under par for the 36 holes. Nirapathpongporn was six under par.

Wie had to fight back from a four-hole deficit to win. Although Wie went 1 up on the second hole with a birdie, Nirapathpongporn birdied five of the next six holes and was 4 up after the 8th.

Wie birdied the 9th, 11th and 13th to cut the margin to one hole. The 487-yard par-5 14th had surrendered birdies and eagles to her throughout the championship. This time, she again birdied to square the match, where it remained through the 18th hole.

In the afternoon round, Nirapathpongporn continued to hit precise irons. She won the 20th hole when Wie's approach landed in an unplayable lie and then went 2 up at the par-3 22nd hole with a short birdie putt.

Wie’s exceptional play over the next several holes put her in command. She sank a 10-foot birdie putt from against the fringe on the 23rd hole.

At the 479-yard, par-5 24th , she seemed to take charge with a brilliant iron shot. Nirapathpongporn played the hole conservatively, hitting the green in three strokes.

Wie hit a drive of nearly 320 yards into a waste area, then hit a 5 iron from 180 yards for her second shot. She slashed her ball out of the sand. The ball flew over a water hazard and landed on the green, rolling into the back fringe. Wie’s chip for eagle rimmed the hole but the birdie squared the match.

A par on the 25th and a birdie on the 27th gave Wie a 2-up advantage. She drove into the water on the 29th, losing one hole. Nirapathpongporn’s iron approach shot and birdie on the 31st hole again squared the match.

At the 32nd hole, (the par-5 14th ), Wie banged a 6 iron second shot over a palm tree to within 20 feet of the hole. Nirapathpongporn hit her third shot to within a few feet, but Wie drained the putt for a winning eagle to again take a 1-up lead. Nirapathpongporn squared the match on the very next hole when Wie was forced to play out of a water hazard.

The dizzying pace of the match came to an unfortunate end on the 35 th hole when Nirapathpongporn, who had been steady with her putter all day, missed a three-foot putt for a par. Wie won the hole and was 1 up going into the 36th hole. Both players made par 4s, and the match, attended by some 800 spectators, was over.