Ya-Ni Tseng

Ya-Ni Tseng, 15, of Chinese Taipei, edged defending champion Michelle Wie,14, of Honolulu, Hawaii, l up, in the 36hole final to win the 2004 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship at the 6,159-yard, par-72 Green Course of the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va.

"I'm really not intimidated by Michelle," said Tseng through an interpreter. "I look at myself as a long hitter too. My friends who happened to also play in this tournament watched Michelle play and they told me, `You're going to do fine and you're just as good."'

Tseng became the second-youngest winner of this championship behind Wie, who captured the title as a 13 year old, the youngest titlist of a USGA "adult" championship. Tseng also is the second golfer from Chinese Taipei to win the Women's Amateur Public Links title. Candie Kung captured the championship in 2001 at . Kemper Lakes G.C. outside Chicago.

Tseng took an early 2-up lead in the 36-hole match with birdies at the second and . fourth holes. Wie then won three consecutive holes, the seventh through ninth, with two birdies and a par to make the turn 1 up. The match seemingly turned h way after Wie won three more holes to gain a 4-up advantage. Her lead, however, dwindled quickly. Tseng birded both remaining par-5 holes, the 15th and the 18th;, and Wie was just 2 up after the morning 18 holes.

In the afternoon round, Wie was narrowly up in the match, by one or two holes, ' until the 32nd. Tseng knocked in an eight-foot birdie putt on the par-4 hole to square the match. Wie won the par-5 33rd after Tseng hit her tee shot into an unplayable lie in the woods to the right. After a penalty stroke, Tseng could only manage a bogey to Wie's par. Once again, Wie was 1 up.

"I did not panic because it's not the last hole," said Tseng. "I still had three holes:"

On the par-4 34th hole, it seemed both players would make par after safely hitting the green in two strokes. But Wie missed her second putt from three feet and Tse won the hole with a par.

The 35th hole was halved with pars and it all came down to the 466-yard, par-5 36th. Both players hit their second shots into greenside bunkers. Wie was 30 yards from the;hole in the left bunker. She hit her third shot too softly and faced a 35-foo birdie putt.

Tseng was 10 yards from the hole in the front bunker and hit her bunker shot to within 12 feet of the hole.

Wie putted first. When her ball tailed off just short of the hole, she slumped over fot several long moments. Tseng paced back and forth studying her line, then stroked the putt. When it dropped into the hole for a winning birdie, she thrust her arms into the air.