SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (AP) -- No one can ignore Cristie Kerr now, not with her name on the biggest trophy in women's golf.
Left out of most conversations about top young American players, the 29-year-old Kerr won the U.S. Women's Open on Sunday by making only two bogeys over her final 45 holes, and forcing Lorena Ochoa into another series of major mistakes.
In a riveting duel along the back nine of Pine Needles, Kerr broke a tie with an 18-foot birdie putt on the 14th and made the No. 1 player in the world come get her. Ochoa didn't come close, losing hope with another pulled tee shot that cost her a bogey.
Kerr's final stroke of a 23-hole Sunday was a tap-in for par that gave her a 70.
Stoic with every step down the fairway, she finally buckled when it was over. Kerr dropped to her knees and broke out in tears, then turned and tossed her golf ball to the gallery around the 18th green.
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"Today was my day," Kerr said. "That birdie at 14 was unbelievable. To hold it together ... it's a dream come true."
Kerr finished at 5-under 279 and earned $560,000 for her 10th career victory, this one by far the biggest. It ended an 0-for-41 record in the majors dating to her debut in the Women's Open as a 17-year-old in 1995.
Ochoa will have to wait until the Women's British Open at St. Andrews for her next shot at winning a major, which is quickly turning into a bigger burden than she imagined. She closed with a 71 and tied for second with 18-year-old Angela Park, who shot 70.
Buick Open
GRAND BLANC, Mich. -- Brian Bateman, who entered 204th on the money list, birdied the final hole to break a four-way tie and win by one stroke.
"I didn't really have any expectations," he said.
He closed with a 3 under to finish 15-under 273, the highest winning score at Warwick Hills since 1997, to claim his first victory on the PGA Tour. He had finished third in two previous tournaments.
Jason Gore (67), Justin Leonard (67) and Woody Austin (69) finished tied for second. Jim Furyk (70) and Scott Verplank (71) were in a group of five that were two shots behind Bateman.
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Champions Tour
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. -- Lonnie Nielsen, who didn't win in five years on the PGA Tour and made 91 starts on the Champions Tour without winning, shot a 2-under 69 for a two-stroke victory over Loren Roberts in the Commerce Bank Championship.
Nielsen, who turned 54 on Friday, won 32 titles on smaller tours, including the New York State Open in 1985 and 1989. He entered the final round with a three-stroke lead and was never threatened.
