Michelle Wie wins 2014 U.S. Women’s Open

Posted: Sunday, June 22, 2014 10:48 am

PINEHURST – It’s the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2, and we’ll be here until the winner is crowned this evening.

Check back often for updates:

5:55 p.m.

Michelle Wie had a three-shot lead on the 16th tee box, endured a double-bogey on that hole, but birdied the 17th to finish at 2-under-par win the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2 Sunday.

It is the first major championship for the 24-year-old Hawaiian, who beat Stacy Lewis by two strokes.

Stephanie Meadow finished at 1-over-par to take third.

– Randy Capps

5:25 p.m.

The mammoth merchandise tent set up near the main gate of the U.S. Women’s Open will be empty come Monday.

“We pretty much go out of business,” said Mary Lopuszynski, the U.S. Golf Association’s director of merchandise.

What will happen to the merchandise that doesn’t sell?

Lopuszynski said a lot of it will be donated to programs the USGA supports.

“We do that every year,” she said.

The rest of the wares will be shipped back to the association’s offices in New Jersey.

But Lopuszynski said there won’t be much leftover from the back-to-back tournaments.

“We’ve had really, really good sales,” she said. “We had 25 trucks out back filled up and they are all empty now.

“The satellite tent has slim pickings.”

– Sarah Campbell

4:55 p.m.

Cleanup from historic back-to-back major golf championships is expected to begin just after the U.S. Women’s Open trophy is presented.

Reg Jones, the U.S. Golf Association’s senior director of U.S. Open championships, said vendors will begin removing items from the championship grounds tonight.

“We’ll have some of the vendors who will work pretty late,” he said.

Jones said about 300 trucks will move equipment and material off the site.

“Ultimately, it will take us six weeks to get everything torn down,” he said.

Workers spent about three months to build what amounted to a small city at Pinehurst Resort.

Jones said USGA officials want to get the grounds back in shape as soon as possible for the members and guests at Pinehurst. He said Courses 3 and 5, which have been operating as 17-hole courses because their first holes served as the driving range for the championships, likely will be fully open in a few days.

It will take longer to reopen the No. 1 and No. 4 Courses, which have been used for other support tents and services. No. 4 likely will be cleared by late July, while No. 1 will reopen in late August, Jones said.

– Steve DeVane

3 p.m.

Richard Hanson looked out at the 18th green Sunday morning, leaning casually against the railing of the nearby grandstand.

The word “relieved” rolled off the Stedman resident’s tongue when asked how he felt going into the final day of the U.S. Women’s Open.

Hanson has been a volunteer during the back-to-back tournaments, which means he’s spent plenty of time soaking up the sun.

“It’s been hot in Pinehurst the last couple of weeks,” he said.

Although Hanson’s happy to see the championships wind down, he’s been thrilled to be part of the historic events.

“It’s been awesome,” he said. “I’m an absolute golf junkie.

“I already gave up at becoming good, but I sure enjoy watching it.”

Gary Kamp of Pinehurst also is glad to see the end of tournament play. He’s been manning the 18th crossing for the past two weeks.

“I’ve seen enough golf to last me quite a while,” he said. “I feel like I need to get out and play a little instead of watching.”

– Sarah Campbell

12:05 p.m.

The U.S. Golf Association treated the back-to-back U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open championships as one event, but there were some differences.

The peak attendance during the U.S. Open was more than 52,000, according to USGA officials. Attendance figures have not been released for the U.S. Women’s Open, but USGA officials say they expect the top attendance days this weekend to be between 20,000 and 25,000.

The number of bleacher seats was reduced from 21,600 the first week to 18,200 for the last week. Most of the reduction occurred with the removal of grandstand seats by the 18th green.

About 6,200 volunteers worked during the U.S. Open, compared to about 4,600 in the U.S. Women’s Open.

While about 1,100 members of the media received credentials for the Open, while about 650 covered the Women’s Open.

Six concession stands that operated the first week were closed the second. USGA officials later used them as hydration stations when the weather got hot.

– Steve DeVane

10:30 a.m.

Michelle Wie was seeing stars Friday when actor Daniel Dae Kim stopped by Pinehurst No. 2 to watch her play.

Wie Tweeted out a picture of herself and Kim with the hashtag #HawaiiPride late in the day.

Kim starred as Jin-Soo Kwon on the ABC television series “Lost” and currently plays Chin Ho Kelly on the CBS remake of “Hawaii Five-O”

Both Kim and Wie live in Honolulu, Hawaii and appear to be quite friendly. Earlier this year, Kim made an appearance during a charity event hosted by the golfer.

The caption that accompanied the photo Wie Tweeted read “Thanks for coming to watch me play.”

Kim was doing some Tweeting of his own. He posted a video of Wie teeing off with the caption “Truly a swing of beauty. So happy to be able to watch @themichellewie tear it up at the #USWomensOpen in PInehurst.”

It’s possible Kim will show up for the final round today. Rumor has it he was still in Pinehurst on Saturday.

 

via Michelle Wie wins 2014 U.S. Women’s Open – fayobserver.com: U.S. Open.