By JOEDY McCREARY
The Associated Press
Monday, July 2, 2007; 3:48 AM
SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. -- Cristie Kerr can finally relax. She isn't 0-for-the-majors anymore. Meanwhile, Lorena Ochoa can only look to her next chance to snap her string of major futility.
Kerr shook off 12 years' worth of frustration in consistent, cool fashion. During their compelling duel along the back nine of Pine Needles, she stared down the world's No. 1 player and forced her into a series of mistakes that resulted in a two-stroke victory Sunday and Kerr's first U.S. Women's Open championship.
"There's a natural progression between winning and winning a lot of tournaments and when are you going to win a major," Kerr said after her 1-under 70. "I definitely wanted to win one this year."
Because she finally snapped that pestering 0-for-41 slide, those nagging questions now fall to Ochoa _ who was left to wait for the Women's British Open at St. Andrews.
After having trouble keeping her drives in the fairway, Ochoa fell to 0-for-23 in the four biggest events in women's golf.
"I've been in worse places. It hurts, but I just did everything I could," Ochoa said.
Kerr did more.
She drilled an 18-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole to take the lead, then stayed composed and watched Ochoa fall apart down the stretch. After Kerr's birdie, Ochoa never hit another green in regulation.
Kerr had just two bogeys during her final 45 holes and had only one three-putt all week in claiming her first Open title at Pine Needles, where she has played well in two previous Opens. The high amateur in its first visit in 1996, Kerr was 3 over and tied for fourth in 2001.
"I knew since the last time I came here ... it was going to be my week," Kerr said. "When I stepped on the grounds this week it was just magic."
Ochoa was left with a familiar feeling, too.
With a chance to capture her first major and remove any doubt about who's the best in her sport, Ochoa struggled again with a quick swing under pressure and failed to hit a green in regulation over the final five holes.
"For sure, you don't want to be thinking, `Oh my God, I'm in the last group, in a major championship, I'm playing the U.S. Open, maybe I'll win,'" Ochoa said. "If you think that, it's no good."
Ochoa, a 25-year-old Mexican star in her fifth year as a pro, shot 71 and tied for second with Angela Park, an 18-year-old rookie who birdied the final hole for a 70.
Morgan Pressel, who won the Kraft Nabisco Championship in April, was two shots behind with five holes remaining until playing them in 5 over for a 77, leaving the course in tears.
"I just kind of lost it, especially coming down at the end," Pressel said. "It was just a mess."
There also were tears for Kerr.
She dropped to her knees and cried after tapping in for par on the final hole, then tossed her golf ball to fans who had circled the green and leapt into the arms of her husband, Erik Stevens.
Kerr finished at 5-under 279 and earned $560,000 for her 10th career victory.
"It's been a dream of mine since I was a little girl," she said.
This one was all but decided on No. 17, one of the toughest holes on the course.
Kerr's draw around the dogleg left into the fairway left her only a 7-iron to the green. Ochoa tried to hammer a driver over the trees, but the ball nicked the top of them. It fell into a bunker, and she knocked it out with a 5-wood.
Ochoa caught her fairway metal heavy and moved it only 60 yards, hit a solid shot to 20 feet but missed the par putt.
That gave Kerr a two-shot lead heading to the 18th, and she drilled another one right down the middle, then followed that with an approach safely on the green and a lag to 2 feet.
"When I hit it up there close, I had known I had won," she said. "It was hard to fight back the tears, because I had envisioned this since I was a little girl."
Most of the talk about the top American players ignored Kerr, favoring Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome and Pressel.
But with a major trophy headed for Kerr's display case, they can't ignore her now.
"I don't know if slighted was the right word; maybe overlooked a little bit," Kerr said. "But the media is the media, and they'll write that they want to write. I know in my heart of hearts who I am and how many wins I have and what I've done. And that's good enough for me."