Potential no more.
Michelle Wie finds aggressive balance in her game.
The path that started more than a decade ago for Michelle Wie finally found that elusive pot of gold as she captured her first major event triumph with a two-stroke victory over s=top-ranked Stacy Lewis at the U.S. Women's Open on Sunday.
Wie shot an even-par 70 to finish at 2 under par, the only player in the field to post a red number at Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, N.C. Now on top of the golf world, is she capable of taking over the women's game the way Tiger Woods did the men's tour from 1997-2008?
Wie's first career major title has been 14 years in the making, ever since she became the youngest player ever to qualify for the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship. In 2013 at age 13, Wie played in the final group at the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
Michelle Wie more adept at handling adversity than Rory McIlroy
But her journey took on a life on its own when the 2014 season started.
Wie has played in 13 events now, with nine top-10 finishes. She finished as the runner-up to Lexi Thompson at the season's first major tournament, the Kraft Nabisco Championship from April 3-6. The two were tied heading into the final round, but Thompson was three shots better over the final 18 holes.
Buoyed by that finish, Wie won two weeks later at the LPGA LOTTE Championship in her native Hawaii. Thanks to her win Sunday, she is now the WTA's leading money winner in 2014.
Wie kept her composure in the face of the challenge from the No. 1 player in the world, Lewis, who fired a 4-under 66 to get to even. Wie double-bogeyed the par-4 No. 16, and it seemed as if another opportunity for a career-defining win might slip through her fingers.
Not this time; not to the more mature, more balanced Wie, who said after the first two rounds that she finally has discovered the balance of when to play conservatively and when to play aggressively.
Wie drained a 25-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to extend her lead to two strokes and give her a much more comfortable final hole to play.
The next step for Wie is to vie with Lewis for the No. 1 player in the world and assume the throne that was assumed hers more than a decade ago. But is it a matter of time until Wie starts drawing comparisons to Woods?
Do you think the U.S. Open win is just the start of a dominating career for Michelle Wie? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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