Major drama

~ Webb claimed Kraft Nabisco title when Wie, Ochoa and Gulbis missed their opportunities.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Karrie Webb's slow, steady climb back to her Hall of Fame standards hit warp speed with one magical shot Sunday that sent her to a stunning playoff victory in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Webb holed a pitching wedge from 116 yards for eagle on the par-5 18th hole to close with a 7-under 65, then made a 7-foot birdie putt on the same hole in the playoff to beat Lorena Ochoa and capture her seventh career major.

As exhilarating as it was for Webb, it was devastating for those she beat.

Ochoa collapsed on the back nine, only to recover with a 5-wood into 6 feet on an island green for eagle on the closing hole. Her 15-foot birdie putt in the playoff never had a chance.

Michelle Wie, the 16-year-old phenom from Hawaii, was 25 feet away from winning until her chip ran 10 feet by, and her birdie putt to join the playoff caught the left lip.

Natalie Gulbis birdied three of five holes down the stretch, only to see her 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole turn away. She closed with a 68.

That left Webb an unlikely winner in a theatrical conclusion to the first LPGA Tour major of the year.

It was her first victory since 2004, and her first major since she won the 2002 Women's British Open at Turnberry.

She has been retooling her swing, needing to put a few good holes together, then perhaps a few good rounds.

What sent her to the top was one of the most dramatic shots struck in a major championship.

She was tied for the lead at 7 under, not knowing that Wie had just stuffed a wedge inside a foot on the 16th hole. Webb had 116 yards to the hole, and her shot looked good from the moment in left her club.

"Yeessss!" she screamed, running and leaping into the arms of her caddie, Mike Paterson. Then, Webb punched the air with a roundhouse fist pump, patting her chest to steady her emotions.

But the 31-year-old Australian's work was not through.

In the playoff, she boldly went after the island green with a fairway metal, the ball going through the green. She hit a flop that rolled 7 feet past the cup, and thrust her arms in the air when she made the putt.

Webb, inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame four months ago, finished at 9-under 279 and earned $270,000 for her 31st career victory.

Ochoa fought back tears when it was over, adding another chapter to a growing legacy of being unable to close. A gutsy eagle on the last hole gave her an even-par 72, but ultimately, it was only a consolation. She lost this tournament along the back nine when she couldn't hit a fairway and twice had to make testy 5-footers for bogey.

Stupples

"The back nine, I was trying so hard," she said. "My driver killed me."

For Wie, it was a wedge that will be questioned until she gets her next crack at a LPGA major.

Needing a birdie on the final hole to get into the playoff, she hit her best drive of the day and hit a flush 5-iron that went about 5 feet too far, sliding down the bank to the right of the flag. Instead of using her putter, she had the pin removed and chipped.

The ball came out hot and went 10 feet by, and she crouched in disbelief when the birdie putt caught the left lip.

"I thought it was going in as soon as I hit it," Wie said after a 70.

She said she chipped because she thought it gave her a better chance to make it for eagle and the victory, and was surprised how fast the green ran away from her.

Asked about whether destiny worked against her, Wie quickly contemplated a whirlwind finish.

"Karrie holing it out, Lorena making eagle on the last hole, me not making birdie ... it must not be meant to be," Wie said. "I tried my hardest."

But she showed a will to win that may have been lacking in previous majors, and indicates that her breakthrough victory might not be too far away.

Starting the final round three shots behind, Wie had a one-shot lead with five holes to play until pulling her tee shot on the par-3 14th away from the water and into a bunker, making bogey. But when the tournament could have gotten away from her, she holed a 7-foot par putt on the 15th hole to stay in a tie.

Then the fireworks began on a sunny day in the desert.

Wie's wedge on the 16th hopped next to the cup and spun slightly toward the hole, a foot away for tap-in birdie. That roar was followed by another, a half-mile away.

Two groups ahead, had holed her pitching wedge for eagle and a two-shot lead.

Her caddie, Greg Johnston, learned from the TV crew what happened, and said to Wie, "Just so you don't get shocked ... "

"Like that's going to help?" Wie said with a laugh.

Webb only emerged when Wie and Ochoa failed to pull away. She birdied the first two holes on the back nine to get within two shots of the lead, an unlike those around her, made no mistakes on the back nine.

The pitching wedge was one for the ages, and Webb was more stunned than anybody.

"I knew I needed to make birdie," Webb said. "I think I nearly had a heart attack when it went in."

It was different from so many of her other majors, which she often one by blowing away the field with her sheer athleticism. This was a seven-shot comeback, leading to the first playoff at Mission Hills since 1992.

The tournament effectively started on the par-5 ninth, when Wie made a 15-foot birdie and Ochoa came up short on the par 5, chopped out of the rough and made bogey.

That two-shot swing meant a tie atop the leaderboard for the first time since Ochoa opened with her record-tying 62 on Thursday. And it was a bumpy ride the rest of the way.

Defending champion Annika Sorenstam can rule out the Grand Slam. She closed with a 70 and tied for sixth.