That would be Inbee Park, the tournament would be the U.S. Women's Open, and the walk would be the one she gets to take into the Winner's Circle. Inbee Park's first victory on the LPGA Tour, obviously her first major championship. At age 19, she is the youngest-ever U.S. Women's Open champion. She turns 20 in two weeks, so she's not the youngest-ever major champion, but still just the third teenager ever to win an LPGA major (but the second this year!).

This was no fluke. But with so many great young players coming into women's golf - and more on the way - it's getting hard to decide which ones will wind up being the best. It could be we are entering an era of Lorena Ochoa winning five to eight times a year, and all these hotshot youngsters fighting it out without any of them being able to get firmly ahead of the rest of the pack. Or maybe not. My predictions haven't been so great lately. But whatever, it's a great time to be a fan of women's golf.

Final Leaderboard
Inbee Park, 72-69-71-71--283
Helen Alfredsson, 70-71-71-75--287
Angela Park, 73-67-75-73--288
In-Kyung Kim, 71-73-69-75--288
Stacy Lewis, 73-70-67-78--288
Giulia Sergas, 73-74-72-70--289
Nicole Castrale, 74-70-74-71--289
Mi Hyun Kim, 72-72-70-75--289
Paula Creamer, 70-72-69-78--289
Teresa Lu, 71-72-73-74--290
a-Maria Jose Uribe, 69-74-72-75--290
Stacy Prammanasudh, 75-72-71-73--291
Full Scores

The final group is through the first hole. Off to a quick start? Inbee Park with birdies on the first two holes. Helen Alfredsson has an early birdie, and I.K. Kim one, as well.

Use this thread to discuss play throughout the final round.

Update: The final pairing - Lewis and Creamer - both players double-bogied the par-5 second. Ouch. Inbee Park still 2-under through four. Suzann Pettersen making a nice run, 5-under through 14 to get to 3-under overall. Too little, too late. Unless she finishes at 65 today and the top three at the beginning of the day all back up several strokes.

And 15-year-old amateur Jessica Korda shot 69 today to move up. She's the daughter of former tennis player Petr Korda. Petr rarely beat Ivan Lendl on the courts, but his daughter just kicked Lendl's daughters butts!

Update: Checking once more before NBC comes on the air ... looks like Creamer and Lewis have settled down. Pars since the double for Lewis; Creamer has had a birdie. They're at 7-under. Inbee Park has dropped a stroke but still leads at 8-under. Pettersen's great run is over, she's fallen back and is out of it. Of the eight players at 3-under or better as I write this, only the park girls are under par today. Inbee and Angela (5-under overall) are both 1-under on the day so far.

Update: The Constructivist said in a comment yesterday that he thought the overnight leaders would all crumble and 5-under would win up winning. Lewis and Creamer are both 3-over through 8, and both are in terrible spots behind the No. 9 green. Inbee Park is even on the day and leads at 7-under. She's through 9.

2:45 p.m. CT: The leaderboard with the final group through nine:

Inbee Park, -7
Stacy Lewis, -5
Teresa Lue, -4
Angela Park, -4
Helen Alfredsson, -4
Nicole Castrale, -3
Paula Creamer, -3
Mi Hyun Kim, -3
In-Kyung Kim, -3

Teresa Lu (-1) and Nicole Castrale (-2) are the only ones in that group under par. Inbee is even; Lewis is 4-over and Creamer 5-over.

3:30 p.m. CT: Inbee Park birdies No. 13, opens 4-stroke lead. Meanwhile, Creamer's collapse is starting to resemble those of Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters and Michelle Wie at the 2005 Women's Open ...

Inbee Park, -9
Angela Park, -5
Helen Alfredsson, -5
Teresa Lu, -4
Mi Hyun Kim, -4
In-Kyung Kim, -4
Stacy Lewis, -4

 4 p.m. CT: Inbee still ahead by four:

Inbee Park, -9
Helen Alfredsson, -5
Stacy Lewis, -5

Park and Alfredsson are through 15, Lewis is through 14.

Annika Sorenstam hasn't completely shut the door on playing more tournaments here and there in the future, but if I were her, I think I'd make a vow not to play any more U.S. Women's Opens. And let that hole-out from the fairway for a 72nd hole eagle stand for all-time as my exit from this championship.

4:15 p.m. CT: Lewis and Alfredsson each just bogied to drop to 4-under. In-Kyung Kim birdied to get to 5-under. Inbee Park is rolling along at 9-under with two holes to play. Unless something crazy happens - like Inbee being attacked by bees - Inbee is the winner.

The USGA getting called out for making a U.S. Open course too easy:

Former world No. 1 Karrie Webb has slammed officials for they way they have set up the course for this week’s U.S. Women’s Open.

Webb, a two-time Open champion, says the Interlachen course is playing far too easily, and she lays the blame firmly with the United States Golf Association.

“I really don’t understand what the USGA have tried to achieve this week, because they’ve kept the greens soft all week,” said the Florida-based Australian. “I think the course played harder on Monday than it is now. When you’ve played a lot of U.S. Opens, your mindset is that par’s good, but it really isn’t (this week). There’s got to be 20 or 30 players under par and I don’t think that’s what this course should be giving up.”

Webb theorized that firm greens reward the best ball strikers, those who can control the distance they hit their approach shots, but that soft greens made the championship more of a putting contest.

“It opens it up to people who don’t have great distance control and to me that’s what the U.S. Open is about, good ball-striking,” Webb said. “If you’re putting yourself in positions where you should be, you’re supposed to be at an advantage, but I don’t think it’s playing that way right now.

“Faster and firmer (greens) thins the field out. If we’d played the course the first two rounds like it was on Monday, 6-under would be remarkable score.”

Spoken like a 7-time major championship winner: The harder the course is for everyone, the better my chances are.

And Inbee Park is chasing Creamer, and Mi Hyun Kim is chasing Park, and Angela Park is chasing everyong. And Annika is somewhere in the rearview mirror. And Lorena just wants to get it over with.

The leaderboard after Round 3 at the U.S. Women's Open:

Stacy Lewis, 73-70-67--210
Paula Creamer, 70-72-69--211
Helen Alfredsson, 70-71-71--212
Inbee Park, 72-69-71--212
In-Kyung Kim, 71-73-69--213
Mi Hyun Kim, 72-72-70--214
a-Maria Jose Uribe, 69-74-72--215
Angela Park, 73-67-75--215
Young Kim, 74-71-71--216
Momoko Ueda, 72-71-73--216
Teresa Lu, 71-72-73--216
Jeong Jang, 73-69-74--216

Odd to think that Stacy Lewis is two years older than Paula Creamer, and four years older than Inbee Park and Angela Park. Creamer's been on Tour for, what, 12 years now? She joined when she was 9, if I'm remembering correctly.

Lewis, meanwhile, was a fifth-year senior at Arkansas this year and turned pro following the Curtis Cup. And her being in first place is no fluke. She finished fifth at last year's Kraft Nabisco Championship. She's a stud, in a manner of speaking.

And I like her. I like her a lot. I'll be cheering for her on Sunday. Which probably dooms her chances.

Looking at raw talent, the pick has to be Creamer, doesn't it? She's in position, she's putting well, she's overdue. She doesn't have a good record in majors, though. She's done OK, some high finishes, but in the USGA amateur tournaments - going back to the Junior Girls - and in professional majors, she's really never forced the issue on the final day. Can she tomorrow?

I think the winner comes from the group of Lewis, Creamer and Inbee Park. Outside of those three, Angela Park has the best ability go low. If Angela shoots 67 on Sunday, she gets to 10-under, one better than where Lewis is now.

As for the others: Alfredsson? No chance. If Alfredsson wins, I'll play my next round of golf wearing only tighty whiteys. And I'll post pictures of it. So  you better hope Alfredsson doesn't win!

I.K. Kim, Mi-Hyun Kim? They won't go low, although I.K. has a better shot than Mi-Hyun. Uribe? Fantastic showing, great young player (anyone catch why she won't be defending at the U.S. Am?), but I can't see her getting below 70 tomorrow. Ueda or Jang? Too far back.

Inbee Park, Creamer and Lewis can win with solid rounds that include lots of pars. Angela Park is the only player beyond those who might get down to 67 tomorrow.

Can anyone shoot 65? Annika can. She won't, but she can. And at 2-under, that would get to her to 10-under, so 65 is what Sorenstam has to shoot to have a chance to win. Not likely.

(Or am I giving the leaders too much credit? Is it more likely, in your opinion, that the leaders will come back a little?)

Lewis, Creamer, Inbee Park. Who's it gonna be?

The leaders are off. There's already been one weather delay of 40 minutes today. Hopefully it will be the last.

Use this thread to discuss third-round happenings ...

Update: That weather delay pushed the conclusion of play beyond NBC's allotted time, and the network just ended its coverage with the final group on No. 15. The leaders at this point are Stacy Lewis (17) and Paula Creamer (15) at 8-under. Helen Alfredsson (15) and Inbee Park (14) are a stroke back.

And the leaderboard looks the same as it did last night:

Angela Park, 73-67--140
Minea Blomqvist, 72-69--141
Inbee Park, 72-69--141
Helen Alfredsson, 70-71--141
Paula Creamer, 70-72--142
Jeong Jang, 73-69--142
Cristie Kerr, 72-70--142
Candie Kung, 72-70--142
Ji-Yai Shin, 69-74--143
a-Maria Jose Uribe, 69-74--143
Teresa Lu, 71-72--143
Stacy Lewis, 73-70--143
Momoko Ueda, 72-71--143
Ai Miyazato, 71-72--143
Ji Young Oh, 67-76--143
Louise Friberg, 69-74--143

Even though it lacks Annika Sorenstam (145) and Lorena Ochoa (147), that's a very interesting leaderboard (and Sorenstam and Ochoa are well within reach of Sunday contention, too). Old warriors like Alfredsson, young guns like the Park girls and Shin; established stars like Creamer and Kerr, an amateur in Uribe and a near-amateur in Lewis, playing her first tournament as a pro; someone making a comeback in Kung, someone who always seems to be there in JJ. Just a great mix.

Update: And some great pairings to watch in Round 3. The Park girls, Angela and Inbee, are in the final group with Blomqvist. Angela and Inbee are close friends from their days as junior golf phenoms. Uribe and Lewis together -- showing off the depth of women's collegiate golf talent (Lewis turned pro right after the Curtis Cup).

And Ai Miyazato and Momoko Ueda playing together. Two predictions: Seventy-five percent of the members of the Japanese media throng following this group will be treated for hyperventilation; and this pairing will cause Godzilla to re-emerge from Tokyo Bay.

"What? Ai-chan and Momo-chan are playing together? I've got to get to Minnesota!"

(image via blogs.townonline.com)

... the U.S. Open is not counted by the LPGA Tour among the tournaments in which you must win the equivalent of enough money to finish inside the Top 90 on the money list in order to get your 2009 Tour card without going through Q-School. (That was a weird sentence.)

No harm, no foul.

If there was a tournament in Wie's comeback that was going to give her trouble, a U.S. Women's Open was it. And it did. Although she played fairly respectably - not great, not even good really, just mostly solid - in her two rounds save for the ninth hole on Thursday, where she made a nine. And the problem there wasn't her driving, which - with U.S. Open rough waiting - is what you'd think would give her problems in this tournament.

Wie hit 6 of 14 fairways on Day 1 and 7 of 14 in Round 2. Better numbers, actually, than what she's been doing up to this point. And she hit 10 of 18 and 11 of 18 greens, respectively.

The worst thing that happened to her this week wasn't even that nine, or missing the cut, it was having to come back Saturday morning and play one hole of her final round, knowing she had missed the cut anyway, and with that one leftover hole being ... No. 9. A fate so cruel even courtgolf expressed sympathy!

To get that Tour card, Wie will have to earn roughly $95,000 total, and she's used three of six sponsor exemptions so far: Earned $2,570 back in February in Hawaii; missed the cut at the Michelob Ultra; made $18,887 last week at the Wegmans.

So Wie needs approximately $75,000 or more out of her last three sponsor exemptions. Which she can get, for example, with one Top 10 and two Top 25s, or three Top 15s, or one Top 5 and two missed cuts. (Wie can always try to Monday qualify for additional tournaments, too ...)

Finland's Minea Blomqvist rocketed into contention at the U.S. Women's Open on Sunday. Then she talked about:

1. Cadding for her boyfriend;
2. Her boyfriend's disgusting surname that may someday also be hers;
3. How dumb Swedes are.

All with a smile, natch. The tournament notebook from AP includes this:

Finland’s Minea Blomqvist shot a 4-under 69 on Friday to climb into second place when play was halted by weather. If the 23-year-old can’t manage to carve a career out as a golfer, she can always rely on her caddying skills to pay the bills.

Blomqvist hasn’t played since the McDonald’s LPGA Championship in the first week in June because she has been spending her time caddying for fiancee Roope Kakko on the Challenge Tour in Europe.

"I’m a perfect caddie," Blomqvist said with a smile. "You know, I have like two top-10s as a caddie. So if this doesn’t work out, I’ll go for that."

With his girlfriend caddying for him, Kakko finished tied for seventh at the Open de Saint Omer two weeks ago, earning Blomqvist a nice little commission from the $20,124 purse.

"Of course, you know," Blomqvist said with another giggle. "I’m not cheap."

The pair has been dating for seven years now, despite the surname Blomqvist is set to inherit. Kakko, she said, is a Finnish word for a rather dubious bodily function.

"You should feel bad for me about this surname because it’s not very nice," she said. "So I’m not very happy about that, if we’re going to stay together."

Speaking of translations, an irreverent Blomqvist was asked about the contention by Swedes that Finns talk funny. She didn’t hesitate to fire back.

"Swedes are so good in golf because in golf you need an empty mind, and there’s nothing going on in their heads," Blomqvist said playfully. "So that’s why they play good."

Blomqvist is also part of the so-called "Wilhelmina 7" that's been getting some ink lately.

You might have guessed I've been away from the computer much of the past day and a half. And today I've mostly just been able to steal a few seconds here and there to check on things.

So I'll leave this Open Thread and hope to be able to drop in for a quick look or quick comment the remainder of this day ...

What's happening today at the Women's Open? What I see so far is Angela Park moving into contention, along with Inbee Park and Jeong Jang, and Paula Creamer staying there ...

Later: What? What? I finally get a moment to flip on the TV and look for an update, and there's a weather delay? What rotten luck ... looking at the scoreboard ... Helen Alfredsson, Cristie Kerr and Candie Kung moving up ... and amateur Alison Walshe on the leaderboard.

And Later: Darkness falls, play is called with a handful of players still on the course. Second-round play resumes at 7 a.m. Here are the leaders:

Angela Park, 140
Minea Blomqvist, 141
Inbee Park, 141
Helen Alfredsson, 141
Paula Creamer, 142
Jeong Jang, 142
Cristie Kerr, 142
Candie Kung, 142
Ji-Yai Shin, 143
Maria Jose Uribe, 143
Teresa Lu, 143
Stacy Lewis, 143
Momoko Ueda, 143

Also at 3-under - 143 is 3-under - are Ai Miyazato and Ji Young Oh, who have one hole to go in their second rounds.

Here are some of the stories being written about the U.S. Women's Open. Check Yahoo News or Google News and you can spend all day reading articles about the tournament.

• An AP article on Michelle Wie and her "comeback" at age 18 neatly sums up the position the former phenom is in now:

  Last week on the LPGA Tour, she closed with a 69 and tied for 24th.

  When she was 15, that would have been her worst finish of the year. Now, it is called progress.

   

• Here's a look at the impact of the Women's Open on the town of Edina, Minn., and Interlachen Country Club.

   

• And the Minneapolis Star-Tribune takes a closer look at the golf course, which has been set up with an inviting par-5 finish that should provide opportunities for dramatic birdies - even eagles.

   

• And the Tampa Tribune reporter's notebook from Interlachen notes the course is set up as a par-73 with five par-5s.

   

• It's been a rough couple weeks for Lorena Ochoa, and she also has some negative history at the U.S. Women's Open. But she's determined to win this tournament for the first time this week.

   

• Also from the Star-Tribune, Lorena Ochoa is, the paper says, part Tiger Woods and part Mother Teresa.

   

• Defending champ Cristie Kerr talks about the challenge of winning a U.S. Open - and going for No. 2:

  "Winning U.S. Opens are not necessarily about making a hundred million birdies. It's about who makes the fewest mistakes, and who can be the most heroic coming down on Sunday," Kerr said.

   

• Does Annika Sorenstam have one more major in her? This is always the major she valued the most. And it's her last chance to win U.S. Open No. 4.

   

• ESPN.com's four golf gurus make their picks. Two go with Ochoa, one with Ji Yai Shin and one with Inbee Park.

   

• Fourteen-year-old Cyd Okino of Hawaii is not the youngest player in the field. But she is a first-timer. What has she discovered about the course:

  "It is very narrow and very long and you don't want to go into the rough," she said. "And the greens are super fast. You don't want to be above the hole."

  Yep, sounds like a U.S. Open.