Women's Open Championship Final Round Clippings

From Mike Aitken's Scotsman game story:

Coping as diligently with the rain which cascaded on the turf in the final round as she did with Saturday's gale, Ochoa was wrapped up in a black rainsuit against the elements. Although she'd wobbled under pressure at the majors in the past - two years ago in the US Women's Open at Cherry Hills she found water twice and took 8 on the last - Ochoa never looked like folding in St Andrews, even if there was a minor alarm on the Road Hole when she played sideways out of a bunker.

Disarmingly courteous - she began each press conference by saying 'Hello, everybody' - there was plenty of support for Ochoa among her peers and the media as well the galleries who lined the ancient fairways. Chatting away to her English caddie, smiling when she hit good shots and often, excitedly, breaking into darting runs from greens to tees (compared to the ditherers on the LPGA, the Mexican fairly bolts round the links), Ochoa won many friends with her generous personality.

At Golf Digest, Ron Sirak wraps up an entertaining few weeks (don't you agree Wally?) of diary-like blog entries with this from St. Andrews:

Remarkably, there was no logo-dated merchandise on sale to commemorate the first women's professional tournament at the Old Course. You'd think there would be something that said: "2007 Ricoh Women's British Open, Old Course St. Andrews." Local merchants are also disappointed at the turnout. It certainly is nowhere near the 45,000 a day that show up to watch the men in the Open Championship. In fact, the crowds are down slightly from the 17,000 a day last year at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.

Golf.com features some final day photos, as does GolfChannel.com. 

Because The Guardian has been slow to post stuff, I just caught this from Lawrence Donegan, assessing Michelle Wie's game:

After a level-par first round the 17-year-old American spoke of rediscovering the form that once made her the second-most famous golfer in the world. What a difference a day, and a North Sea breeze, makes. A five at the par-four 1st, supposedly a gentle introduction to the Old Course, was bad enough for Wie but worse followed as she racked up four more bogeys and a triple-bogey over the next 14 holes to end with an 80 and missing the cut.

It was the fourth time in 13 competitive rounds this season that Wie has failed to break 80. In all she is more than 90-over par in six tournaments. No doubt her entourage will point out that she is recovering from a wrist injury but, equally, critics of those guiding the teenager's career will argue there is little to be gained in allowing her to play at the highest level when it is quite obvious she cannot compete.

And Golf For Women's lively blog included this note from Dave Allen who managed to scarf down the media tent food while jotting down Judy Rankin's thoughts on Ochoa.