A final score of eight under par saw Lewis pick up the winner's cheque of £262,000 ($400,000/€301,000) and become the first American to win the British Open since Sherri Steinhauer in 2006 at Royal Lytham and St Annes.

The 28-year-old trailed compatriot Morgan Pressel by one shot going into the final round, but her four over 76 dropped her out of contention for top honours, and a final round level-par 72 was enough to hand world number two Lewis - who wore a back brace for seven-and-a-half years from the age of 11 to correct curvature of the spine - the victory.

Lewis' victory brought to an end a remarkable sequence of ten successive major Championship wins on the women's tour by Asian-born players, and also capped a fine summer for United States golfers on the British Isles following Phil Mickelson's wins at the Scottish Open and the Open Championship and a Senior British Open title for Mark Wiebe.

Strong winds at the famous old course in Fife forced play to stop at 12.30pm yesterday with only nine players completing their third round, which meant that the rest of the field had an early start to the last day's play today to fit in the final two rounds.

But it was the woman from Ohio who adapted best to the heavy schedule at St Andrews, a course she appears to thrive at considering the last time she played here she won all five of her matches in the 2008 Curtis Cup to lead the US to victory over Great Britain.


Two bogeys on the last three holes of her third round left Lewis trailing going into the final round but the American steadied herself for the trip around again and this time she managed to birdie the final two holes to seal victory.

"I love the history of this place and feel so carefree playing here," said Lewis, whose first Major win came at the 2011 Kraft Nabisco Championship in California.

"It was an unbelievably hard day, but it's a pretty good result.

"It all happened so fast at the end.

"You shoot a couple of birdies and suddenly it's over.

"I was just hanging in there all day.

"My patience won it for me.

"It was just so hard.

"The wind was brutal.

"I never thought for a second that birdieing the last two holes was even possible."

While South Korea's Choi and Hee Young Park were Lewis' closest challengers, it was their compatriot Inbee Park who was the favourite coming into the tournament.

The world number one arrived in Scotland chasing an historic fourth successive Major title in the one year, a feat that has still to be accomplished by any professional golfer, male or female.

But the 25-year-old struggled to master the Old Course, and despite a steady opening two days, final rounds of 74 and 78 left the woman from Seoul 14 shots behind the winner Lewis.


"I'm just glad the tournament is over because I've gone through four rounds under pressure," said the winner of this year's US Women's Open, LPGA and Kraft Nabisco Championships.

"Everybody has been watching me.

"It feels a bit weird because I get to do an interview when I shot six-over-par.

"It's a bit of a relief it's over.

"It's something I've never experienced before.

"It's been a great experience.

"I might not have won this week but I've learned a lot."

Park will get another chance to win a fourth major this season, as the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) has added the Evian Masters as its fifth major Championship.

The tournament which is due to take place on the shores of Lake Geneva in France from September 12 to 15, will be the first time a major Championship has been staged on mainland Europe.

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