Morgan Pressel won the 2005 U.S. Women's Amateur on Sunday with a 9-and-8 victory over Maru Martinez. The victory capped an amazing summer for the 17-year-old Floridian, who tied for low amateur at the U.S. Women's Open and reached the third round of the U.S. Girls' Junior. (Steve Gibbons/USGA)

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Pressel Wins 2005 U.S. Women's Amateur Title

Roswell, Ga. – Morgan Pressel, 17, of Boca Raton, Fla., won the 2005 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship with a 9-and-8 victory over Maru Martinez, 21, of Venezuela in the scheduled 36-hole final at the 6,341-yard, par-72 Settindown Creek Course of Ansley Golf Club.

“It’s my biggest win,” said Pressel. “I’m proud of myself for how I played and how I handled myself through the week. …I just kept waiting and it all came together this week…It just means so much to me to have played this well.”

A Champion's Interview With Morgan Pressel

Interview With Maru Martinez

Meet The 2005 Quarterfinalists

Storming To A Title: Pressel Virtually Unstoppable In Memorable Women's Amateur Run

Roswell, Ga. –Nothing, it seems, could stop Morgan Pressel.Not the 155 other competitors in the 2005 U.S. Women’s Amateur. Not the Georgia heat and humidity that enveloped suburban Atlanta’s Settindown Creek Course of Ansley Golf Club over the seven days of the championship. Not the rains nor brief thunderstorm that temporarily suspended play in Sunday’s 36-hole championship match.

Not the disappointment of a third-round loss at the U.S. Girls’ Junior two weeks ago when her opponent rallied from a 2-down deficit with two to go, chipping in for birdie at the 19th hole for the victory. Not the memory of Birdie Kim’s miraculous bunker shot at the 72nd hole of the U.S. Women’s Open to deny the 17-year-old from Boca Raton, Fla., a shot to become the youngest major-championship winner in the history of golf.

Not even the gritty and fiery Maru Martinez, the 5-foot-2 spitfire from Caracas, Venezuela, who played with the determination and guile of her anointed nickname (Rudy), which was given to her by Auburn coach Kim Evans, could slow down Tropical Storm Morgan.

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Championship Notebook: Martinez Wins Over Fans, But Unfortunately Not The Trophy

Roswell, Ga. –The championship match of the 2005 U.S. Women’s Amateur had reached the 21st hole at Ansley Golf Club’s Settindown Creek Course when a young fan asked her father who was winning.

“[Morgan] Pressel is 6 up,” he told her.

In a faint voice, the young girl said, “She is not the one we are rooting for.” Obviously this youngster had joined the Maru Martinez bandwagon. Many of the approximate 500 fans who attended Sunday’s 36-hole final were rooting for the fiery 21-year-old from Caracas, Venezuela.

Perhaps it was Martinez’s spunk and guile. Maybe it was because her college affiliation. Martinez is entering her senior year at Auburn, where she plays on the school’s women’s golf team and this, after all, was Southeastern Conference territory.Or, perhaps, it was the underdog role Martinez had against the 17-year-old favorite Pressel.