Finally, Grace made her move. On the par 5 9th hole, she made a birdie to erase her bogey and move back to 8 under par. Song also made a birdie to maintain her two stroke lead. But on the par 4 tenth, she bogied while Grace birdied. Grace made another birdie on the par 5 11th (after missing an eagle putt), and Aree could manage no better than par. And just like that, Grace Park moved into a one shot lead over Song and Webb.

But Aree would not go away. She made no major mistakes, although she did just miss a few good birdie tries. It didn't bother Grace at all. She made another clutch birdie putt on 12 to give herself a two shot lead. She had two more great chances for birdie on 13 and 14, but just missed those. She seemed to be supremely confident, hitting even tough approach shots from the rough that stopped near the hole.

But then came the 15th hole, and Grace's first miscue. Her drive went well right, but she had a good lie in the trees. All she needed to do was poke it out into the fairway and hit a decent approach and she might save par. But instead she went for the green. Not a good idea: she clipped the tree and her ball died in the rough. Her third shot also failed to reach the green, and she left herself with a dicey par saving chip.

But Grace Park has every shot in her bag. She hit a superlative chip to a couple feet and saved bogey. Song made par and the lead was now one.

On the next hole, Song finally made a mistake, hitting a terrible putt long and well right of her intended target. The putt rolled all the way off the green, but she still nearly made the comebacker, and tapped in for bogey. That nonetheless knocked her back to a two shot deficit with two holes to go. And that's the way it stayed until the 18th hole. Grace hit a fantastic drive and laid up on the par 5; it was dangerous to go for the green in two here, as the green was basically an island green. Sorenstam had just found that out when her approach rolled into the water.

But Aree went for it, and from 210 yards deposited her approach about 30 feet from the hole. She had a shot at eagle, so Grace knew she had to get her iron close. No sweat: another brilliant iron to 6 feet. The only worry now was that, somehow, Song would make her eagle putt. Webb was already out of it, and only 17 year old Aree Song stood in Grace's way.

Grace was intense but still had time to
acknowledge her many fans
(AP Photo)

Aree was slightly pumped after her stunning eagle
on the final hole
(AP Photo)

In the end, Grace persevered

Well, wouldn't you know it: Aree DID make her eagle putt, to the startled roar of the crowd. Showing more emotion than she ever had before on a golf course, Aree pumped her fist and roared with them. Suddenly, she and Grace were tied, but if Grace made her short birdie putt, she would still win.

The putt seemed like a million miles to Grace, and she admitted later that she was trembling almost uncontrollably. But she took a deep breath, lined up the putt and dropped it without incident. Grace Park was the 2004 Nabisco Champion!

Afterwards, Grace did the traditional dive into the water to celebrate, taking her caddie Dave along with her. It had been a gutsy, brilliant performance. She wasn't allowed to back into this win; Song made very few mistakes, and Grace simply had to outplay her to get the win, which she did. She has taken her first step towards the greatness she has always sought, and with this win sits atop the LPGA Money List for the first time in her life.

"Ever since I picked up a golf club I knew that I was going to be a professional golfer, well, ever since I started playing competitively. I’ve been number one at the junior level, I’ve been number one at college, amateur, and my next thing and the best thing will be to become the number one professional player".

No doubt there are many more thrills in store for fans of Amazing Grace Park in the years ahead, including, perhaps, the achievement of her dream to be number one.

Ladies and gentlemen, the newest Major Champion!