Webb snares major

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Karrie Webb's slow, steady climb back to her Hall of Fame standards hit warp speed with one magical shot yesterday that sent her to a stunning playoff victory in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Webb holed a pitching wedge from 116 yards for eagle on the par-5 18th hole to close with a 7-under-par 65, then made a 7-foot birdie putt on the same hole in the playoff to beat Lorena Ochoa and capture her seventh career major.

As exhilarating as it was for Webb, it was devastating for those she beat.

Ochoa collapsed on the back nine, only to recover with a 5-wood to 6 feet on an island green for eagle on the closing hole. Her 15-foot birdie putt in the playoff never had a chance.

Michelle Wie, the 16-year-old phenom from Hawaii, was 25 feet away from winning until her chip ran 10 feet by, and her birdie putt to join the playoff caught the left lip.

Natalie Gulbis (68) birdied three of five holes down the stretch, only to see her 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole turn away.

It was Webb's first victory since 2004, and her first major since she won the 2002 Women's British Open at Turnberry.

Asked to explain her seven-shot rally and her magical shot, Webb could think of only one thing.

''Destiny, definitely," she said.

Asked whether destiny worked against her, Wie said: ''Karrie holing it out, Lorena making eagle on the last hole, me not making birdie . . . it must not be meant to be. I tried my hardest."