PALM DESERT, California -- Lorena Ochoa took a huge step toward dethroning Annika Sorenstam as the LPGA Tour player of the year, overwhelming her Sunday with a 7-under 65 that turned a three-shot deficit into a two-shot victory in the Samsung World Championship. Ochoa was relentless at the start, a little lucky in the middle and solid down the stretch at Bighorn to win for the second straight week and fifth time this year, tops on the LPGA Tour and almost enough to wrap up the points-based award that Sorenstam has captured the last five seasons. Trailing by two shots at the turn, Ochoa hit a 60-foot putt on the 10th hole that banged into the back of the cup, hopped out briefly and then dropped back in the hole for a birdie that turned into a two-shot swing when Sorenstam made bogey from a bunker. The 24-year-old Ochoa, the winner last week in her native Mexico, stood on the green in mild shock, then smiled and shook her head. Sorenstam, who closed with a 70, must have felt like she had seen that all day. Ochoa took only 28 putts in the final round. "I gave 100 percent on every shot," Ochoa said. "I fought with all my heart. She knows I can do it. I know I can do it. It was fun." Lorena Ochoa lifts the trophy after her victory Sunday. (Getty Images) Ochoa matched the best score of the tournament. Juli Inkster earlier posted a 65, which was 10 shots better than her playing partner, Michelle Wie. The 17-year-old from Hawaii had more trouble in the desert and finished with a 75, her worst score on the LPGA Tour this year and her eighth consecutive round without breaking par. Wie finished 17th in the 20-player field. "Obviously, I'm not feeling as wonderful as I did," Wie said. "Like I said before, sometimes we have to take a step back in order to move forward. This is the time of year you don't play that great, your best, and all of a sudden you play good. I feel that's coming in me." Her final event of the year is the Casio World Open on the Japanese Tour the week of Thanksgiving. Ochoa earned $218,750, pushing her season total over $2.3 million. Sorenstam or Karrie Webb would have to win their final two tournaments of the year to keep Ochoa from winning player of the year. It was a huge blow to Sorenstam, who had never lost at Bighorn. Trying to win for a record sixth time in the same tournament, she had a three-shot lead at the start of the day and still was two shots ahead when she made the turn. But she couldn't hold off Ochoa, who played bogey-free on a warm, breezy day in the desert. Ochoa has virtually wrapped up the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average, and Sorenstam now trails on the money list by more than $400,000, so the Swede would have to win the season-ending ADT Championship and its $1 million to payoff to capture the money title. "I feel very deflated at the moment," Sorenstam said. "I felt very good about my chances. I want those awards as much as she does. Somebody had to win today, and I'm as disappointed as it gets. I'll move on from here." Sophie Gustafson shot a 69 to finish third. Ochoa's friends and family rushed onto the 18th green and draped her in a Mexican flag, then sprayed her with champagne. Despite trailing Sorenstam by three shots going into the final round, Ochoa was confident as ever. Never mind that Sorenstam is the No. 1 player in women's golf, a five-time winner of the Samsung, unbeaten at Bighorn where she remains a member. "I believe in myself," Ochoa said after the third round. "I know I can do it." It didn't take long for her to make a believer out of everyone else in the final round. Sorenstam birdied two of the first three holes, and still couldn't help but feel Ochoa breathing down her neck. Playing with calm and confidence, Ochoa birdied the first hole from 25 feet, watched a 70-foot putt crawl by the lip on No. 2, and made a 45-foot eagle putt on the third to apply enormous pressure. Two holes later, they were tied. Ochoa made an 18-foot birdie putt, and Sorenstam three-putted from 50 feet, missing her 5-foot par putt so badly that it never touched the hole. Sorenstam expected this from Ochoa, and she had an answer. Showing her experience on this desert course, Sorenstam played a 30-yard pitch below the par-5 seventh green away from the hole to take a bunker out of play, using a ramp behind the green to roll the ball 8 feet away. Ochoa, however, might have made her biggest putt of the day, even though it cost her the lead. Her second shot was a foot away from being perfect, but hopped right instead of left, and went into the bunker. She blasted out too hard and over the green, and chipped 6 feet past the cup. Having to play almost a foot of break, she made the par putt to stay only one shot down. The lead was back to two shots when Sorenstam made a 12-foot birdie on the ninth. The advantage didn't last long. First came the unlikely birdie at No. 10 and the two-shot swing when Sorenstam made bogey. Ochoa took over for good on the 11th with a 6-foot birdie putt, then pulled away with a 15-foot birdie on the par-5 15th. Sorenstam had a wedge that came up short, and she wound up making bogey to fall three behind with three to play.