Playing and winning at famed Donald Ross-designed Pinehurst No. 2 is always special, but for Amelia Lewis it is an emotional dream come true.

The incoming freshman at the University of Florida captured the 107th North and South Women's Championship Saturday, 3 and 2, over Cyndey Clanton, a North Carolina native and rising sophomore at Auburn University.

Lewis, a resident of Jacksonville, says Payne Stewart, who won the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, is her favorite golfer. And she loves Donald Ross-designed courses, like her first home course, San Jose Country Club.

""That's why I'm crying," Lewis said after her win Sunday. "It's just awesome. I love everything about Pinehurst, the people, the course, everything," she said. "With Payne being my favorite (player) this is, of course, the ultimate course I wanted to play."

The 36-hole final was back-and-forth much of the day.

Lewis took an early 1-up lead Saturday with a birdie on the second hole. She held a 2-up lead after Clanton bogeyed the fifth. Birdies at Nos. 7 and 8 and a par at the ninth by Clanton brough the golfers to the turn all square. Clanton won hole Nos. 13 and 14 to take a 2-up lead. She maintained that lead as they broke for lunch.

In the afternoon, the match seesawed back and fourth. Clanton's 20-foot birdie putt on the par-5 fourth hole gave her a 3-up lead after 22 holes. Lewis won five of the next six holes to take at 2-up lead with eight holes to play.

"That (stretch) gave me a lot of confidence," Lewis said. "At that point, I was in control."

She closed out the match with a par on the 16th.

The two emerged from a field of 64 players that started match play competition Tuesday.

Lewis claimed a convincing 6 and 4 victory over Jaclyn Sweeney, while North Carolinian Clanton posted a 4 and 3 win over California's Lisa McCloskey in Friday's semifinal matches.

In Friday's first semifinal match, Lewis got off to a steady start through five five holes, building a 3-up lead over the ninth-seeded Sweeney. By the time the two reached the eighth hole, Lewis had grabbed a 5-up lead.

Then on the 275-yard par 4 12th hole, Lewis hit a bomb off the tee that landed on the green. The result was a two-putt birdie that put her 6-up, putting her in the driver's seat with just six holes remaining. After Sweeney made a four-foot birdie on hole 13 to extend the match, Lewis then closed things out with a birdie on the 14th hole to post the 6 and 4 win.

Lewis, 18, said that the hot weather this week has been a non-factor for her.

"I know how to deal with the heat," Lewis said. "Where I am from I am used to it."

Judging from the way she got around Donald Ross' famed No. 2 on Friday afternoon it appears that she also knows how to deal with the heat of high pressure competition. Lewis consistently found the fairway with her driver and the greens with her irons, constantly applying pressure to her opponent during the match. In 15 holes, she carded only one bogey, while posting three birdies.

"My driver was really working for me today," Lewis said. "It was both accurate and long. I also hit nearly every green, so I was giving myself plenty of birdie opportunities. While I did not make many putts, at the same time I was not giving anything up either, which is crucial in match play."

Clanton said she was also accustomed to playing in the heat. One thing is for certain, Clanton's game was sizzling from the start of her semifinal match with seventh-seed McCloskey.

She played the four par-5s on the course at 6-under par with three birdies and a double-eagle.

With a 1-up lead Clanton struck her second shot on the 482-yard par 5 fourth hole with a 5-iron from 190 yards out. The ball finished up in the bottom of the cup, with the incredible shot giving her a 2-up advantage.

"It was like amazing," Clanton said when describing her first-ever double eagle. "I hit it so perfect, and it landed just on the green, then bounced once and rolled in."

As the twosome made the turn, Clanton still held her 3-up advantage. She then won holes 11 and 13 with pars to take a 5-up lead and bring the match to dormie. On the 400-yard par 4 14th, a McCloskey 10-foot par save extended the match to the par-3 15th, where a pair of conceded par putts brought the contest to a close, with Clanton prevailing 4 and 3.

"I just hit the ball really well today," Clanton said, "and the way I performed on the par fives was a definite help. I was also hitting fairways and greens (the whole) round, which is key out here (on No. 2)."

Contact F.W. Manning II at 639-5481 or by e-mail at frankwm2@gmail.com