RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Stacy Lewis held off defending champion Yani Tseng to win the Kraft Nabisco Championship by three strokes Sunday, earning her first LPGA Tour title in the year’s first major.

Lewis shot a 3-under 69 to finish at 13-under 275, rallying from an early two-stroke deficit while going head-to-head with the world’s top-ranked player.

She punctuated a tenacious back nine at Mission Hills with an improbable par putt from the fringe on the 17th hole, prompting a celebration in the raucous gallery.

Tseng shot a 74 with four bogeys, losing focus in her quest for her fifth worldwide title already this year. Lewis bogeyed the 15th hole to allow Tseng to pull within one stroke, but Tseng bogeyed the next two holes.

“I can’t even believe it,” said Lewis, who overcame scoliosis to become an elite golfer. “I’ve felt like I’m going to throw up all day. It’s awesome.”

Morgan Pressel, Katie Futcher and Angela Stanford finished nine strokes behind Lewis in a third-place tie. Michelle Wie (75) finished in sixth place, her best finish in a major since 2006.