Ochoa, Lorena

▪ 2008

born Nov. 15, 1981, Guadalajara, Mex.

 Golfer Lorena Ochoa, already recognized as one of Mexico's all-time sports stars, carried the hopes of a nation on her shoulders with ease, and in 2007 she took over from Sweden's Annika Sörenstam as the world number one-ranked woman player, achieved her first major title, and (with 8 victories in 25 tournaments) established record earnings for one season on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour. No player had previously topped $3 million, but Ochoa brought it off even before she claimed the $1 million first prize in the season-ending ADT Championship in West Palm Beach, Fla., and finished the year with $4,364,994.

      One victory gave Ochoa particular pleasure: the 2007 Women's British Open, the first women's professional tournament ever staged on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scot. After a number of near misses in other major championships—she had finished in the top 10 in 11 of the previous 15 tournaments—Ochoa dominated at St. Andrews from start to finish. She led by two strokes after her opening-round six-under-par 67, stretched her advantage to six with a round to play, and won by four strokes, despite a one-over-par 74 on the final day. “I love St. Andrews,” she said, “I love to make history. It's been a very special week and I couldn't be more happy.”

      Ochoa, who grew up near the Guadalajara Country Club, won 44 Mexican national junior events, plus five consecutive age-group titles (1990–94) at the junior world golf championships in San Diego. (Tiger Woods was among the other age-group winners her first two years there.) While attending the University of Arizona, Ochoa was twice National Collegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year, and in her sophomore year she set an NCAA record with victories in her first seven events. In November 2001 she became the first golfer and youngest recipient of Mexico's National Sports Award, presented by Pres. Vicente Fox. After turning professional in 2002, Ochoa topped the money list on the Futures Tour to gain promotion to the LPGA, where she was the 2003 Rookie of the Year. The following year she became the first Mexican-born player to win on the LPGA circuit. To her delight, the victory came on the same day that her brother Alejandro climbed to the summit of Mt. Everest.

      Ochoa's opening-round 62 in the 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship (held at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.) equaled the lowest round ever in major championships. She lost in a play-off to Australian Karrie Webb, but with six wins Ochoa went on to surpass Sörenstam as the tour's leading money winner that season before putting the icing on the cake with an even better year in 2007. In November Ochoa announced that in 2008 she would host an LPGA tournament in her name back home at the Guadalajara Country Club.

Mark Garrod

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