Lorena Ochoa

Lorena Ochoa (born in Guadalajara, Jalisco on 15 November 1981) is a Mexican golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and is currently the number one ranked female golfer in the world. As the first Mexican golfer of either gender to be ranked number one in the world, she is considered the best Mexican golfer of all time. cite web
title = Say Hello to the Ochoa Era
publisher = Washington Post
date = 2007-04-27
author = Leonard Shapiro
url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042700075.html?nav=rss_sports
accessdate = 2007-04-27]

Childhood and amateur career

Ochoa grew up next door to the Guadalajara Country Club cite web
title = The Pride of Mexico
publisher = Golf for Women magazine
date = 2003
author = Michael Arkush
url = http://web.archive.org/web/20030626130959/http://www.golfdigest.com/gfw/gfwfeatures/index.ssf?/gfw/gfwfeatures/gfw200306ochoa.html
accessdate = 2008-05-22] and took up golf at the age of five. She won her first state event at the age of six and her first national event at seven. All told as a junior she captured 22 state events in Guadalajara and 44 national events in Mexico. She won five consecutive titles at the Junior World Golf Championships cite web
title = Junior World Golf Championships 1990 Champions
publisher = Junior World Golf Championships
url = http://www.juniorworldgolf.com/pchamps.php?pg=1990
accessdate = 2007-04-27] cite web
title = Junior World Golf Championships 1991 Champions
publisher = Junior World Golf Championships
url = http://www.juniorworldgolf.com/pchamps.php?pg=1991
accessdate = 2007-04-27] cite web
title = Junior World Golf Championships 1992 Champions
publisher = Junior World Golf Championships
url = http://www.juniorworldgolf.com/pchamps.php?pg=1992
accessdate = 2007-04-27] cite web
title = Junior World Golf Championships 1993 Champions
publisher = Junior World Golf Championships
url = http://www.juniorworldgolf.com/pchamps.php?pg=1993
accessdate = 2007-04-27] cite web
title = Junior World Golf Championships 1994 Champions
publisher = Junior World Golf Championships
url = http://www.juniorworldgolf.com/pchamps.php?pg=1994
accessdate = 2007-04-27] and in 2000 she enrolled at the University of Arizona in the United States on a golf scholarship. While a student, with regular tutoring she greatly improved her English by watching movies and reading magazines between practice and tournaments ["How I Learned English: 55 Accomplished Latinos Recall Lessons in Language and Life", ed. [http://www.tommillerbooks.com/ Tom Miller] , (National Geographic Books). pg. 154.] .

She was very successful in women's collegiate golf in the next two years, winning the NCAA Player of the Year Awards for 2001 and 2002, finishing runner-up at both the 2001 and 2002 NCAA National Championship cite web
title = NCAA Names Lorena Ochoa Division 1 Women’s Golf Most Outstanding Student Athlete
publisher = NCAA
date = 2006-05-05
url = http://www2.ncaa.org/portal/media_and_events/press_room/2006/may/20060505_25th_wgolf_rls.html
accessdate = 2007-04-27] and being named to the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) 2001 All-America First team. cite web
title = Marta Prieto Earns All-America Honors
publisher = Atlantic Coast Conference
date = 2001-05-29
url = http://www.theacc.com/sports/w-golf/spec-rel/052901aaa.html
accessdate = 2007-04-28] She won the 2001 Pac-10 Women's Golf Championships, cite web
title = 2001 Pac-10 Women's Golf Championships
publisher = PAC-10
url = http://www.pac-10.org/sports/c-golf/spec-rel/042501aag.html
accessdate = 2007-04-27] was named PAC-10 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year 2001 and was All Pac-10 First team in 2001 and 2002. cite web
title = PAC-10 Women's Golf
publisher = PAC-10
url = http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/pac10/sports/c-golf/auto_pdf/Pac-10WomensGolfRecords.pdf
accessdate = 2007-04-27]

In her sophomore year she had eight tournament wins in ten events she entered and set an NCAA record with seven consecutive victories in her first seven events. She won the Golfstat Cup in both 2001 and 2002. The Cup is given to the player who has the best scoring average versus par with at least 20 full rounds played during a season. cite web
title = Golfstat Cup Award
publisher = National Golf Coaches Association
url = http://www.ngca.com/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3300
accessdate = 2007-04-27] setting the single-season NCAA scoring average record as a freshman at 71.33 and beating her own record the next year by just over a stroke per round with a 70.13 average.

In November 2001, Ochoa was presented with Mexico's National Sports Award by Mexican President Vicente Fox. She was the youngest person and first golfer to receive Mexico's highest sporting accolade. In 2006 she was named NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Most Outstanding Student Athlete, an award which was bestowed as part of the 25th Anniversary of Women’s Championships celebration, taking into account outstanding performances over the past 25 years. She was the recipient of the 2003 Nancy Lopez Award which is presented annually to the world's most outstanding female amateur golfer.

Professional career

Ochoa left university after her year to turn professional. She won three of ten events played on the 2002 Futures Tour, and topped the money list to earn membership on the LPGA Tour for the 2003 season. cite web
title = Silver Anniversary Salute: FUTURES Tour Prepares For Next 25 Years
publisher = Duramed Futures Tour
author = Lisa D. Mickey
url = http://www.duramedfuturestour.com/News/SilverAnniversarySalute.html
accessdate = 2007-04-27] She was also Duramed FUTURES Tour Player of the Year. cite web | title = Duramed FUTURES Tour Awards | publisher = Futures Tour | url = http://www.duramedfuturestour.com/TourAwards.asp | accessdate = 2008-05-24]

In her rookie season on the LPGA Tour she gained eight top-10 finishes including runner-up finishes at the Wegmans Rochester and Michelob Light Open at Kingsmill ending the season as the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year cite web
title = Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Winners
publisher = LPGA Tour
url = http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?mid=2&pid=2501
accessdate = 2007-04-27] and ninth on the LPGA official money list. In 2004 she won her first two LPGA Tour titles: the Franklin American Mortgage Championship (where she became the first Mexican born player to win on the LPGA Tour) and the Wachovia LPGA Classic. cite web | title = Lorena Ochoa Career Biography | publisher = LPGA Tour | url = http://www.lpga.com/content/2007PlayerBiosPDF/Ochoa-07.pdf | accessdate = 2007-04-28] That same year she placed in the top ten in three of the four major championships.

In 2005, she won the Wegman's Rochester LPGA. In 2006, her first round score of 62 in the Kraft Nabisco Championship tied the record for lowest score ever by a golfer, male or female, in any major tournament. Her playoff loss to Karrie Webb marked her best finish until 2007 in an LPGA major. By the end of the year she won six tournaments, topped the money list and claimed her first LPGA Tour Player of the Year award which goes to the player who gains the most number of points throughout the season based on a formula in which points are awarded for top-10 finishes and are doubled at the LPGA's four major championships and at the season-ending ADT Championship. cite web | title = Rolex Player of the Year Winners | publisher = LPGA Tour | url = http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?mid=2&pid=2500 | accessdate = 2007-04-28] She also won the LPGA Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average on the LPGA Tour. cite web | title = Vare Trophy Winners | publisher = LPGA Tour | url = http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?pid=2499&mid=2 | accessdate = 2007-04-28]

Her achievements were recognized outside the sport of golf when Ochoa won the 2006 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year award and received the National Sports Prize for the second time. cite web
title = No-one Has the Right to Think or Decide for the People: President Vicente Fox
publisher = Presidency of the Republic
date = 2006-11-21
url = http://fox.presidencia.gob.mx/en/activities/?contenido=28297
accessdate = 2007-04-27]

In April 2007, Ochoa overtook Annika Sörenstam to become the world number one ranked golfer. cite web | title = Ex-Wildcat shuffle: Ochoa passes Sörenstam as No. 1 | publisher = Tucson Citizen | author = Geoff Grammer | date = 2007-04-24 | url = http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/sports/49307.php | accessdate = 2007-04-28]

In August 2007, Ochoa won her first major championship at the historic home of golf, the Old Course at St. Andrews, with a wire-to-wire win by four shots at the Women's British Open. cite web | title = Ochoa crowned Ricoh Women’s British Open Champion at St Andrews | publisher = Ladies European Tour | author = Bethan Cutler | date = 2007-08-05 | url = http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_news.php?Id=10208 | accessdate = 2007-08-27] She won the next two LPGA events, the CN Canadian Women's Open and the Safeway Classic, the first to win three consecutive events since Annika Sörenstam in 2005. cite web | title = Safeway Classic win gives Ochoa third straight LPGA title | publisher = ESPN | author = Associated Press | url = http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2992305 | accessdate = 2007-08-27]

Also in 2007, Ochoa became the first woman ever to earn more than $4,000,000 in a single season, surpassing Annika Sörenstam's previous record of $2,863,904.

In April 2008, Ochoa won her second major championship, this time at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, becoming the first golfer to win consecutive LPGA majors since Sörenstam in 2005. She celebrated this victory in the traditional fashion for the Kraft Nabisco by jumping into the pond on the 18th green. [cite news|url=http://blog.daylife.com/?p=1967 |title=Speak softly, carry big stick, jump in lake… | author=Daylife |date=2008-04-06 |accessdate=2008-04-06] The following week, she won the Corona Championship in her home country by 11 strokes. This gave her the final tournament win she needed to qualify for the World Golf Hall of Fame, although she cannot be inducted until 2012, after she completes ten seasons on the LPGA Tour.cite news|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3345379 |title=Ochoa gains eligibility to Hall of Fame with rousing triumph |author=Associated Press |publisher="ESPN.com" |date=2008-04-13 |accessdate=2008-04-13]

Ochoa is coached by Rafael Alarcon, a Mexican professional. Alarcon finished second in the 1976 Canadian Amateur Championship, won that title in 1979, then turned professional. cite news|author=Lorne Rubenstein|title=Ruling the fairways|publisher="The Globe and Mail"|date=2008-05-03|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080503.OCHOA03/TPStory/TPSports/?query=|accessdate=2008-05-20]

Tournament host

In November 2008, she will become the host of a new LPGA event, the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, to be held at her original home course, Guadalajara Country Club. [cite news|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=golfonline&id=3338620 |title=No. 1 Ochoa returns to Mexico confident she can start winning at home |author=Associated Press |publisher="ESPN.com" |date=2008-04-09 |accessdate=2008-04-10]

Professional wins (27)

Futures Tour (3)

*2002 (3) JWA/Michelob Light FUTURES Charity Golf Classic, Ann Arbor FUTURES Classic, Betty Puskar FUTURES Golf Classic

LPGA Tour (24)

*2004 (2) Franklin American Mortgage Championship, Wachovia Classic Hosted by Betsy King
*2005 (1) Wegmans Rochester LPGA
*2006 (6) LPGA Takefuji Classic, Sybase Classic, Wendy's Championship for Children, Corona Championship, Samsung World Championship of Golf, The Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions
*2007 (8) Safeway International, Sybase Classic, Wegmans LPGA, Women's British Open, CN Canadian Open, Safeway Classic, Samsung World Championship, ADT Championship
*2008 (7) HSBC Women's Champions, Safeway International, Kraft Nabisco Championship, Corona Championship, Ginn Open, Sybase Classic, Navistar LPGA Classic

LPGA Majors are shown in bold.

Results in LPGA majors

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
Green background for a win. Yellow background for a top-10 finish.

LPGA Tour career summary

*Official as of October 6, 2008.

Honors and awards

2001

*Mexico National Sports Award _(a)

2002

*Futures Tour Rookie of the Year
*Futures Tour Player of the Year

2003

*LPGA Rookie of the Year

2006

*Mexico National Sports Award ₍₂₎
*AP Female Athlete of the Year
*Mexico Athlete of the Year
*LPGA Rolex Player of the Year
*LPGA Tour Money Winner
*LPGA Vare Trophy
*Golf Writers Association of America Female Player of the Year

2007

*LPGA Rolex Player of the Year ₍₂₎
*LPGA Tour Money Winner ₍₂₎
*LPGA Vare Trophy ₍₂₎
*Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year
*Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year
*Mexico National Sports Award ₍₃₎
*Golf Writers Association of America Female Player of the Year ₍₂₎
*AP Female Athlete of the Year ₍₂₎
*EFE Sportswoman of the Year
*Heather Farr Player Award‎

2008

*Best International Athlete ESPY Award

ee also

*Golfers with most LPGA Tour wins

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.lorenaochoa.com/ Official website] - in English and Spanish
* [http://www.lpga.com/player_results.aspx?id=519 Profile on the LPGA Tour official site]

Persondata
NAME=Ochoa, Lorena
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Professional Golfer
DATE OF BIRTH= November 15, 1981
PLACE OF BIRTH= Guadalajara, Mexico