Lorena Ochoa
| Lorena Ochoa | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born | 15 November 1981 Guadalajara, Mexico |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Nationality | |
| Residence | Guadalajara, Mexico |
| Spouse | Andrés Conesa Labastida (m. 2009) |
| Career | |
| College | University of Arizona (two years) |
| Turned professional | 2002 |
| Retired | 2010 |
| Current tour(s) | LPGA Tour (joined 2003) |
| Former tour(s) | Futures Tour (joined 2002) |
| Professional wins | 30 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| LPGA Tour | 27 |
| Futures Tour | 3 |
| Best results in LPGA Major Championships (Wins: 2) |
|
| Kraft Nabisco C'ship | Won: 2008 |
| LPGA Championship | T3: 2008 |
| U.S. Women's Open | T2: 2007 |
| Women's British Open | Won: 2007 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| Futures Tour Rookie of the Year |
2002 |
| Futures Tour Player of the Year |
2002 |
| LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year |
2003 |
| LPGA Tour Rolex Player of the Year |
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 |
| LPGA Vare Trophy | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 |
| LPGA Tour Money Winner |
2006, 2007, 2008 |
| (For a full list of awards, see here) |
Lorena Ochoa Reyes (born 15 November 1981) is a Mexican professional golfer who played on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour from 2003 to 2010, and was the top-ranked female golfer in the world for over three years, from April 2007 to her retirement in May 2010. 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.[1]
Contents |
Childhood and amateur career
Born and raised in Guadalajara, Ochoa was the third of four children of a real estate developer and an artist.[2] She took up golf at the age of five, won her first state event at the age of six, and her first national event at seven.
An 11-year-old Ochoa approached the professional Rafael Alarcon, 1979 winner of the Canadian Amateur Championship, as he worked on his game at Guadalajara Country Club, where her family lived near the 10th tee.[3] She asked him if he would help her with her game. Alarcon asked her what her goal was, "She said she wanted to be the best player in the world."
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[4][5][6][7][8] and in 2000 she enrolled at the University of Arizona in the U.S. on a golf scholarship, where she was a teammate of fellow freshman Natalie Gulbis.[9] While a student in Tucson, Ochoa received regular tutoring and greatly improved her English by watching movies and reading magazines between practice and tournaments.[10]
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[11] and being named to the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) 2001 All-America First team.[12] She won the 2001 Pac-10 Women's Golf Championships,[13] was named Pac-10 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year 2001 and was All Pac-10 First team in 2001 and 2002.[14]
In her sophomore year she had eight tournament wins in ten events she entered[1] and set an NCAA record with seven consecutive victories in her first seven events.[3] 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.[15] 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.[11]
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.[3] 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.[11] She was the recipient of the 2003 Nancy Lopez Award, which is presented annually to the world's most outstanding female amateur golfer.[16]
Nancy Lopez describes Ochoa off the golf course as:
"When you meet her for the second time and she remembers not only your name, but also the slightest detail from the last time you spoke."[17]
Professional career
Ochoa left college after her second year to turn professional, then won three of ten events played on the 2002 Futures Tour, and topped its money list to earn membership on the LPGA Tour for the 2003 season.[18] She was also Duramed FUTURES Tour Player of the Year.[19]
In her rookie season on the LPGA Tour in 2003, she had 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[20] 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.[16] That same year she placed in the top ten in three of the four major championships.
In 2005, Ochoa won the Wegmans 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.[21] She also won the LPGA Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average on the LPGA Tour.[22]
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.[23]
In April 2007, Ochoa overtook Annika Sörenstam to become the world number one ranked golfer.[24]
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.[25] 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 Sörenstam in 2005.[26]
Also in 2007, Ochoa became the first woman ever to earn more than $4,000,000 in a single season, surpassing 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.[27] 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.[28]
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.[29]
Retirement
On 20 April 2010, Ochoa released a statement indicating her intent to retire from professional golf.[30] At a press conference held in Mexico City on 23 April 2010, Ochoa said her last tournament would be the 2010 Tres Marias Championship to be played from 29 April through 2 May. She said that her career plan had always been to play for "around ten years" and to be the number 1 ranked player in the world. She also said:
"I just want to be honest with all of you. I went to Asia, and after two or three days of being in Thailand, it was really easy to me – it was really clear to see that I didn't want to be out there, you know. I just was thinking of other things. I wanted to get home. I wanted to start working on the foundation. I wanted to be here close to my family."
Ochoa said she would still maintain her membership in the LPGA and would play in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational and "I'm going to leave the door open in case I want to come back in one or two years to play a U.S. Open or a Kraft Nabisco."[31]
Tournament host
In November 2008, she became the host of a new annual LPGA event, the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, held at her original home course, Guadalajara Country Club.[32] Proceeds from the tournament help support the Lorena Ochoa Foundation.
Outside the LPGA
Lorena Ochoa's successes fuels the family business, the Ochoa Group in Guadalajara, managed by her brother Alejandro Ochoa.
Lorena Ochoa is represented by the Ochoa Sports Management, along with Alarcon and Sophia Sheridan, a Mexican golfer who plays on the LPGA's developmental tour. The Ochoas are confident the list will expand as they attempt to grow the game in Mexico through Ochoa Golf Academies, created by Lorena, Alejandro and Alarcon.
Ochoa Sports Management also operates the LPGA Corona Championship, an annual tour stop in Morelia, Mexico; and the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.
The Lorena Ochoa Foundation operates La Barranca, a primary school in Guadalajara with 250 underprivileged students and an innovative curriculum. In 2008, the foundation opened a high school with 21 freshmen students. The plan, according to foundation director Carmen Bolio, is to add a new class each year and then construct a high school building that's separate from the primary school.[17] She became engaged to her boyfriend Andrés Conesa Labastida, CEO of Aeroméxico,[33] and they married in December 2009. In April 2011, Ochoa announced she was pregnant with the couple's first child.[34]
Professional wins (30)
Futures Tour (3)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 Jun 2002 | JWA/Michelob Light FUTURES Charity Golf Classic | -9 (201) | 4 strokes | |
| 2 | 30 Jun 2002 | Ann Arbor FUTURES Classic | -8 (68–72–68=208) | 1 stroke[35] | |
| 3 | 11 Aug 2002 | Betty Puskar Futures Golf Classic | -9 (70–68–69=207) | 2 strokes[36] |
LPGA Tour (27)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 May 2004 | Franklin American Mortgage Championship | -16 (70–67–67–68=272) | 1 stroke | |
| 2 | 29 Aug 2004 | Wachovia LPGA Classic | -19 (67–68–69–65=269) | 2 strokes | |
| 3 | 19 Jun 2005 | Wegmans Rochester LPGA | -15 (67–69–72–65=273) | 4 strokes | |
| 4 | 15 Apr 2006 | LPGA Takefuji Classic | -19 (63–68–66=197) | 3 strokes | |
| 5 | 21 May 2006 | Sybase Classic | -5 (71–71–66=208) | 2 strokes | |
| 6 | 27 Aug 2006 | Wendy's Championship for Children | -24 (67–68–64–65=264) | 3 strokes | |
| 7 | 8 Oct 2006 | Corona Morelia Championship | -20 (71–64–68–69=272) | 5 strokes | |
| 8 | 15 Oct 2006 | Samsung World Championship | -16 (67–73–67–65=272) | 2 strokes | |
| 9 | 12 Nov 2006 | The Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions | -21 (66–73–63–65=267) | 10 strokes | |
| 10 | 25 Mar 2007 | Safeway International | -18 (69–64–69–68=270) | 2 strokes | |
| 11 | 20 May 2007 | Sybase Classic | -18 (68–67–67–68=270) | 3 strokes | |
| 12 | 24 Jun 2007 | Wegmans LPGA | -8 (69–71–67–73=280) | Playoff | |
| 13 | 5 Aug 2007 | Ricoh Women's British Open | -5 (67–73–73–74=287) | 4 strokes | |
| 14 | 19 Aug 2007 | CN Canadian Women's Open | -16 (70–65–64–69=268) | 3 strokes | |
| 15 | 26 Aug 2007 | Safeway Classic | -12 (67–66–71=204) | 5 strokes | |
| 16 | 14 Oct 2007 | Samsung World Championship | -18 (68–67–69–66=270) | 4 strokes | |
| 17 | 18 Nov 2007 | ADT Championship | -4 (70-70-66–68) | 2 strokes | |
| 18 | 2 Mar 2008 | HSBC Women's Champions | -20 (66–65–69–68=268) | 11 strokes | |
| 19 | 30 Mar 2008 | Safeway International | -22 (65–67–68–66=266) | 7 strokes | |
| 20 | 6 Apr 2008 | Kraft Nabisco Championship | -11 (68–71–71–67=277) | 5 strokes | |
| 21 | 13 Apr 2008 | Corona Championship | -25 (66–66–66–69=267) | 11 strokes | |
| 22 | 20 Apr 2008 | Ginn Open | -18 (68–67–65–69=269) | 3 strokes | |
| 23 | 18 May 2008 | Sybase Classic | -10 (68–67–71=206) | 1 stroke | |
| 24 | 28 Sep 2008 | Navistar LPGA Classic | -15 (67–67–69–70=273) | Playoff | |
| 25 | 1 Mar 2009 | Honda LPGA Thailand | -14 (71–69–68–66=274) | 3 strokes | |
| 26 | 26 Apr 2009 | Corona Championship | -25 (65–65–69–68=267) | 1 stroke | |
| 27 | 4 Oct 2009 | Navistar LPGA Classic | -18 (66–68–66–70=270) | 4 strokes |
LPGA Majors are shown in bold.
Major championships
Wins (2)
| Year | Championship | Winning Score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Ricoh Women's British Open | −5 (67–73–73–74=287) | 4 strokes | |
| 2008 | Kraft Nabisco Championship | −11 (68–71–71–67=277) | 5 strokes |
Results timeline
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | DNP | T21 LA | 8 LA | 3 | T8 | T35 | 2 | T10 | 1 | T12 | 4 |
| LPGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | T20 | T8 | T5 | T9 | T6 | T3 | T23 | DNP |
| U.S. Women's Open | CUT | DNP | WD | T13 | T44 | T6 | T20 | T2 | T31 | T26 | DNP |
| Women's British Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | T24 | 4 | CUT | T4 | 1 | T7 | T28 | DNP |
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
LA = low amateur
"T" = tied
Green background for a win. Yellow background for a top-10 finish.
LPGA Tour career summary
| Year | Events played |
Cuts made |
Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top 10s | Best finish |
Earnings ($) | Rank ($) | Scoring average |
Scoring rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | CUT | n/a | 76.50 | ||
| 2001 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | T7 | n/a | 70.75 | ||
| 20021 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | T5 | 19, 080 | 71.00 | ||
| 2003 | 24 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 823,740 | 9 | 70.97 | |
| 2004 | 27 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 18 | 1 | 1,450,824 | 3 | 70.02 | 3 |
| 2005 | 23 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 1,201,786 | 4 | 71.39 | 9 |
| 2006 | 25 | 25 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 2,592,872 | 1 | 69.24 | 1 |
| 2007 | 25 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 21 | 1 | 4,364,994 | 1 | 69.68 | 1 |
| 2008 | 22 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 2,763,193 | 1 | 69.70 | 1 |
| 2009 | 22 | 22 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 1,489,395 | 4 | 70.16 | 1 |
| 2010 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 176,527 | 53 | 71.92 | n/a2 |
1The first three events of 2002 were played as an amateur, the missed cut
was an injury withdrawal (neck) prior to the second round of the 2002 U.S. Women's Open.[37][38]
2The LPGA did not include Ochoa in the final 2010 scoring average rankings.
2009 season
Ochoa's schedule of LPGA tournaments in 2009, her final full season on tour.
Tournaments in bold are majors.
Number in parentheses following "Winner" is total number of official LPGA wins to date.
Honors and awards
|
2001
2002
2003 2006
|
2007
2008
|
2009 |
See also
Notes and references
- ^ a b Leonard Shapiro (27 April 2007). "Say Hello to the Ochoa Era". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042700075.html?nav=rss_sports. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
- ^ Golf Digest – 2003-01 – "Here comes Lorena" – by Tom Callahan
- ^ a b c Michael Arkush (2003). "The Pride of Mexico". Golf for Women magazine. Archived from the original on 26 June 2003. http://web.archive.org/web/20030626130959/http://www.golfdigest.com/gfw/gfwfeatures/index.ssf?/gfw/gfwfeatures/gfw200306ochoa.html. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
- ^ "Junior World Golf Championships 1990 Champions". Junior World Golf Championships. http://www.juniorworldgolf.com/pchamps.php?pg=1990. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
- ^ "Junior World Golf Championships 1991 Champions". Junior World Golf Championships. http://www.juniorworldgolf.com/pchamps.php?pg=1991. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
- ^ "Junior World Golf Championships 1992 Champions". Junior World Golf Championships. http://www.juniorworldgolf.com/pchamps.php?pg=1992. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
- ^ "Junior World Golf Championships 1993 Champions". Junior World Golf Championships. http://www.juniorworldgolf.com/pchamps.php?pg=1993. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
- ^ "Junior World Golf Championships 1994 Champions". Junior World Golf Championships. http://www.juniorworldgolf.com/pchamps.php?pg=1994. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
- ^ Arizona Wildcats.com - women's golf roster - 2000-01 - accessed 2011-07-15
- ^ How I Learned English: 55 Accomplished Latinos Recall Lessons in Language and Life, ed. Tom Miller, (National Geographic Books). pg. 154.
- ^ a b c "NCAA Names Lorena Ochoa Division 1 Women's Golf Most Outstanding Student Athlete". NCAA. 5 May 2006. Archived from the original on 17 April 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070417092602/http://www2.ncaa.org/portal/media_and_events/press_room/2006/may/20060505_25th_wgolf_rls.html. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
- ^ "Marta Prieto Earns All-America Honors". Atlantic Coast Conference. 29 May 2001. http://www.theacc.com/sports/w-golf/spec-rel/052901aaa.html. Retrieved 28 April 2007.
- ^ "2001 Pac-10 Women's Golf Championships". Pac-10. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070930155514/http://www.pac-10.org/sports/c-golf/spec-rel/042501aag.html. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
- ^ "Pac-10 Women's Golf". Pac-10. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/pac10/sports/c-golf/auto_pdf/Pac-10WomensGolfRecords.pdf. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
- ^ "Golfstat Cup Award". National Golf Coaches Association. http://www.ngca.com/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3300. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
- ^ a b "Lorena Ochoa Career Biography". LPGA Tour. http://www.lpga.com/content/2007PlayerBiosPDF/Ochoa-07.pdf. Retrieved 28 April 2007.
- ^ a b "Ochoa's lasting legacy may have nothing to do with golf – ESPN". ESPN. 13 October 2008. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/hispanicheritage2008/news/story?id=3640167. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
- ^ Lisa D. Mickey. "Silver Anniversary Salute: FUTURES Tour Prepares For Next 25 Years". Duramed Futures Tour. http://www.duramedfuturestour.com/News/SilverAnniversarySalute.html. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
- ^ "Duramed FUTURES Tour Awards". Futures Tour. http://www.duramedfuturestour.com/TourAwards.asp. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
- ^ "Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Winners". LPGA Tour. http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?mid=2&pid=2501. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
- ^ "Rolex Player of the Year Winners". LPGA Tour. http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?mid=2&pid=2500. Retrieved 28 April 2007.
- ^ "Vare Trophy Winners". LPGA Tour. http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?pid=2499&mid=2. Retrieved 28 April 2007.
- ^ "No-one Has the Right to Think or Decide for the People: President Vicente Fox". Presidency of the Republic. 21 November 2006. http://fox.presidencia.gob.mx/en/activities/?contenido=28297. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
- ^ Geoff Grammer (24 April 2007). "Ex-Wildcat shuffle: Ochoa passes Sörenstam as No. 1". Tucson Citizen. http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/sports/49307.php. Retrieved 28 April 2007.
- ^ Bethan Cutler (5 August 2007). "Ochoa crowned Ricoh Women’s British Open Champion at St Andrews". Ladies European Tour. http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_news.php?Id=10208. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
- ^ "Safeway Classic win gives Ochoa third straight LPGA title". Associated Press. ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2992305. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
- ^ Daylife (6 April 2008). "Speak softly, carry big stick, jump in lake…". http://blog.daylife.com/?p=1967. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
- ^ "Ochoa gains eligibility to Hall of Fame with rousing triumph". Associated Press. ESPN. 13 April 2008. http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3345379. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
- ^ Lorne Rubenstein (3 May 2008). "Ruling the fairways". The Globe and Mail (Canada). http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080503.OCHOA03/TPStory/TPSports/?query=. Retrieved 20 May 2008.
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=5118201
- ^ Lorena Ochoa Retirement Transcript
- ^ "No. 1 Ochoa returns to Mexico confident she can start winning at home". Associated Press. ESPN. 9 April 2008. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=golfonline&id=3338620. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
- ^ Recibe Lorena Ochoa anillo de compromiso
- ^ [1]
- ^ ESPN.com, 20-year-old now sets sights on U.S. Women's Open 1 July 2002. Accessed 4 August 2010.
- ^ ESPN.com, Ochoa wins her third title in nine starts 11 August 2002. Accessed 4 August 2010.
- ^ Yahoo Sports – golf – Lorena Ochoa – 2002 season results – accessed 2011-07-15
- ^ USWomensOpen.com 2002 score card – Lorena Ochoa – withdrawl - accessed 2011-07-15
External links
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lorena Ochoa |
- Official website (English) and (Spanish)
- Lorena Ochoa at the LPGA Tour official site
- Arizona Wildcats.com - women's golf - Lorena Ochoa - 2001
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Annika Sörenstam |
Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year 2006, 2007 |
Succeeded by Candace Parker |
| Preceded by Annika Sörenstam |
World No. 1 Ranked Golfer 23 April 2007 – 2 May 2010 |
Succeeded by Jiyai Shin |
|
|

