Lorena Ochoa

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This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Ochoa and the second or maternal family name is Reyes.
Lorena Ochoa
— Golfer —
Lorena Ochoa.jpg
Ochoa in 2008
Personal information
Born (1981-11-15) 15 November 1981 (age 43)
Guadalajara, Mexico
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Nationality  Mexico
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
Symetra Tour 3
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 2)
ANA Inspiration Won: 2008
Women's PGA C'ship 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
Player of the Year		 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
LPGA Vare Trophy 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
LPGA Tour
Money Winner		 2006, 2007, 2008
Heather Farr Player Award 2007
Bob Jones Award 2011
(For a full list of awards, see here)

Lorena Ochoa Reyes (Spanish <phonos file="LorenaOchoa Pronunciation.ogg">[ˈlore'naˈocho'a]</phonos>;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,[1] she is considered the best Mexican golfer and the best Latin American female golfer of all time.[2][3]

Childhood and amateur career

Born and raised in Guadalajara, Ochoa was the third of four children of a real estate developer and an artist.[4] 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.[5] 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[6][7][8][9][10] 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.[11] While a student in Tucson, Ochoa received regular tutoring and greatly improved her English by watching movies and reading magazines between practice and tournaments.[12]

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[13] and being named to the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) 2001 All-America First team.[14] She won the 2001 Pac-10 Women's Golf Championships,[15] was named Pac-10 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year 2001 and was All Pac-10 First team in 2001 and 2002.[16]

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.[5] 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.[17] 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.[13]

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.[5] 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.[13] She was the recipient of the 2003 Nancy Lopez Award, which is presented annually to the world's most outstanding female amateur golfer.[18]

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."[19]

Professional career

Ochoa hitting an iron shot at the 2007 LPGA Championship

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.[20] She was also Duramed FUTURES Tour Player of the Year.[21]

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[22] 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.[18] 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.[23] She also won the LPGA Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average on the LPGA Tour.[24]

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.[25]

In April 2007, Ochoa overtook Annika Sörenstam to become the world number one ranked golfer.[26]

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.[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 Sörenstam in 2005.[28]

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.[29] 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 she completes ten seasons on the LPGA Tour.[30]

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.[31]

Retirement

On 20 April 2010, Ochoa released a statement indicating her intent to retire from professional golf.[32] 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."[33]

Ochoa made a limited return to competitive golf in 2012, having been invited by her sponsor, Lacoste, to compete in the Lacoste Ladies Open de France, an event on the Ladies European Tour.[34] Ochoa finished the event in T22, 13 shots behind the winner Stacey Keating. Ochoa also announced she would compete in the 2012 edition of her own event, the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

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.[35] Proceeds from the tournament help support the Lorena Ochoa Foundation.

Outside the LPGA

Ochoa golf swing in 2004

Lorena Ochoa's successes fuel 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.[19] She became engaged to her boyfriend Andrés Conesa Labastida, CEO of Aeroméxico,[36] and they married in December 2009. In April 2011, Ochoa announced she was pregnant with the couple's first child.[37]

Professional wins (30)

LPGA Tour (27)

Legend
LPGA Tour major championships (2)
Other LPGA Tour (25)
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 United States Wendy Ward
2 29 Aug 2004 Wachovia LPGA Classic −19 (67-68-69-65=269) 2 strokes South Korea Grace Park
3 19 Jun 2005 Wegmans Rochester LPGA −15 (67-69-72-65=273) 4 strokes United States Paula Creamer
4 15 Apr 2006 LPGA Takefuji Classic −19 (63-68-66=197) 3 strokes South Korea Seon Hwa Lee
5 21 May 2006 Sybase Classic −5 (71-71-66=208) 2 strokes South Korea Kyeong Bae
South Korea Hee-Won Han
6 27 Aug 2006 Wendy's Championship for Children −24 (67-68-64-65=264) 3 strokes South Korea Jee Young Lee
United States Stacy Prammanasudh
7 8 Oct 2006 Corona Morelia Championship −20 (71-64-68-69=272) 5 strokes Paraguay Julieta Granada
8 15 Oct 2006 Samsung World Championship −16 (67-73-67-65=272) 2 strokes Sweden Annika Sörenstam
9 12 Nov 2006 The Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions −21 (66-73-63-65=267) 10 strokes United States Paula Creamer
United States Juli Inkster
10 25 Mar 2007 Safeway International −18 (69-64-69-68=270) 2 strokes Norway Suzann Pettersen
11 20 May 2007 Sybase Classic −18 (68-67-67-68=270) 3 strokes South Korea Sarah Lee
12 24 Jun 2007 Wegmans LPGA −8 (69-71-67-73=280) Playoff South Korea In-Kyung Kim
13 5 Aug 2007 Ricoh Women's British Open −5 (67-73-73-74=287) 4 strokes Sweden Maria Hjorth
South Korea Jee Young Lee
14 19 Aug 2007 CN Canadian Women's Open −16 (70-65-64-69=268) 3 strokes United States Paula Creamer
15 26 Aug 2007 Safeway Classic −12 (67-66-71=204) 5 strokes Sweden Sophie Gustafson
United States Christina Kim
Scotland Mhairi McKay
South Korea Inbee Park
16 14 Oct 2007 Samsung World Championship −18 (68-67-69-66=270) 4 strokes South Korea Mi-Hyun Kim
17 18 Nov 2007 ADT Championship −4 (70-70-66-68) 2 strokes United States Natalie Gulbis
18 2 Mar 2008 HSBC Women's Champions −20 (66-65-69-68=268) 11 strokes Sweden Annika Sörenstam
19 30 Mar 2008 Safeway International −22 (65-67-68-66=266) 7 strokes South Korea Jee Young Lee
20 6 Apr 2008 Kraft Nabisco Championship −11 (68-71-71-67=277) 5 strokes Norway Suzann Pettersen
Sweden Annika Sörenstam
21 13 Apr 2008 Corona Championship −25 (66-66-66-69=267) 11 strokes South Korea Song-Hee Kim
22 20 Apr 2008 Ginn Open −18 (68-67-65-69=269) 3 strokes Taiwan Yani Tseng
23 18 May 2008 Sybase Classic −10 (68-67-71=206) 1 stroke South Korea Na Yeon Choi
Sweden Sophie Gustafson
United States Brittany Lang
Scotland Catriona Matthew
United States Morgan Pressel
24 28 Sep 2008 Navistar LPGA Classic −15 (67-67-69-70=273) Playoff United States Cristie Kerr
United States Candie Kung
25 1 Mar 2009 Honda LPGA Thailand −14 (71-69-68-66=274) 3 strokes South Korea Hee Young Park
26 26 Apr 2009 Corona Championship −25 (65-65-69-68=267) 1 stroke Norway Suzann Pettersen
27 4 Oct 2009 Navistar LPGA Classic −18 (66-68-66-70=270) 4 strokes United States Brittany Lang
United States Michelle Wie

LPGA Tour playoff record (2–5)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2005 Safeway International Sweden Annika Sörenstam Lost with par on first extra hole
2 2006 SBS Open at Turtle Bay South Korea Joo Mi Kim
South Korea Soo Young Moon		 Kim won with birdie on second extra hole
Ochoa eliminated with birdie on first hole
3 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship Australia Karrie Webb Lost to birdie on first extra hole
4 2007 Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika United States Nicole Castrale Lost to par on first extra hole
5 2007 Wegmans LPGA South Korea In-Kyung Kim Won with par on second extra hole
6 2007 Longs Drugs Challenge Norway Suzann Pettersen Lost to birdie on second extra hole
7 2008 Navistar LPGA Classic United States Cristie Kerr
United States Candie Kung		 Won with par on second extra hole
Kerr eliminated with par on first hole

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 United States Amy Dahle
2 30 Jun 2002 Ann Arbor FUTURES Classic −8 (68-72-68=208) 1 stroke[38] United States Christina Kim
3 11 Aug 2002 Betty Puskar Futures Golf Classic −9 (70-68-69=207) 2 strokes[39] United States Erika Wicoff

Futures Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2002 Hewlett-Packard Garden State FUTURES Summer Classic United States Christina Kim Lost to birdie on sixth extra hole[40][41]

Major championships

Wins (2)

Year Championship Winning score Margin Runners-up
2007 Ricoh Women's British Open −5 (67-73-73-74=287) 4 strokes Sweden Maria Hjorth, South Korea Jee Young Lee
2008 Kraft Nabisco Championship −11 (68-71-71-67=277) 5 strokes Norway Suzann Pettersen, Sweden Annika Sörenstam

Results timeline

Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Kraft Nabisco Championship DNP T21LA 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.

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Kraft Nabisco Championship 1 1 1 4 7 9 10 10
LPGA Championship 0 0 1 2 5 7 7 7
U.S. Women's Open 0 1 0 1 2 4 9 7
Women's British Open 1 0 0 3 4 5 7 6
Totals 2 2 2 10 18 25 33 30
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 17 (2006 Kraft Nabisco – 2010 Kraft Nabisco)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 7 (2006 British Open - 2008 LPGA)

LPGA Tour career summary

Year Tournaments
played		 Cuts
made		 Wins 2nd 3rd Top 10s Best
finish		 Earnings
($)		 Money
list 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 70.75
20021 5 4 0 0 0 3 T5 19,080 n/a (142) 71.00 n/a (10)
2003 24 23 0 2 3 8 2 823,740 9 70.97 12
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(30)
2012 1 1 0 0 0 0 T18 13,158 141 71.00 n/a

1 The first three events of 2002 were played as an amateur; missed cut was an injury withdrawal (neck) prior to 2nd round of the 2002 U.S. Women's Open.[42][43]
2 Ochoa was not included in the final 2010 scoring average rankings; her final event was in early May.

Futures Tour summary

Year Tournaments
played		 Cuts
made		 Wins 2nd 3rd Top 10s Best
finish		 Earnings
($)		 Money
list rank		 Scoring
average		 Scoring
rank
2002 10 10 3 4 0 8 1 53,702 1 69.27 1

Honors and awards

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

Notes and references

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  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ How I Learned English: 55 Accomplished Latinos Recall Lessons in Language and Life, ed. Tom Miller, (National Geographic Books). pg. 154.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lorena Ochoa Retirement Transcript
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Recibe Lorena Ochoa anillo de compromiso
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Awards
Preceded by World No. 1 Ranked Golfer
23 April 2007 – 2 May 2010		 Succeeded by
Jiyai Shin
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