Lorena Ochoa

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Lorena Ochoa

Personal Information

Birth

November 15, 1981 (age 25) Mexico

Height

5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)

Nationality

Mexico

Residence

Guadalajara, Mexico

College

University of Arizona (two years)

Career

Turned Pro

2002

Current tour

LPGA Tour (joined 2003)

Past tour

Futures Tour (2002)

Professional wins

13 (LPGA Tour: 10, other individual: 3)

Major Championship results
Wins: 0

Awards

Mexico National Sports Award

2001

Futures Tour Rookie of the Year

2002

Futures Tour Player of the Year

2002

LPGA Rookie of the Year

2003

AP Female Athlete of the Year

2006

Mexico Athlete of the Year

2006

LPGA Rolex Player of the Year

2006

Vare Trophy

2006

Lorena Ochoa (born in Guadalajara on 15 November 1981) is a Mexican golfer who plays on the U.S. based LPGA Tour. She was only the second Mexican to become a member of the world's leading women's golf tour, but she quickly became one of the LPGA's top players. Ochoa's success has raised its profile in her home country.

Ochoa grew up next door to the Guadalajara Country Club 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 also won five consecutive titles at the Junior World Golf Championships. In 2000 she enrolled at the University of Arizona in the United States. She was the dominant player in women's collegiate golf for two years, winning the NCAA Player of the Year Awards for 2001 and 2002. In her sophomore year she won a record eight consecutive collegiate events.

In November 2001, Ochoa was presented with Mexico's National Sports Award by Mexican President Vicente Fox. She was the youngest recipient of her country's highest sporting accolade, and the first golfer to receive it.

Ochoa left university after her sophomore year to turn professional. She won three of her ten events on the 2002 Futures Tour, and topped the money list to earn membership on the LPGA Tour for the following season. She was the LPGA Rookie of the Year in 2003, and finished ninth on the money list. In 2004 she won her first two LPGA Tour titles and finished on the money list. That same year she placed in the top ten in three of the four majors. In 2005, she won the Wegman's Rochester LPGA.

On March 30, 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. She retained her lead through rounds 2 and 3, but ultimately lost to Karrie Webb in a playoff. Her playoff loss marked her best finish to date in an LPGA major.

In 2006, a year in which she led the LPGA in tournaments won (six) and money earned, Ochoa won the LPGA Rolex Player of the Year award. This award 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. She also won the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average on the LPGA Tour. Her achievements were recognized outside the sport of golf when Ochoa won the 2006 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year award.

To date, Ochoa has 10 wins on the LPGA Tour.

1 Professional wins (13)
- 1.1 Futures Tour (3)
- 1.2 LPGA Tour (10)
2 Results in LPGA majors
3 External links

[edit] Professional wins (13)

[edit] Futures Tour (3)

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

[edit] LPGA Tour (10)

2004 (2) Franklin American Mortgage Championship, Wachovia LPGA Classic Hosted by Betsy King
2005 (1) Wegmans LPGA
2006 (6) LPGA Takefuji Classic, Sybase Classic, Wendy's Championship for Children, Corona Morelia Championship, Samsung World Championship, The Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions
2007 (1) Safeway International

[edit] Results in LPGA majors

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Kraft Nabisco Championship	DNP	T21	8	3	T8	T35	2	T10
LPGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	T20	T8	T5	T9
U.S. Women's Open	CUT	DNP	WD	T13	T44	T6	T20
Women's British Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	T24	4	CUT	T4