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Lorena Ochoa Profile |
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Birth Date: November 15, 1981
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Birth Place: Guadalajara, Mexico
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Birth Name: Lorena Ochoa
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Height: 5'6"
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Biography |
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. Golf has a very limited
presence in Mexico, but Ochoa's success has raised its
profile in that 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
of 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
came third 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.
She is currently at the top of the LPGA money list, and the
top contender for Rolex Player of the Year.
To date, Ochoa has eight wins on the LPGA Tour. |
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