Lorena Ochoa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lorena Ochoa |
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Ochoa in 2008
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| Personal information | |
| Born | 15 November 1981 Guadalajara, Mexico |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Nationality |  Mexico |
| Spouse | Andrés Conesa Labastida (m. 2009) |
| Career | |
| College | University of Arizona (two years) |
| Turned professional | 2002 |
| 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) |
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| 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 | |
| World Golf Hall of Fame | 2017 |
| 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 |
Lorena Ochoa Reyes (born 15 November 1981) is a famous Mexican former professional golfer. She played on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour from 2003 to 2010. Lorena was the top-ranked female golfer in the world for 158 weeks in a row. This is an LPGA Tour record! She held this spot from April 23, 2007, until she retired on May 2, 2010, when she was 28 years old.
Lorena was the first Mexican golfer, male or female, to be ranked number one in the world. Because of her amazing records, many people think she is one of the best female golfers ever. She was added to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017.
Contents
Early Life and Amateur Golf Career
Lorena Ochoa was born and grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico. She was the third of four children. Her dad was a real estate developer, and her mom was an artist. Lorena started playing golf when she was just five years old. She won her first state golf event at six and her first national event at seven.
When Lorena was 11, she met professional golfer Rafael Alarcón. She asked him to help her with her golf game. Alarcón asked her what her goal was, and she told him, "I want to be the best player in the world."
As a young golfer, she won 22 state events in Guadalajara and 44 national events in Mexico. She also won five straight titles at the Junior World Golf Championships. In 2000, she went to the University of Arizona in the U.S. on a golf scholarship. There, she was teammates with Natalie Gulbis. While studying in Tucson, Lorena worked hard on her English by watching movies and reading magazines.
She was very successful in college golf for two years. She won the NCAA Player of the Year Awards in 2001 and 2002. She also finished second at the NCAA National Championship in both 2001 and 2002. She was named to the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) All-America First team in 2001.
In her second year of college, she won eight out of ten tournaments she played in. She even set an NCAA record by winning seven events in a row! Lorena also won the Golfstat Cup in both 2001 and 2002. This award goes to the player with the best scoring average. She set new NCAA records for scoring averages in both her freshman and sophomore years.
In November 2001, Lorena received Mexico's National Sports Award from Mexican President Vicente Fox. She was the youngest person and the first golfer to get Mexico's highest sports honor. In 2006, she was named the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Most Outstanding Student Athlete. This award recognized her amazing performances over 25 years. In 2003, she received the Nancy Lopez Award, given to the world's best female amateur golfer.
Nancy Lopez, another golf legend, said that Lorena is very thoughtful. She remembers small details about people even after meeting them only once.
Professional Golf Career
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Lorena left college after her second year to become a professional golfer. In 2002, she won three out of ten events on the Futures Tour. She earned the most money on that tour, which helped her join the LPGA Tour for the 2003 season. She was also named the Duramed FUTURES Tour Player of the Year.
In her first year on the LPGA Tour in 2003, she finished in the top 10 eight times. She was named the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year. In 2004, she won her first two LPGA Tour titles: the Franklin American Mortgage Championship and the Wachovia LPGA Classic. She was the first Mexican-born player to win on the LPGA Tour.
In 2005, Lorena won the Wegmans Rochester LPGA. In 2006, she tied a record for the lowest score ever in a major tournament with a round of 62 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. By the end of 2006, she had won six tournaments. She earned the most money and won her first LPGA Tour Player of the Year award. She also won the LPGA Vare Trophy for having the lowest scoring average.
Her achievements were recognized outside of golf too. Lorena won the 2006 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year award. She also received Mexico's National Sports Prize for the second time.
In April 2007, Lorena became the world's number one ranked golfer, taking over from Annika Sörenstam.
In August 2007, Lorena won her first major championship at the famous Old Course at St Andrews. She won the Women's British Open by four shots. She then won the next two LPGA events, becoming the first golfer since Annika Sörenstam in 2005 to win three events in a row.
Also in 2007, Lorena became the first woman to earn over $4,000,000 in a single season. This broke Annika Sörenstam's previous record.
In April 2008, Lorena won her second major championship at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. She was the first golfer since Annika Sörenstam in 2005 to win two LPGA majors in a row. She celebrated by jumping into the pond on the 18th green, which is a tradition at that tournament. The next week, she won the Corona Championship in her home country by 11 strokes. This win helped her qualify for the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Lorena was coached by Rafael Alarcon, the same Mexican professional she met as a child.
Retirement from Golf
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On April 20, 2010, Lorena Ochoa announced that she planned to retire from professional golf. At a press conference in Mexico City on April 23, 2010, Lorena said her last tournament would be the 2010 Tres Marias Championship. She explained that her plan had always been to play for "around ten years" and to be the number one player in the world.
She 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."
Lorena said she would still be a member of the LPGA. She also said she would play in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational and might play in a U.S. Women's Open or Kraft Nabisco Championship in the future if she wanted to.
Lorena did play in a few tournaments again in 2012. She was invited to compete in the Lacoste Ladies Open de France. She also played in her own event, the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.
Hosting Tournaments
In November 2008, Lorena started hosting a new yearly LPGA event called the Lorena Ochoa Invitational. It is held at her home golf course, Guadalajara Country Club. Money raised from this tournament helps support the Lorena Ochoa Foundation.
Personal Life and Foundation Work
Lorena Ochoa's success in golf also helps her family's business, the Ochoa Group, in Guadalajara. Her brother, Alejandro Ochoa, manages it.
Lorena is represented by Ochoa Sports Management. This company also works with other Mexican golfers. The Ochoas want to help golf grow in Mexico through Lorena Ochoa Golf Academies. Lorena, Alejandro, and Rafael Alarcon created these academies.
Ochoa Sports Management also helps run the LPGA Corona Championship and the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.
The Lorena Ochoa Foundation runs La Barranca, a primary school in Guadalajara. This school helps 250 students who might not have many opportunities. In 2008, the foundation opened a high school. The plan is to add a new class each year and build a separate high school building.
Lorena got engaged to Andrés Conesa Labastida, who is the CEO of Aeroméxico. They got married in December 2009. In April 2011, Lorena announced she was expecting their first child. As of mid-2017, she has three children.
Honors and Awards
Lorena Ochoa has received many awards for her amazing golf career:
2001
- Mexico National Sports Award
2002
- Futures Tour Rookie of the Year
- Futures Tour Player of the Year
2003
2006
- Mexico National Sports Award (2nd time)
- 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 (2nd time)
- LPGA Tour Money Winner (2nd time)
- LPGA Vare Trophy (2nd time)
- Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year
- Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year
- Mexico National Sports Award (3rd time)
- Golf Writers Association of America Female Player of the Year (2nd time)
- AP Female Athlete of the Year (2nd time)
- EFE Sportswoman of the Year
- Heather Farr Player Award
2008
- Best International Athlete ESPY Award
- LPGA Rolex Player of the Year (3rd time)
- LPGA Tour Money Winner (3rd time)
- LPGA Vare Trophy (3rd time)
- Golf Writers Association of America Female Player of the Year (3rd time)
2009
- LPGA Rolex Player of the Year (4th time)
- LPGA Vare Trophy (4th time)
2011
- Bob Jones Award
Team Appearances
Amateur
- Espirito Santo Trophy (representing Mexico): 1998, 2000
Professional
- World Cup (representing Mexico): 2005
See also
In Spanish: Lorena Ochoa para niños
- List of golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
- Statue of Lorena Ochoa, in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
