OCHOA POISED TO TAKE OVER THE THRONE.Byline: JILL PAINTER GOLF PALM DESERT - Lorena Ochoa Lorena Ochoa (born in Guadalajara, Jalisco on 15 November 1981) is a Mexican golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and is currently the number one ranked woman golfer in the world. is the new queen of golf. Ochoa, the 24-year-old Mexican star, solidified her unofficial status as the game's best player by dethroning the best golfer in the world on Sunday. She did it in style, too. Ochoa trailed Annika Sorenstam by three strokes after 54 holes at the Samsung World Championship The Samsung World Championship is an annual golf tournament, originating in 1980, for professional female golfers which takes place every October on the LPGA Tour. It is a limited player event, open by invitation only. at Big Horn Big Horn is a tall peak in the Cascade Range in Washington, USA. At 2438+ meters (8,000 feet) in elevation, it is the highest point in Lewis County, Washington.[1] Big Horn, one of the Goat Rocks, is the second highest point on the ridge west of Mt. Golf Club. She didn't flinch flinch intr.v. flinched, flinch·ing, flinch·es 1. To start or wince involuntarily, as from surprise or pain. 2. To recoil, as from something unpleasant or difficult; shrink. n. . In order to be the best, you have to beat the best. You have to nail knee-wobbling putts, and she did. Ochoa shot a final-round 7-under 65 Sunday to beat Sorenstam by two shots. She wasn't just good, she was unbelievably good. ``You know, I've been in the last group with Annika, but being three shots back is not an easy thing just to overcome and win the tournament and put everything together,'' Ochoa said. ``The player of the year points are very important and for sure, it was my biggest 18 holes of golf.'' Was it really her best round of golf? No. But considering the circumstances, it was the most impressive round of golf to date, that much is true. One of the greatest things about Ochoa is her fan base. With the Lorena! fan club, golf is exciting. Stuffy golf fans need not apply for entry into her gallery. As she sank her par putt on No.18 to clinch the victory, her family, boyfriend and friends sprinted onto the green. One wrapped her in a Mexican flag, while others hugged and kissed her. Her longtime friend, Caitlin Oyler, doused everyone with a bottle of champagne. Her fans were red Lorena! T-shirts and red Lorena! hats. Many walk the course with beers in hand and Mexican flag backpacks on their backs. It must kill them to keep quiet while players are standing over putts or readying to drive the ball. But they let it all out afterward. They squeal and yell and chant ``Ole, ole ole.'' They pick up their foldable chairs and run around. How can Annika compete with that? Annika is good. But Annika is calm, quiet and other than a fist pump The fist pump is a celebratory gesture in which a closed fist is raised before the torso and subsequently drawn down and nearer to the body in a vigorous, swift motion. The fist pump is frequently carried out in parts of the Western Hemisphere, Europe, and Japan (where it is known every once in a while, she's not the best golfer at entertaining a gallery. Her gallery is more about ``oohs'' and ``ahhs.'' Ochoa's gallery has no limits. Neither does she. ``Today, Lorena is the best golfer in the world,'' said Oyler, a Pepperdine student who walked all four rounds. ``It's all about consistency. You saw from the first drive her competitiveness. She said, `I know I can do it.' '' Sorenstam usually flourishes with leads, especially on Sundays. Sorenstam's not flashy or emotional, but she always get the job done. But Sorenstam -- who has 69 LPGA LPGA abbr. Ladies Professional Golf Association victories -- didn't this time. She squandered squan·der tr.v. squan·dered, squan·der·ing, squan·ders 1. To spend wastefully or extravagantly; dissipate. See Synonyms at waste. 2. a three-shot lead, something Tiger Woods  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled. never does in the final round. Ochoa shot a final-round 7-under 65 -- which included one eagle, five birdies and a series of bone-chilling, back-breaking putts. Sorenstam shot a 70. Ochoa made up ground on Sorenstam early by birdieing No.1. By the fifth hole, Ochoa and Sorenstam were tied at 15-under. And on No. 15, Ochoa sank a 15-foot putt for birdie and Sorenstam bogeyed for a two-shot swing. While Woods won't exactly lose sleep over not playing enough rounds for player of the year, the award is one of Sorenstam's goals. It's no wonder that losing Sunday was troubling for Sorenstam. ``(Ochoa) is playing so consistent, and she has a lot of confidence,'' Sorenstam said. ``You know, she is just solid overall. She is a competitive player. And here I am talking about how important the player of the year and money list and all of that are, but I'm sure when you ask her she says the same thing. ``You know, that's a really strong will. If you feel so strongly about it, there is a lot of things you can do. I just felt like she was going to play well. But, on the other hand, I felt very good about my chances. I want those awards just as much as she does, and I felt good about my game. ... I'm as disappointed as it gets.'' Ochoa should be a lock for player of the year, something Sorenstam covets. Officially, Sorenstam is still No.1 in the world golf rankings and Ochoa is No. 2. But Ochoa is moving in on the coveted cov·et v. cov·et·ed, cov·et·ing, cov·ets v.tr. 1. To feel blameworthy desire for (that which is another's). See Synonyms at envy. 2. To wish for longingly. See Synonyms at desire. ranking. Ochoa has won five tournaments this season, including two in a row. Sorenstam has won three. Ochoa has earned $2.3 million, Sorenstam has $1.9 million. Ochoa wants that top player billing. ``My goal is to be the No. 1 player,'' Ochoa said. ``I think you have to move your way up there. I think Annika is ahead. It's obvious. She has been playing for so many years. She has been playing so consistent. She won 69, 70 tournaments. I don't want to jump out there and be the No.1 player in the world. It's not fair. I can't imagine it being this week. I'm fine, I'm happy, I'm patient. I do think it's going to happen. ... I know I can be up there. I think they know, too.'' After Sunday, Sorenstam must know. Sorenstam, 36, is eyeing retirement in the not-so-distant future. She's in the process of setting up golf schools, foundations and such. She's hosting an LPGA event. She might eclipse Kathy Whitworth's record 88 LPGA victories, but it's becoming clear by every Mexican flag that's raised on the 18th green that it will no longer be easy with Ochoa lurking See lurk. (messaging, jargon) lurking - The activity of one of the "silent majority" in a electronic forum such as Usenet; posting occasionally or not at all but reading the group's postings regularly. . Ochoa is just getting started. She's refreshing, and while she's certainly not as outspoken as her fans, she's got confidence. To borrow the LPGA slogan, she rocks. Her reign should be engaging. Wie ready for break from eventful e·vent·ful adj. 1. Full of events: an eventful week. 2. Important; momentous: an eventful decision. year PALM DESERT - Michelle Wie Michelle Sung Wie (Korean Wie Seong-mi Hangul: 위성미 Hanja: , born October 11, 1989 in Honolulu, Hawaii)(IPA pronunciation of surname: [wi][1]) is an American professional golfer. is ready for Halloween. Sporting black fingernail fin·ger·nail n. The nail on a finger. polish, she put the finishing touches finishing touches finish npl the finishing touches → der letzte Schliff finishing touches npl → ultimi ritocchi mpl on another lackluster performance, this time at the Samsung World Championship at Big Horn Golf Club. She hasn't played well the last few weeks. Perhaps a break is exactly what the 17-year-old needs. It's been a year since she turned pro, and while she has finished in the top five in three majors, she still has yet to win an LPGA event. ``Obviously, I'm not feeling as wonderful as I did,'' Wie said. ``Like I said before, sometimes you have to take a step back in order to move forward. I feel like this is the time of year you don't play that great, your best, and all of a sudden you play good. And, I feel that's coming in me. It's really close. ``I mean, I feel my driver and my putter and my short game and everything, I'm working on it really harder and it feels really close.'' Wie was scheduled to return to classes at Punahou High School in Hawaii on Tuesday. She's not so excited about class, but she is looking forward to the Halloween dance. As for what she'll wear, she was keeping that under her Nike cap. ``It's a surprise, and you're not invited,'' Wie told reporters. Asked if she had a tall enough date -- Wie is 6-foot tall -- she said it wasn't that kind of dance and that she was going with friends. Her class schedule is tough, it includes ``economics, calculus calculus, branch of mathematics that studies continuously changing quantities. The calculus is characterized by the use of infinite processes, involving passage to a limit—the notion of tending toward, or approaching, an ultimate value. and European history, all in a row,'' Wie said. ``Whoopty-doo, and then I'm done.'' Wie, whose caddie is now Fanny Sunneson, has had many memorable experiences, well as some that are not so memorable. Asked what she would change over the past year, Wie replied: ``I think that I probably would have tried to hydrate hydrate (hī`drāt), chemical compound that contains water. A common hydrate is the familiar blue vitriol, a crystalline form of cupric sulfate. Chemically, it is cupric sulfate pentahydrate, CuSO4·5H2O. myself more, stay out of the sun.'' Spoken like a typical teenager. Wie was referring to an obviously embarrassing moment when she had to withdraw from the PGA (1) (Professional Graphics Adapter) An early IBM PC display standard for 3D processing with 640x480x256 resolution. It was not widely used. (2) (Programmable Gate Array) See gate array and FPGA. Tour's John Deere Classic The John Deere Classic is an American professional golf event which is on the PGA Tour schedule. It is played annually in July, the week before the British Open Championship, at the TPC at Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. after suffering from dehydration. She was taken to a hospital via ambulance. She's had some eventful rulings, and the Samsung World Championships, where she finished 17th in a field of 20 and was 5-over-par for the tournament, was no different. Play was held up for 30 minutes in the first round for a ruling on No. 14 Thursday and she finished with a quadruple bogey Bogey This is the benchmark return to which the performance of a portfolio manager or mutual fund manager is compared. Notes: This benchmark is typically the S&P 500 index. . Now, Wie can return to school and work out the kinks in her short game. ``I'm working on a lot of things,'' she said. ``The last couple of weeks I was a little uncomfortable with my tee shots. But, I know what to work on. I feel like it's just getting better and better.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos, 3 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) no caption (Lorena Ochoa) (2 -- color) Lorena Ochoa, left, is sprayed with champagne by family and friends after a recent tournament victory Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images (3) Lorena Ochoa watches her tee shot on the sixth hole as Annika Sorenstam passes behind her at the Samsung World Championship. Reed Saxon/Associated Press Box: (1) BY THE NUMBERS (2) THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE - Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. (3) Etc. |
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