Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi
Columbia Edgewater Country Club
Portland, Ore.
August 26, 2007

Final-round interviews: Lorena Ochoa | Sophie Gustafson | Christina Kim | Mhairi McKay

Ochoa records third consecutive victory at Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi
25-year old moves into fifth place on LPGA Official Career Earnings List

Lorena Ochoa used consistent play and a bit of intimidation to win her third consecutive tournament at the Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi on Sunday. Ochoa, the number one player in the Rolex Rankings, earned a five-stroke victory over four other players to claim the $255,000 first-place check.

“I'm really happy with my three wins,” said Ochoa, who moved into fifth place on the LPGA Official Career Earnings List. “And the three of them are very special in different ways. And for sure this is a place that I will always remember. I just love the golf course, and it was my third win, so it was a special one.”

In the last 25 years, only Annika Sorenstam has won three consecutive events on the LPGA Tour. Sorenstam most recently won three in a row in 2005. In 2001, she won four consecutive events and in 2002, three straight. Ochoa claimed her first major title at the RICOH Women's British Open earlier the month, followed by the CN Canadian Women's Open, before winning in Portland.

While winning is nothing new for the 25-year old, three-in-a-row solidifies her place amongst the best to ever play the game. “I think it's hard to realize right now, you know, but every week I play, I play to win, that's why I'm here. And I knew I could do it,” said Ochoa, who now has six victories in 2007.

After Friday's first-round 67, Ochoa found herself one stroke off the lead held by LPGA Tour rookie Ji-Young Oh (66-71-73=210) and Sweden's Sophie Gustafson (66-68-75=209). A 66 on Saturday helped her inch into first place, but the competition did not bend. Gustafson went shot-for-shot with Ochoa through the second round, finishing one back of Ochoa through 36 holes. But Ochoa proved on the final 18 holes that she is the rightful owner of the top spot in the Rolex Rankings.

After bogeying two of the first three holes, Ochoa quickly rebounded with birdies on three of her next four. She then became the model of consistency, carding a final-round 1-under par 71 while the rest of her group succumbed to the pressure.

Gustafson notched an even-par front-nine, but struggled as the pressure mounted. After bogies on holes 14 and 16, Gustafson hooked a drive short on 17, leading to a double bogey and an eventual second place tie.

“I'm disappointed. That sums it up,” said Gustafson, despite logging her best finish of the season.

Scotland's Mhairi McKay (70-67-72=209), whose previous best finish of the year was a tie for 11th on her home turf at the RICOH Women's British Open in Scotland, used an even-par final round to finish in the four-way tie for second place. But she, too, carded a double bogey on the 17th hole, allowing Ochoa a comfortable walk to the championship.

McKay, who tied her career-best finish this week, used a sand save from the greenside bunker on 18 to preserve her 7-under par tally. “It has been a while since I've played in the final group so it was nice to get back in there again,” said McKay. “I had a couple of near misses and a couple of holes that were frustrating with my double on 17 so I was delighted to see that putt go in on 18.

Earlier in the day, LPGA Tour rookie In-Bee Park (73-72-64=209) used a final round 64, the best of the week, to get to 7-under par. After recorded five straight birdies on holes two through six, Park birdied eight, 14, 17 and 18 with her only bogey coming on hole 12.

Christina Kim (69-71-69=209) used six birdies and three bogies to join the tie for second with a 7-under par finish. “I was there just playing golf trying to make as many birdies as I can,” said Kim, who logged her fourth top-10 finish of the season.

Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi champion Ochoa will not make a case for her fourth consecutive victory next week, opting instead to return to her native Mexico for her brother's wedding. She will return to action at the Navistar LPGA Classic in late September.

Final-round interviews: Lorena Ochoa | Sophie Gustafson | Christina Kim | Mhairi McKay

Final-round notes

Ochoa reaches another milestone. Rolex Rankings number one Lorena Ochoa proved her position Sunday with her third-consecutive victory and sixth win of the season at the Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi. Ochoa's $255,000 winner's check gives her a total of $2,891,590 in season earnings, which ranks as the most official single-season earnings in LPGA history. Ochoa, who has a chance to become the first player in LPGA history to earn $3 million in a season, eclipsed Annika Sorenstam's previous record of $2,863,904 in 2002.

Mi Hyun Kim becomes fifth millionaire. Eight-time LPGA Tour winner Mi Hyun Kim became the fifth millionaire of the 2007 season with her tie for 22nd at the Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi. Kim's single-season total of $1,011,712 marks the second-consecutive year on Tour the South Korean has gone over $1 million in season earnings and the third time she has done it in her career. Last season Kim made $1,332,274 and she earned over $1 million in 2002 when she made $1,049,993.

Kim joins Rolex Rankings number one Lorena Ochoa, Suzann Pettersen, Paula Creamer and Cristie Kerr, who have also earned over $1 million this season.

Granada reaches $2 million milestone. 2006 ADT Championship winner Julieta Granada surpassed the $2 million mark in career earnings with her tie for 28th at the Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi. In just her second season on Tour, Granada has accumulated $2,010,086 in career earnings. The 20-year-old made a name for herself last year at the season-ending ADT Championship when she won a LPGA record-breaking $1 million.

Granada shot 74-69-73=216 to finish at even-par during the three-day event.

In-Bee Park finishes strong. LPGA Tour rookie In-Bee Park carded nine birdies and one bogey on her way to a career-best 8-under par 64 at the Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi. Park's previous career-best was a 68 during the second round of the CN Canadian Women's Open last week in Edmonton. Her final round this week was also the best round of the tournament, besting three rounds of 66 by Lorena Ochoa, Sophie Gustafson and Ji-Young Oh, respectively. Park finished at 7-under par (73-72-64=209) in tie for second place, her career-best finish.

Joh finishes tied for 22nd in first career LPGA event. Amateur Tiffany Joh, a junior at UCLA, shot 1-under (74-70-71=215) to finish in a tie for 22nd place. Joh received a sponsor exemption to play in the 2007 Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi.

U.S. Solheim Cup Team in the top 20. Five members of the recently announced U.S. Solheim Cup Team finished in the top 20 on Sunday at the Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi. Solheim Cup veteran Juli Inkster led the way with a tie for ninth place after a final-round 69. She finished at 4-under par 212 (75-68-69). Top points earner Paula Creamer (73-71-69), Angela Stanford (68-72-73) and captain's pick Laura Diaz (71-69-73) all tied for 12th place at 3-under 213. American Cristie Kerr, who finished second in U.S. Team points, tied for 17th, carding a final round 69 to finish at 2-under 214 (73-72-69).

Final-round interviews: Lorena Ochoa | Sophie Gustafson | Christina Kim | Mhairi McKay

Lorena Ochoa, 67-66-71=204 (-12)
Scorecard: Hole 1, 360-yard par-4: bogey – 7-iron from 145 yards over green, miss 6-foot par putt
Hole 3, 405-yard par-4: bogey – 8-iron from 140 yards to 30 feet, 3-putt
Hole 4, 391-yard par-4: birdie – 7-iron from 150 yards to 1 foot
Hole 5, 489-yard par-5: birdie – 3-wood right of green, chip to 15 foot
Hole 7, 462-yard par-5: birdie – 3-wood to 45 feet, 2-putt
Hole 10, 501-yard par-5: birdie – 3-wood from 220 yards to 25 feet, 2-putt
Hole 17, 397-yard par-4: 8-iron from 135 yards to bunker, chip to 5 feet, missed putt

MIKE SCANLAN: Lorena, congratulations. Your third straight win. That hasn't been done since 2005 when Annika won three straight. Just talk about what it's like to win three in a row.
LORENA OCHOA: Thank you. Hello everybody. It's been an interesting day today. And I did not start the best way making a couple of bogeys, but I felt that I was in control and I was very calm, and I was just a lot of confident. And after that just made a couple birdies, which was very important just to get myself back on good track. And I played really good today on the back nine. And everyone is different, but, again, it was a great day. I really enjoyed myself, and I was able to just have control, you know, over things. I handled the pressure well. I was nervous on 18. Even though I was five-shot lead, I was a little bit nervous putting that last one. So it was a great experience.

Q. Lorena, talk about what three wins in a row means to you.
LORENA OCHOA: I think it's hard to realize right now, you know, but every week I play, I play to win, that's why I'm here. And I knew I could do it. We're not going next week, I'm just going to go home. Hopefully, you know -- They keep saying, you should play, you can do four in a row. But it's time for me to go home. I'm really happy with my three wins. And the three of them are very special in different ways. And for sure this is a place that I will always remember. I just love the golf course, and it was my third win, so it was a special one.

Q. Do you feel like you're more comfortable playing in the lead now?
LORENA OCHOA: For sure, yes. I think, like everything else, it's just a process. And every time I feel just better. And I know myself a little bit more and I know I'm hitting the ball, the things I should do, and I think I'm better now just paying attention on my own game and really, you know, have goals of making a couple birdies in the next few holes, and having a strategy instead of worrying what the other players are doing and getting too much in the other game. So I'm doing better and it really helps to just really concentrate and be able to play.

Q. How did it make you feel to have so many Mexico flags out there?
LORENA OCHOA: It was, you know, the tournament, to see the Mexicans is just a great feeling. I'm glad -- I always play for all my country and I'm glad that all of them were here so they can share with me and go home and talk to everybody, so hopefully we have more Mexicans in the future.

Q. Were you surprised by the number of Mexicans fans that were here?
LORENA OCHOA: They've been planning this trip for the last three or four months. So I knew they were coming. And Rio is a Jack Nicholas signing golf occurs, and I'm the touring pro for the golf course. And it's just great to have its support and I appreciate that very much.

Q. Lorena, everybody knows you're number one in the world now. With Annika being hurt this year, do you expect her to come back strong and challenge you for that spot?
LORENA OCHOA: Yes, for sure. You know, Annika is just a top player and she likes to win. She's very competitive. And I think she's hurting right now and she's having just a tough time, but she likes to win and I think she will be back next year just really strong and fit and ready to go. So I'm prepared for a big challenge, not only from her but, you know, so many different players. It's not easy to be at the top and, you know, I'm going to make sure I stay there.

Q. Is today your mom's birthday?
LORENA OCHOA: Uh-huh. Today is my mom's birthday. She told me not to say how many. But I called her in the morning and wok her up and said good morning and happy birthday and I will win the tournament for her. So I'm glad I did. It's a nice present.

Q. That shot you hit on Number 4, do you feel like that was a big turning point for you?
LORENA OCHOA: Uh-huh. Yes. Yep. That was important.

Q. You're such a humble people, Lorena. Is that going to be tough to sort of keep this humility as you get more popular, more well known, and make more money and so forth?
LORENA OCHOA: Well, I think it's just you have so many more distractions. But thank you, and I promise to stay this way. You know, this is just who I am, and I have great support from my family and my team that helps me in Mexico and my coach and all my relatives. And it's just the way I am. And also my parents. So I want to say thank you to them, and just to be the same.

Sophie Gustafson, 66-68-75=209 (-7)
MIKE SCANLAN: All right, Sophie. You finished tied for second at 7-under par. Can you just talk about the day?
SOPHIE GUSTAFSON: I'm disappointed. That sums it up.

Q. Your second shot on Number 14 when you were trying to punch back up, what happened on that shot?
SOPHIE GUSTAFSON: It didn't, you know, get up in the air, and it got stuck in the rough.

Q. It was kind of hard to make up ground out there, wasn't it, the way Lorena was playing?
SOPHIE GUSTAFSON: Well, I would put it that it was very difficult to make up the round the way I was playing.

Q. Was it kind of a frustrating day?
SOPHIE GUSTAFSON: Yeah. Yeah, it was. I mean, I didn't end up playing that good all day, and I played awful towards the end.

Q. Your tee shot on 17, what happened there?
SOPHIE GUSTAFSON: Well, I'm not even sure I hit the club face. That's the probably what happened.

Q. Is that one of the more frustrating closing few holes that you played?
SOPHIE GUSTAFSON: Yes.

Q. Were you feeling -- Was your swing feeling pretty good on the front nine, because you were right there for a while.
SOPHIE GUSTAFSON: Well, I didn't hit any fairways all day. I probably hit two on the front, and I hit 11 and 12, so four fairways. I mean, that's just not that good, is it?

Q. Did you feel like it was mostly your driver that wasn't working for your day? Was everything else going okay?
SOPHIE GUSTAFSON: It was kind of iffy, all of it.

Christina Kim, 69-71-69=209 (-7)
Q. Talk about your day, especially with the prospects of making the Solheim team.
CHRISTINA KIM: To be honest with you, I was there just playing golf trying to make as many birdies as I can. Focusing on nothing but hitting the ball good with good tempo. I was just focusing on hitting good shots and I was coming up the ninth green and some guy said ‘hey, how about you just go and win it.' I hadn't even come to that realization. It feels kind of silly to say, but I didn't even realize it. I was focused so much on Solheim Cup and making as many birdies and one-putts as I could that I didn't even come to the realization that there was a chance of winning the tournament. I just wanted to make birdie on every single hole and then whatever happens, happens.

Mhairi McKay, 70-67-72=209 (-7)
Q. Nice save there on 18 to finish second…
MHARI MCKAY: I was really happy to see that putt go in. I felt like I played consistent all day today. I had a couple of near misses and a couple of holes that were frustrating with my double on 17 so I was delighted to see that putt go in on 18.

Q. Can you talk about playing with Lorena and what she is doing out here on Tour?
MHARI MCKAY: She is a fantastic golfer and that is why she is number one in the world right now. It was great to play with her today in the final group. To see how she handles herself and she is so nice, and the LPGA is very lucky to have her.

Q. Did it feel good to play in the final group today?
MHARI MCKAY: Absolutely. It has been a while since I've played in the final group so it was nice to get back in there again.

Q. Is it a challenge to play with her gallery?
MHARI MCKAY: No. You want to play with a gallery, because that is when you know you are playing well. You want those moments and to have that kind of pressure. I really enjoyed it.