HSBC Women's Champions
Tanah Merah Country Club
Singapore, Singapore
March 2, 2008

Final-round interviews: Lorena Ochoa | Annika Sorenstam | Paula Creamer

Ochoa dominates at inaugural HSBC Women's Champions
Reigning Rolex Player of the Year wins by 11 strokes

SINGAPORE, Singapore, Mar. 2, 2008 – Mexico's Lorena Ochoa made her 2008 LPGA Tour debut in top form with an 11-stroke, wire-to-wire victory at the HSBC Women's Champions. The 26-year-old used four consecutive rounds in the 60's Tanah Merah Country Club's Garden Course to seal her first victory of the season and a $300,000 first-place check.

With her win, Ochoa gains entrance into the LPGA's season-ending ADT Championship, a tournament she won last season, and for the third straight year the opportunity to win a historic $1 million.

“It's a fantastic week,” said Ochoa, who now has 18 career wins and over $10.7 million in earnings since joining the Tour in 2003. “Starting on Thursday, the first two days, pretty low rounds, and on the weekend I wasn't as good with the putter but I managed to shoot under par every day.”

Ochoa started off hot despite a weather delay that halted play at 10:52 a.m. – just 12 minutes after she began. Nearly an hour passed before players returned to the course, where she rolled in birdie putts from 20 and five feet on holes two and three. Play was delayed twice more throughout the afternoon because of a combination of lightning, rain and unplayable course conditions, but Ochoa managed to escape unscathed. She added a third birdie on the ninth hole and a fourth on hole 16, a driveable par-4 where she got up-and-down from a greenside bunker.

“I was able to keep (my patience) every time they called us off, just not get mad, so I was like okay, try to be positive about it, one more time,” said Ochoa. “I ate a couple times, they had good food, and I was just trying to relax.”

Ochoa, the 2007 Rolex Player of the Year and Vare Trophy recipient, won eight times on Tour last season and took over the top spot in the Rolex Rankings from Annika Sorenstam, with whom she played in the final group on Sunday.

While world number one Ochoa coasted to a victory, Sorenstam and Paula Creamer, number two and number five in the Rolex Rankings, respectively, kept things interesting in the battle for second place. Both winners on Tour this season, the pair dueled until the back nine where Sorenstam pulled away with birdies on holes 13 and 16 to finish the day the week at 9-under-par (71-67-70-71=279). Creamer ended her stay in Singapore at 7-under-par (67-71-70-73=281) to edge Solheim Cup teammate Laura Diaz (70-71-70-71-283) by one stroke for third place.

Final-round interviews: Lorena Ochoa | Annika Sorenstam | Paula Creamer

Final-round notes

Sorenstam maintains lead on money list. With her second place finish at the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore, Annika Sorenstam increased her lead on the 2008 LPGA Official Money List to $415,645. Sorenstam carded a 1-under-par 71 in Sunday's final round to finish 11 shots behind winner Lorena Ochoa. She has finished atop the LPGA's season-ending money list eight times in career, mostly recently in 2005 when she banked nearly $2.6 million.

Sorenstam, Creamer improve ADT Points standings. Annika Sorenstam leads the race to the ADT Championship with 415,645 points through three events in 2008. Sorenstam, a winner at the SBS Open at Turtle Bay, leads Creamer by just over 70,000 points.

Lorena Ochoa earned the first of 13 automatic spots in the ADT Championship with her victory at the HSBC Women's Champions, which is deemed a Winner Event in LPGA Playoffs 2008 because of it's $2 million purse.

Wright ties career low. Australian Lindsey Wright battled through three hours of weather delays on Sunday to shoot tie a career-low with a 6-under-par 66 at the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore. Wright, who finished third last week at the Fields Open in Hawaii, carded five birdies, one bogey and an eagle on hole 13, a par-5. Wright has shot 66 in each of the last two years including a final round 6-under-par 66 at the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola, where she finished fourth.

Millionaire crossing. Juli Inkster became just the third person in LPGA history to cross the $12 million mark in career earnings with her tie for 25th at the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore. Inkster carded a trio of 74's and a final round 69 to shoot 3-over-par 291 and earn $17,786. She now has $12,009,976 in career earnings which places her third all-time behind Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb.

American Diana D'Alessio crossed the $1 million mark for her career with a tie for 18th place. D'Alessio earned $23,151 for her 1-over-par (72-71-76-70=289) performance.

WD. Joo Mi Kim withdrew during Friday's second round and Mi Hyun Kim withdrew during Saturday's second round at the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore. Se Ri Pak withdrew prior to Sunday's final round and Cristie Kerr withdrew during the final round.

Final-round interviews: Lorena Ochoa | Annika Sorenstam | Paula Creamer

Lorena Ochoa, 66-65-69-68=268 (-20)
Hole 2, 381 yard par-4: birdie – 9-iron from 130 yards to 20 feet
Hole 3, 140 yard par-3: birdie – 9-iron from 130 yards to 5 feet
Hole 9, 497 yard par-5: birdie – rescue club to 30 feet, 2-putt
Hole 16, 269 yard par-4: birdie – driver into greenside bunker, blast to 7 feet

MIKE SCANLAN: Congratulations, your first win of the year in your first tournament of the year. If you would, just talk about how you feel right now.
LORENA OCHOA: Thank you. Hello, everybody. I feel very good. I'm really excited. I'm really happy. It's a fantastic week. Starting on Thursday, the first two days, pretty low rounds, and on the weekend I wasn't as good with the putter but I managed to shoot under par every day. Today was a really long round with all the delays.
I learned a lot, and I took my game to a new level, so I'm going to keep trying to repeat myself. There are a lot of birdies out there, and hopefully I'll have great rounds this year.

Q. Do you think that the rest of the field did not push you hard enough?
LORENA OCHOA: Well, it was not easy, but you never know how it's going to happen. Sometimes you can play your best and someone else does something better than you, and sometimes you can just play okay and win, sometimes you can get away with a tournament, but this week for some reason I was the only one that I played consistent and some other players struggled a little bit. There is no explanation. Sometimes it happens that you take a big lead and you feel comfortable and you keep going, and today that was the case.
You know, it was just great because I also had pressure. I wanted to keep the pace. I didn't want to make mistakes. I wanted to win by more than eight which was my lead yesterday. It was good today.

Q. You said you worked very hard on your game. What have you seen over the last four days that has improved over last year?
LORENA OCHOA: I think I hit my driver very consistent. I only missed a few times the fairways. I think my putting improved a lot; if I'm right I didn't make any three putts, and that's always good. I was a little bit bad, lost a little control with my wedges, with my 56 and my 50 degree. For some reason I hit them a little bit farther and I wasn't comfortable, so I'm going to make sure I work on that the next few weeks.
And the rest, I'm happy to see good results. It's good to see that because we worked so hard, and it's just good to see that it's working.

Q. At the start of this event, because of Annika's win, people were wondering who was the true No. 1. You've beaten not just Annika, a winner this season; Paula, a winner this season; Karrie Webb, a winner this season; and two runners up this season, Ji Yai Shin and Laura Diaz; and you've got the biggest victory margin of your career. Can you just put in context what all of that means to you?
LORENA OCHOA: It means a lot. To me it's a great motivation, you know? It makes me want to play better, to win more. But like I said, sometimes there is just no explanation. It just happens and it was a great win for me. Everything came together at the right place, and I'm ready to keep going. I do want to have a great year this year. I know it's going to be tough, we're just at the beginning, but I like I way I've started.

Q. First of all, on the 10th hole when your second shot spun back, you obviously looked very angry. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Secondly, were you consulted at all today about whether the tournament would finish or whether you would have to come back tomorrow?
LORENA OCHOA: On the 10th hole I hit a good bunker shot. It was windy and the sand was wet, and I managed to get it out okay. But I hit it a little bit to the right, and it just came back to the front part of the green. So I was mad that I guess I was aiming to the right.
And the second answer, we kept asking, do you know, do we have a good chance to finish, and they said, yes, maybe yes. Really we didn't know anything. I was just trying to be relaxed and to enjoy having some time off, chatting with my brother. I did okay. It was more mentally a tough day than physically. You needed to be patient and not to worry too much and hit the ball with precision. I did very good. I was very calm and I was just comfortable.

Q. I just wanted to ask a little bit about the game today. Obviously the rain was really heavy. How did you stay patient during the delays?
LORENA OCHOA: I was able to keep it every time they called us off, just not get mad, so I was like okay, try to be positive about it, right, one more time. I ate a couple times, they had good food, and I was just trying to relax.

Q. You said physically it wasn't much of a challenge, but I guess when everything is wet, including wet gloves on your hands, not a problem?
LORENA OCHOA: I have a rain glove, so whenever it rains I use that black rain glove. That helps me not to lose the grip.

Q. What's your schedule for the next few weeks, and how much are you thinking about the majors this year?
LORENA OCHOA: I go to Mexico City in a couple weeks, and then I play Phoenix and then Nabisco. That will be the first major of the year. For sure I want to play a couple majors this year, but I don't want to think ahead. I always try to stay in the moment. Right now we're looking forward to going back home. My sister is getting married on Friday, so that's first, and then I go to Mexico City and try to win that tournament. I'm really just trying to concentrate in the short term and do one week at a time.

Q. What's your sister's name, and are you a bridesmaid?
LORENA OCHOA: Daniela is her name, with one L. We don't have bridesmaids in Mexico, so no, I'm not.

Q. Every year is a new start, you start a new season and you have to start winning again. When you win this tournament, psychology obviously tells you, okay, I can win and I want to win this tournament. Is it also important to send a quiet message to the rest of the field that I'm still the best and I'm the one to beat?
LORENA OCHOA: Yes (laughter). I think yes. I always think that when my name is up there on the leaderboard when we play in America we have electronic leaderboards, and when you've made it to the front page, it's good because they can see your name. You know, it's all about to me, feeling good, but it also means a lot that they know that I'm prepared. I guess it says to my competition that I'm going to do everything they do.

Q. Congratulations on being champion. I'm not sure if you're aware, but you're getting a lot of media coverage in the U.S., as well, in this event, and they've been talking about the big three in ladies' golf being yourself, Annika and Paula, and you're being compared back in the U.S. as the next Tiger Woods of ladies' golf. How would you feel about that?
LORENA OCHOA: Well, it's always great to be compared with Tiger. We all want to be like him. I admire him a lot and I respect him a lot. You know, we're in two different worlds, but when he won the first time by ten, I had that in mind. You know, it can be done, and why not go and win my first tournament by ten. I guess in a way it's always something that motivates me. I just want to say that it's an honour to be compared, and I'm going to try to go after him.

Q. For the coming year who do you see as your biggest rival or rivals for the season?
LORENA OCHOA: Well, I think many players. I don't like to think a name. I always like to do my own game and worry about the things I can control. It can be anybody. We know Annika is back and she's healthy and she likes to win. But there are so many other good players that I don't want to miss, so I'm going to just try to focus on my game and do that every week.

Q. You say you want to go after Tiger. Tiger measures his success in majors. You've got your major breakthrough. What's your target this year for majors? Where do you see yourself, winning all four? Have you set yourself a target?
LORENA OCHOA: I don't really have a number in my mind. Every tournament I play, I play to win, same as any major tournament. As I said before, I take it one tournament at a time. And when I'm in Nabisco teeing off for that first major, I'm going to be ready to win the tournament, so that's what I do.

Q. Could you maybe just discuss the whole Singapore experience you've had since arriving here last Sunday both on and off the course?
LORENA OCHOA: Well, I had a great experience everywhere, inside and outside the golf course. You know, the hospitality and all the attention that we got. Everything was perfect. All the attention outside the golf course, and the condition of the course was beautiful. It seems like they worked so hard, and we appreciate that very much.
I can only tell you good things. We are really excited and really happy, and for sure we'll be back not only next year but hopefully many more years.
I think all the fans and the crowd were beautiful. Today on hole No. 9, I think that hole was full and there were more people on the course. We liked that very much, and we appreciate that very much, and it was a great day.

Annika Sorenstam, 71-67-70-71=279 (-9)
Q. You stayed strong all day. How are you feeling?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'm tired. It's been such a long day, on and offs all day, tough conditions. I mean, I'm glad it's over now just because I'm worn out. It's been tough. I've played really well, just haven't performed well on the greens. It kind of wore me out a little bit. Obviously happy with the finish. I mean, there was nothing to do about Lorena this particular week, but I finished strong and that's what I'm going to take from this week.

Q. It was all about the second position, and you did well. Paula came up and then dropped back and then you picked up a few shots and finished strongly.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I did. I mean, that was the key, and sometimes you play for second place. I can't remember the last time I had to do that, but it was just the way it happened to be this week.

Q. It seemed you had some trouble with your putting today. Was it a bit hard on the greens?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'm not really sure. I just didn't make a single thing. It's just really frustrating. I need to work on my putting. But I'm striking it really well, driving it well, good iron shots. That's really all that matters.

Q. Lorena is kind of on a different level right now
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: She's playing well, but it's nothing I don't think that's not achievable by any means. I think I'm playing as good from tee to green, so I'm very proud of the way I hit it.

Q. What's your thoughts on the tournament as a whole as the first event in Singapore? I know you love the place.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I mean, Singapore is a great place. I love the golf course. People are nice, supportive. It's been a great tournament, very first class, and HSBC has really stepped up and made it a highlight of the year.

Paula Creamer, 67-71-70-73=281 (-7)
Q. Third place finish. How did you feel it went for you today? Difficult conditions?
PAULA CREAMER: Yeah, it was an up and down day with the on and off again rain, but I never really got any momentum. I did on 8 and 9, and then 10 was kind of the killer for me, hit it to 20 feet and three putted and then never really recovered after that.
But Lorena played awesome; what are you going to do? This was her tournament, her golf course, and it was nice to be able have played with her, too, the four days.

Q. Fantastic to have a win last week and now come back here and finish third. I mean, it's looking strong for the season ahead.
PAULA CREAMER: Yeah, I mean, I feel really good and really confident with everything. It's nice to be able to go home and work on some things. But I'm ready for the season to start, the big chunks of it, the majors and all. This was a good tune up.

Q. An HSBC Women's Champions first event, what were your thoughts?
PAULA CREAMER: It was by far one of our top tournaments that we have, and it's great to be able to come to Singapore, and it's even better to have come and have played well in front of everybody, and HSBC did a wonderful job.

Q. How do you feel about Lorena and her first event of the year coming and winning by 11 stroke?
PAULA CREAMER: Like I said, it was her golf course. We have no idea what course she was playing out here, but she played great, and it's hands down. She only had a couple bogeys in four days, and that's where it all came down to. I had more bogeys and not enough birdies.

Q. And the weather, what did you think of it today?
PAULA CREAMER: Well, I mean, we can't control the weather. It's difficult to be able to be off and on again. But it's the same for everybody out there, and you just kind of have to grind through it.