5’6”...Started playing golf at the age of 5…Credits her family, coach and friends as the individuals most influencing her career…Hobbies include reading and water skiing…Selected as the 2005 Hispanic Female Athlete of the Year for the first Hispanic Sports Honors Presented by State Farm…Named Mexico’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2001, 2006-07…Qualified for the LPGA Tour by finishing first on the 2002 Futures Tour money list…Recognized in 2006 and 2007 as both the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year and Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA) Female Player of the Year...In 2007, opened Ochoa Golf Academies…Through the Lorena Ochoa Foundation, opened three schools for elementary children in Mexico…Named 2007 Women’s Sports Foundation Individual Sportswoman of the Year, recognized as one of Newsweek magazine’s 11 Most Powerful Women in 2007 and one of Glamour magazine’s 2007 Women of the Year…Donated $100,000 to the flood victims Tabasco, Mexico, after winning the 2007 ADT Championship…In 2008, was selected as TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, named one of Fitness magazine’s Fit 50 and won her third consecutive recognition as the GWAA Female Player of the Year…Is a playing editor for Golf Digest...Represents Banamex, CitiGroup, Audi, El Rio Country Club, Rolex, Lacoste, Selther, PING and Aeromexico…Married Andres Conesa on Dec. 4, 2009...Has her own Web site, www.lorenaochoa.com.
Career
- Played in her own event in 2012 and finished in a tie for 18th.
- As of May 2, 2010, Ochoa competed in 173 LPGA events as a member, recording 63 top-three finishes (36%) and 109 top 10 finishes (63%). Her last missed cut was at the 2005 Longs Drugs Challenge (Oct. 9), a streak of 102 events to finish her active career. On April 23, 2010, announced her retirement from active play on the LPGA Tour on the third anniversary of her ascent to Rolex Rankings No. 1; finished sixth the following week at the Tres Marias Championship in her final event as an active member; finished fourth at the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
- In 2009, won three events en route to a fourth consecutive Rolex Player of the Year award and Vare Trophy; posted a victory at the Honda LPGA Thailand, the second-consecutive year she won her season-opening event, and defended her titles at the Corona Championship and the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco RV; recorded 13 top-10 finishes in 22 starts including a tie for second at the MasterCard Classic Honoring Alejo Peralta Presented by Nextel, second at the CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge, a tie for second at the Mizuno Classic and second at the LPGA Tour Championship Presented by Rolex; tied for fourth at the Samsung World Championship, tied for sixth at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational Presented by Banamex and Corona Light, tied for eight at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic and finished 10th at the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill; crossed the $14 million mark in career earnings at the RICOH Women's British Open, where she tied for 28th (159 events; 6 years, 4 months, 20 days); led the Tour in rounds in the 60's, top 10 finish percentage (tied with Ai Miyazato), scoring average and greens in regulation putting average.
- In 2008, won seven events, including five of the first six events she entered, en route to her third-straight Rolex Player of the Year, Vare Trophy and LPGA Official Money List honors; posted wire-to-wire, 11-stroke victories at both the inaugural HSBC Women’s Champions and Corona Championship, where she became the fastest player in LPGA history to earn $1 million in a season (five events); carded all rounds in the 60s at both events; earned her requisite 27 points needed for entry into the LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame at the Corona Championship and will fulfill the 10-year requirement in 2012; won her second consecutive major championship at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, where she became the fastest player in LPGA history to cross the $11 million mark in career earnings at 5 years, 24 days (128 events); successfully defended her title at the Safeway International Presented by Coca-Cola and also won the Ginn OPEN, which made her the fourth player in LPGA history (Mickey Wright, Kathy Whitworth, Annika Sorenstam) to win four consecutive scheduled events; was the 10th player in LPGA history to win the same event three years in a row at the Sybase Classic Presented by ShopRite, where she became the fastest player in LPGA history to cross the $12 million mark in career earnings in 5 years, 2 months, 5 days (133 events); became the fastest player to cross the $13 million mark in career earnings with her win at the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by MaxxForce (5 years, 6 months, 15 days; 141 events); crossed the $2 million mark in season earnings with a tie for sixth at the Wegmans LPGA; recorded 10 additional top-eight finishes in 22 starts, which led the Tour (77.3 percent) and also led the Tour in rounds under par (61/83, 73.5 percent); rounds in the 60s (43/83, 51.8 percent); greens in regulation (71.6 percent); and driving distance (269.3 yards); with the inaugural Lorena Ochoa Invitational by Banamex and Corona Light, became the 15th player in LPGA Tour history to host a LPGA event.
- In 2007, retained her position as the top player on the LPGA Official Money List and took over the top spot on the Rolex Rankings from Annika Sorenstam in April; Ochoa earned her second consecutive Rolex Player of the Year award and Vare Trophy honors; recorded a Tour-high 21 top-10 finishes in 25 starts (84 percent), which included eight wins, five runner-up finishes and six additional top-six finishes; won the Safeway International Presented by Coca-Cola; was recognized by the President of Mexico after her runner-up finish at the Corona Championship the week she became the top-ranked player on the Rolex Rankings; successfully defended her title at both the Sybase Classic Presented by ShopRite, where she became the fastest in LPGA history to reach $7 million in career earnings (4 years, 2 months, 7 days) and Samsung World Championship; defeated rookie In-Kyung Kim in a two-hole sudden-death playoff at the Wegmans LPGA, which was her first career LPGA playoff victory; became the fastest in LPGA history to earn $8 million (4 years, 2 months, 7 days) and $9 million (4 years, 6 months, 17 days) in career earnings with ties for third at the Evian Masters and Navistar LPGA Classic, respectively; won three events in a row starting with the RICOH Women’s British Open on the Old Course at St. Andrews, which was her first LPGA major championship victory in 24 attempts, and went on to win the CN Canadian Women’s Open and Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi; was the first player in LPGA history to cross the $3 million mark in season earnings at the Longs Drugs Challenge, where she losts to Suzann Pettersen in a two-hole, sudden-death playoff; earlier in the season, lost to Nicole Castrale in a one-hole, sudden-death playoff at the Ginn Tribute Hosted by ANNIKA; won the season-ending ADT Championship, where she became the first player in LPGA history to earn $4 million in a season and became the fastest ever to reach $10 million in career earnings at 4 years, 8 months, 5 days, eclipsing Annika Sorenstam’s previous record of 8 years, 5 months, 3 days.
- In 2006, captured her first Rolex Player of the Year award, Vare Trophy and ADT Official Money List honors; won six tournaments and posted an additional 14 top-10 finishes; tied the LPGA record for lowest round in a major championship with a career-low 62 in the first round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship; became the second player in LPGA history to surpass the $2 million mark in season earnings (Karrie Webb became the third later in the season to join Annika Sorenstam); became the fastest player in LPGA history to cross the the following career earnings milestones: $4 million with her win at the LPGA Takefuji Classic; $5 million after finishing fifth at the Evian Masters, where she recorded the first double-eagle of her career and the 26th in the history of the Tour; and $6 million with her runner-up finish at the ADT Championship.
- In 2005, picked up the third win of her career at the Wegmans Rochester LPGA, where she birdied six of her last seven holes and also crossed the $3 million mark in career earnings, making her the fastest player in LPGA history to reach that milestone (record was broken by Paula Creamer in 2007); recorded four runner-up finishes: second at the Safeway International Presented by Coca-Cola after a one-hole playoff with Annika Sorenstam; second at the LPGA Takefuji Classic; second at the Franklin American Mortgage Championship benefiting the Monroe Carell, Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt; and tied for second at the Evian Masters.
- In 2004, recorded the first two wins of her career, at the Franklin American Mortgage Championship benefiting Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, where she became a Rolex First-Time Winner and first Mexican-born player to win on the LPGA Tour, and the Wachovia LPGA Classic Hosted by Betsy King; notched 18 top-10 finishes, including a tie for second at the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill; posted her first LPGA career hole-in-one during the first round of the CJ Nine Bridges Classic Presented by Sports Today; won the State Farm LPGA Series Bonus Pool; crossed the $1 million mark in career earnings at the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship hosted by Nancy Lopez; crossed the $2 million mark at the Wachovia LPGA Classic Hosted by Betsy King, becoming the fastest player in LPGA history to reach that milestone (record was broken by Paula Creamer in 2006); set LPGA single-season records for most birdies (442), most rounds under par (75) and most rounds in the 60s (51).
- In 2003, had a stellar season that included eight top-10 finishes, giving her a decisive victory in the race for the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award; best finish was second at the Wegmans Rochester LPGA; also tied for second at the Michelob Light Open at Kingsmill.
- In 2002, turned professional in May; as a sponsor exemption, tied for fifth at the Welch’s/Circle K Championship and for eighth at the Kraft Nabisco Championship; won the JWA/Michelob Light Futures Charity Golf Classic, the Ann Arbor Futures Classic and the Betty Puskar Futures Golf Classic on the Futures Tour; finished first on the Futures Tour money list to earn exempt status for the 2003 LPGA Tour.
Amateur
Ochoa had a record-setting amateur career that included 12 collegiate victories at the University of Arizona, eight of which came in 10 events in her sophomore year. In 2001, she tied for seventh at the Welch’s/Circle K Championship as an amateur. She finished second in the 2001 NCAA Championship after losing to now fellow LPGA Tour player Candy Hannemann in a playoff. She was also NCAA Player of the Year and NCAA Freshman of the Year in 2001. Her eight consecutive wins in the 2001-02 season is an NCAA record. She was the NCAA Player of the Year and a First-Team All-American in 2002 after finishing tied for second in the NCAA Championship. She was a two-time winner in Japan as a junior, a five-time U.S. 8-12 Junior World Championship winner, a three-time champion in Colombia and an eight-time national champion in her native Mexico. She was the 2003 recipient of the Nancy Lopez Award, which is given to the best female amateur golfer from the previous year.
