It would be impossible to judge who left Club de Golf Mexico in a happier mood on Sunday after the second Hall of Fame exhibition match had concluded, tournament host Lorena Ochoa and her three fellow players or the huge galleries that followed the four LPGA legends around the course.
Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam produced some superb golf between them to beat Se Ri Pak and Juli Inkster by four shots after completing the 18 holes at five-under, but far more important than the result itself was the wonderful spirit in which the match was played.
Putts were generously conceded from three feet and in, jokes and anecdotes were shared as the four players walked down the fairways with their caddies and a few family members in tow, and no opportunity was missed by any of them to engage with the fans.
Ochoa, who has not competed on the LPGA Tour since the 2012 Lorena Ochoa Invitational, was delighted with the success of the two Hall of Fame exhibitions and repeatedly expressed thanks to her three fellow Hall of Famers for agreeing to travel to Mexico for the weekend.
"It was a lot of fun," Ochoa, Mexico's greatest ever player who has won 27 LPGA Tour titles, including two majors, told LPGA.com on the 18th green. “I had the best time ever on the golf course.
"But I was very stressed, and I didn’t know what was going to happen this weekend," said Ochoa, who only began practicing hard over the last three weeks to prepare for the Hall of Fame matches. "It was an honor to play with my friends, big names in Annika, Juli and Se Ri.
"It was just so relaxing the way we opened up and we had great chats. I would like to thank them for making the trip and coming to Mexico for me."
PERFECT PARTNER
Swede Sorenstam, a 10-time major winner who by her own admission has also played very little golf over the past year, was the perfect partner for Ochoa early on, draining a 35-foot eagle putt at the par-five second to give them a two-shot lead.
"I was a little nervous, especially early in the round, and Annika just made me feel comfortable after she made that eagle," smiled Ochoa. "It was easier for us to get in a rhythm."
Not that Ochoa needed any carrying as a partner. The Mexican's distance control with her irons was pinpoint and her only Achilles' heel was her putter on greens which had also troubled most of the LPGA Tour players competing in this week's Lorena Ochoa Match Play.
"I’m super-happy," said Ochoa. "The greens here are tricky, and I was very pleased with my irons. Early in the round if you make a putt, you feel more comfortable and you get momentum. I missed a couple of short putts early and I move my head a lot when I putt and that seems to be, now that I don’t practice, a problem. But I’m still very happy."
Ochoa gave her loyal fans plenty of brilliant shot-making to savor. After hitting a superb approach to 15 feet at the par-four eighth, she rolled in the birdie putt from the fringe to thunderous cheers from the gallery.
At the par-three 16th, she struck her tee shot to eight feet and, after watching Pak and Inkster miss their birdie attempts from around 15 feet, she buried her putt to regain a three-shot lead at 4 under.
Asked whether the quality of her play from tee to green had tempted her to consider a return to the LPGA Tour, Ochoa grinned: "I always tell my family and friends that I would get back and play maybe one or two events just to enjoy myself and to be able to say 'hi' to all of the players.
"Maybe next summer we can play two events or do something together. I don’t see myself playing a match-play event, I think I could play a stroke-play tournament. You’ll see. You’ll hear from me. I’ll be around, I promise. I will do it, eventually yes.”
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