Two Straight Titles

For the second consecutive year, Lorena Ochoa has earned Rolex Player of the Year honors. Read what Ochoa had to say about her final round at the Samsung World Championship, where she clinched the Player of the Year title once again.

Here is what Lorena Ochoa had to say to the media after her seventh season and 16th career win last week at the Samsung World Championship at Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif. For more and other player transcripts, please visit LPGA.com:


Samsung World Championship
BIGHORN Golf Club, Canyons Course
Palm Desert, Calif.
October 14, 2007
Final round leader quotes
 
Lorena Ochoa, 68-67-69-66=270 (-18)
Scorecard: Hole 1, 405-yard par 4: birdie – 6-iron to five feet
Hole 3, 473-yard par 5: birdie – 7-wood on green in two to 25 feet, two-putt
Hole 8, 162-yard par 3: birdie – 6-iron to six feet
Hole 10, 397-yard par 4: birdie – 8-iron to four feet
Hole 14, 354-yard par 4: birdie – 9-iron to seven feet
Hole 15, 538-yard par 5: birdie – 50-degree wedge to 15 feet
Hole 16, 150-yard par 3: bogey – 8-iron short of green on fringe, chip to 10 feet, missed putt
Hole 17, 411-yard par 4: birdie – 5-iron to 10 feet
 
PAM WARNER (of the LPGA): Congratulations on winning the Samsung World Championship and defending your title. Your seventh win of the season, 16th of your career, and you have also clinched 2007 Rolex Player of the Year with your win. Talk about your excitement right now.
LORENA OCHOA:  That's good news. Yes, it was a really good day today.  I'm proud of myself because I was patient, even with the things that happened inthe previous day.  But I felt really frustrated.  It could have been better, but today was a great day right from the start.  I made a couple of birdies at the beginning, and gave myself good momentum. And I also really liked the birdie on No. 10; it kind of got me going on the back nine. It was one of those days that you see things clearly, and you feel a good rhythm and hit good tee shots. I think I gave myself probably at least 16 birdie chances, so it was a great day and winning two in a row ... I'm going to keep this trophy in a special place.
 
PAM WARNER: Can you just give us your comments on clinching Rolex Player of the Year for the second consecutive year?
LORENA OCHOA:  As I say, that's great news. It's been a great 2007.  After what happened in 2006, I thought it would be hard to improve, but here I am. I set some goals at the beginning of the year, and I wanted to get better, and I wanted to win more tournaments and to be better with some categories on the LPGA, and I'm doing good. So I cannot ask for anything else. I want to say thank you to my support group -- my coach back home, Rafael Alarcon; my family; my brother, who is my manager, and all of my sponsors. It's been a great joy to represent my country and to be where I am.
 
PAM WARNER:   Questions for Lorena?
 
Q. To shoot the low round of the day being in front, that must make you very proud?
LORENA OCHOA: I think today, [with so many players] close [to the lead], and being tied for the lead, for sure, it needed to be a low round. When I came here in the morning, I was ready to be aggressive, ready to make a lot of birdies to put pressure on other players.  I'm happy. It worked.  It
happened. For sure, today, it was my day.  So it was a fun round.
 
Q. Did you have any inclination to hit something besides a 5-wood at the 18th?
LORENA OCHOA:  No. The pin was in a better place this year on the back left, so it was OK coming from behind, from a longer shot. I actually hit my 9-iron, 135 yards.  So probably today I did a smart thing.  And I probably should have done that the other two days and save myself a few shots.  But
it's the way it is.  Golf is fun.  And I think I played very smart today. We had a good strategy and I stuck with that.  And for sure, Dave [Brooker], my caddie, has a lot to do [with it]. He is a big part of my success, and I want to say "Thank You" to him.
 
Q.  You mentioned the birdie at 10, even though you played well on the front nine you were still tied at that point at 15-under.  Did you know what everybody was doing at that point?
LORENA OCHOA:  I saw Jeong Jang, that she made that bunker shot on No. 9 to finish at 15‑under, and that's why a birdie on No. 10 was so important.  You either kind of break the momentum or just keep it going. I hit a beautiful second shot, put myself within maybe four feet, and I made that for birdie. That really changed everything. I got in the lead and from there, I started
feeling a lot more comfortable.
 
Q. Lorena, considering there are a lot of people at the top of the leaderboard when the round started, did you expect someone in the field to make more of a charge down the stretch and get a little closer?
LORENA OCHOA:  You never know what is going to happen, how it's going to be. I try not to think much about other players.  I just kind of do my own thing. This morning I was talking to my caddie on the range. [I knew] it was going to be a low score [that would win today]. You don't have to go out there and try to make pars because it's going to happen. If we are tied for the lead, or behind, we need to stay patient and positive all the way until the last four or five holes.  A lot of things can happen on this course on the last few holes. We're really focused on what we wanted to do. It was
meant to be. It was my day because I was close to shooting low in the first few rounds, and it didn't happen, and today was payback.
 
Q. Yesterday you stayed and worked on some stuff after the round, what did you work on, and did that help?
LORENA OCHOA:  Yesterday, I had nothing to work on besides my frustration with the driver. So I went to the range, hit some balls to make sure that I got all of the stress out and felt a little bit better. In technical terms, I didn't change anything. So I left the course when I was ready to leave.  I
leave everything behind to be ready for today.
 
Q. You are playing the best, most consistently out of any golfer. What are you doing to stay on top of the field?
LORENA OCHOA:  Well, I always want to be one step ahead, and for that, I need to keep working really hard and not get any distractions for other things that's happening outside of the golf course. [I need to] make sure I always get my practice and my rest. I think you have to have very clear goals [and know] what you want to do and where the places are where you can improve. There are so many places that I have room to improve -- like my short game, getting a better feel with my putting, and working on [different] lies.  There are a lot of things that I can improve. So, I'm looking forward to that. I want to go home and work hard in the off-season -- even harder than last year -- and be ready for next year.
 
Q. Do you feel any pressure staying on top? And, if so, who has given you the most competition?
LORENA OCHOA:  I don't like to mention names. I think a lot of [players] are very good.  I don't feel pressure. Of course, [there is] a lot of attention and the media, [but] I enjoy it very much. I'd like to stay at the top. It's been a long process to get here, but I very much enjoy all of the process. This is where I like to be, so I'm going to keep working hard.
 
Q. Lorena, we've talked about the support you get from the gallery.  Is it definitely more here than it is at some other places in terms of the Mexican flags and "Viva Lorena T-shirts?"
LORENA OCHOA:  No.  It's not a competition about where I get more attention and support]t because last week, it also was crazy. I think last week [at the Longs Drugs Challenge in Danville, Calif.] was probably the most Mexicans I have ever seen at a golf course. But, it was not only Mexicans. I want to say this very clearly: there are Americans and people from all over the world [supporting me]. I can tell that they support me and they show their love, and I appreciate it very much. But today was loud.  I think in a way, that helped me just to feel love and support. I don't know how other players take that, but I really enjoy feeling the support of the gallery.
 
Q. [LPGA player] Mi Hyun Kim says that she wants 10 yards from you. Are you willing to give her that?
LORENA OCHOA:  Nope. I like her, but, no, not that much.

###