 |
|
|
 News Around the Republic of Mexico | November 2006 
A Huge Mexican Wave
 Reuters
| | Lorena Ochoa |
Woman golfer Lorena Ochoa has become a new source of national pride after conquering the world in a sport that is little known and even less played in soccer-crazy Mexico.
For the first time, the soft-spoken 24-year-old became the world's Player of the Year with her sixth victory of the 2006 season in the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour.
Mexican newspapers, normally wall-to-wall with Mexican soccer coverage, published full-cover photos of Ochoa on Monday, her index finger outstretched to denote she won the LPGA honours.
'A Mexican woman is now the best in the world - who would have thought? Incredible for Mexico,' said Francisco Villalobos, 39, an architect.
Golf in Mexico is a pastime for the rich and elite, with only about 50,000 regular players among the country's 104 million population. Fees are sky high compared to average salaries.
But Ochoa's popularity is much wider than the small golf community as she has captured the imagination of many Mexicans with her determination to succeed, even if most do not understand the ins and outs of birdies and bogeys.
'Good for her and our country,' said Pedro Mendoza, a fruit juice stall owner. 'But, to be honest, I don't understand the sport when they talk of birdies and par, it's like a foreign language.'
Other Mexicans championed her achievement compared to the poor results of the country's soccer squad at the World Cup in Germany, where Mexico lost in the second round to Argentina.
Her personal website (www.lorenaochoa.com) lists her favourite movies as Gladiator and The Mission and says she once climbed Mexico's Iztaccihuatl volcano at 5,286 metres. She has also completed two triathlons and two half-marathons.
She has become the country's leading sportswoman, ahead of Ana Guevara, a one-time world champion athlete at 400 metres who in the last two years has faded both in glory and fame. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us