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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | April 2008 
Grand Slam Dream Alive for Ochoa
 Mark Garrod - PA Sport Golf
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| | Ochoa - Grand Slam still on. | | |
The Grand Slam is still on after what happened over the weekend - not at Augusta National, but down Mexico way.
Trevor Immelman could yet do what Tiger Woods set out to do, of course, but what looks far, far more likely is that Lorena Ochoa, already with one of the four in the bag, will continue demolishing her rivals all the way to a clean sweep.
It was understandably overshadowed on Sunday by events in Georgia, but competing in her home country the women's number one won her fourth LPGA title of the season by an incredible 11 strokes.
Not that that is anything unusual for Ochoa any more. She started her year by doing exactly the same thing in Singapore and if you add her 2008 margins of victories together it already comes to 34 shots.
In short, the 26-year-old is in a different league. Her 21st career title would have been achieved with a record and quite phenomenal 28 under par total if only she had parred rather than triple-bogeyed the 11th hole in her closing 69.
The victory guarantees her entry into the Hall of Fame, although she will not be inducted yet because she has to compete 10 years on the LPGA circuit for that and she is only in her sixth full season.
Ochoa won five of her last nine events last year to set a new money record with over £2million and by lifting four of her first five this season she has reached one million dollars (£500,000) in record time.
This is a player, remember, who had something of a reputation for buckling under pressure until she won her first major title at a canter in last August's Women's British Open at St Andrews.
The Kraft Nabisco two weeks ago was the first of this season's majors and she took that with shots to spare as well.
France's Karine Icher, who finished joint third on Sunday, commented: "On the Tour it's like 'who's going to be second this week?' To shoot 25 under on this course, that's unbelievable."
Icher was bowled over too by the massive crowd who turned out to see their homecoming heroine.
"Even in Japan with Ai Miyazato it's not like that," added Icher. "The crowds are crazy for her and it's nice to hear because golf needs that."
"It's more fun for the fans and for us - obviously it's better to play in front of 10,000 people."
Swede Carin Koch, who tied with Icher, added: "She's the first Mexican ever to lead us. The quality of golf is getting better on Tour all the time, but she's just amazing."
Ochoa seems to be taking it all in her stride.
"I was trying to break the scoring record and after the triple bogey things went down, but I did want to finish like a champ and when I birdied four of the last few holes that really made my day," she said.
"I forgot to thank so many people in the ceremony. Those cheers walking up 18 and all the songs I love that - it's the best you ever feel. It gives me goosebumps."
"I try not to have too many emotions. I stay strong and not think too much, just play golf. It's easy to get emotional and start thinking too much with the gallery, but I just played my own game."
"That's why we are professionals. We are training to play in tough situations, especially in the last group on the last hole."
Annika Sorenstam, Ochoa's predecessor as world number one, did, of course, play once on the men's PGA Tour and Michelle Wie made repeated attempts to make her mark there.
Their lack of success, however, means it is unlikely Ochoa will ever do the same. She is content doing what she is doing in women's golf.
It was following all the publicity surrounding Wie that the Royal and Ancient Club altered the entry form to The Open, removing the ban on women players.
Any of them wanting to make it into the championship, though, had first to finish in the top five of any of the women's majors - and then enter at the local regional qualifying stage.
That meant 18 holes at one of a large number of courses around the country and then, if successful there, 36 more holes of final qualifying at four courses close to The Open venue, with only a few places up for grabs.
Not one woman has even filed an entry yet, let alone teed off, and Wie's horrendous struggles even against her own sex last year make it extremely unlikely that that situation will change in the foreseeable future.
Unless, that is, someone simply wants to go down in history as the first woman to try to play in The Open. It might not prove anything, but it would be a landmark moment in changing what for 148 years has been male-only territory.
And if they are going to keep being hammered by Ochoa, maybe that's a way for another woman to get some attention. |
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