Lorena Ochoa

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**Lorena Ochoa**
Personal Information

Birth:	15 November 1981, Mexico
Height:	5 ft 6 in/1.68 m
Nationality:	Mexican
Residence:	Guadalajara, Mexico
Career
College:	University of Arizona
Turned Professional:	2003
Current Tour:	LPGA Tour
Professional wins:	12 (LPGA Tour 9; Futures Tour 3)
Majors:	None
Awards:	LPGA Rookie of the Year in 2003, LPGA Rolex Player of the Year and Vare Trophy in 2006

Lorena Ochoa (born in Guadalajara on 15 November 1981) is a Mexican golfer, also known as "La Tiger Woods Mexicana" who plays on the U.S. based LPGA Tour. She was only the second Mexican to become a member of the world's leading women's golf tour, but she quickly became one of the LPGA's top players. Ochoa's success has raised its profile in her home country.

Ochoa grew up next door to the Guadalajara Country Club and took up golf at the age of five. She won her first state event at the age of six and her first national event at seven. All told as a junior she captured 22 state events in Guadalajara and 44 national events in Mexico. She also won five consecutive titles at the Junior World Golf Championships. In 2000 she enrolled at the University of Arizona in the United States. She was the dominant player in women's collegiate golf for two years, winning the NCAA Player of the Year Awards for 2001 and 2002. In her sophomore year she won a record eight consecutive collegiate events.

In November 2001, Ochoa was presented with Mexico's National Sports Award by Mexican President Vicente Fox. She was the youngest recipient of her country's highest sporting accolade, and the first golfer to receive it.

Ochoa left university after her sophomore year to turn professional. She won three of her ten events on the 2002 Futures Tour, and topped the money list to earn membership on the LPGA Tour for the following season. She was the LPGA Rookie of the Year in 2003, and finished ninth on the money list. In 2004 she won her first two LPGA Tour titles and came third on the money list. That same year she placed in the top ten in three of the four majors. In 2005, she won the Wegman's Rochester LPGA.

On March 30, 2006, her first round score of 62 in the Kraft Nabisco Championship tied the record for lowest score ever by a golfer, male or female, in any major tournament. She retained her lead through rounds 2 and 3, but ultimately lost to Karrie Webb in a playoff. Her playoff loss marked her best finish to date in an LPGA major.

In 2006, a year in which she led the LPGA in tournaments won (six) and money earned, Ochoa won the LPGA Rolex Player of the Year award. This award goes to the player who gains the most number of points throughout the season based on a formula in which points are awarded for top-10 finishes and are doubled at the LPGA's four major championships and at the season-ending ADT Championship. She also won the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average on the LPGA Tour.

To date, Ochoa has nine wins on the LPGA Tour.