FRANCE: GOLF - Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa, 24, practiced for her fans on top of Le Printemps department store in Paris

Record ID: 1543225

  • Title: FRANCE: GOLF - Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa, 24, practiced for her fans on top of Le Printemps department store in Paris
  • Date: 21st July 2006
  • Summary: EIFFEL TOWER
  • Embargoed: 5th August 2006 13:41
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVAAMRVV61NTOMTEZC8DTKBET304
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa, 24, practiced for her fans on Thursday (July 20) in Paris on top of a department store in centre town.
    Her main goal this year is to win the Evian Masters. She said she had a good chance to play well and win it.
    "I love to play here. Evian is a great tournament, the fans are very nice, they support all the tournaments very much and as well as the sponsors. I have a good chance to play good and win the tournament. I was very close last year, so my goal is to be number 1 but I just want to enjoy the tournament, don't put too much pressure and have fun during the week and we'll see on Saturday if I have a chance to win that trophy", she told Reuters Television.
    Golf has a very limited presence in Mexico, but Ochoa's success has raised its profile in that country. She said that practicing in front of fans, is a way to let people know more about golf and popularize it.
    "I'm trying to do it in Mexico, you know, just try to help the sport to be more popular so people all around the country know what it is all about. I think this a great example here in Paris to make sure that people understand what is golf. There are so many good players here in Europe, just good players from all over the world that are coming to play this event, so, hopefully, you know, to beat them, to be able to go and watch those players next week", she said.
    Ochoa grew up next door to 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. As a junior she 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 NCCAA Player of the Year Awards for 2001 and 2002.
    In March 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. Her April win in the Takejuji Classic took her to the LPGA Tour's leading money winner this year and to fifth place in the Women's World Golf Rankings. Soon afterwards, she moved up to second.
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