Lorena Ochoa, stung by a playoff loss at the Ginn Tribute on
Sunday, has extra motivation for the second women's major of the
year.
The 25-year-old Mexican had led by two shots with three holes to
play at a windy RiverTowne Country Club before losing out to
American Nicole Castrale at the first extra hole.
"I really want to win next week after this week," world No 1
Ochoa told reporters, referring to the June 7-10 LPGA Championship
in Havre de Grace, Maryland.
"I need to learn to win in the tough ones and for sure I need to
improve my playoff percentages. I'm going to work on that."
Ochoa, who wasted a chance of clinching her 12th LPGA title with
bogeys on 16 and 17 before hitting a wayward drive at the first
extra hole, has yet to win a playoff in four attempts.
The popular Guadalajara native is not too concerned, though, and
boasts an impressive record of two victories and seven other top
10s in just 11 LPGA starts this season.
"Sometimes when I win, it's easier," she said. "I have a lead of
two or three shots, I feel comfortable and nothing bad happens with
another player breaking through with a really low round."
Ochoa, who replaced Swede Annika Sorenstam as the game's leading
player on April 23, concedes the only blemish on her glittering
resume is the absence of a major title.
"I don't want to change my thought process in majors, just try
to play my own game," said the Mexican, who last year became only
the second player in LPGA history to pass the $2 million mark in
season earnings with $2,592,872.
"To win my first major, I just need to play like any other week.
The more chances I give myself to win, it's going to
happen."?
Ochoa, who triumphed six times as the dominant figure on the
2006 LPGA Tour, has twice come desperately close to winning a grand
slam.
She eagled the final hole at last year's Kraft Nabisco
Championship before losing to Australia's Karrie Webb in a playoff
and narrowly missed out at the 2005 US Women's Open after a late
stumble.
The LPGA Championship, the second women's major of the season
won last year by South Korea's Pak Se Ri, starts on Thursday at the
Bulle Rock Golf Course in Maryland.
(China Daily via Agencies June 5, 2007)
