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LADIES PROFESSIONAL GOLF ASSOCIATION MEDIA CONFERENCEMarch 19, 2008Lorena OchoaKIM BERARD: For those of you who don't know me, I'm Kim Berard and I'm the P.R. manager for the LPGA. I want to start off by welcoming everyone and thanking Lorena for joining us this afternoon. Lorena, as we all know, dominated the 2007 LPGA Tour with eight wins. She started off 2008 with an impressive win at the HSBC Women's Championship and a recent Top 10 finish at the MasterCard Classic. Next week she'll be off to defend her title at the Safeway International presented by Coca-Cola, and then the first major of the year, the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Lorena, maybe talk a little bit about the start of your season and your thoughts about the two upcoming tournaments. LORENA OCHOA: Thank you, Kim. Well, I am -- starting in Singapore, it was a great tournament. I didn't play the first two weeks in Hawaii and I decided to go to Singapore. Winning that first week was amazing. It really gave me a lot of confidence in my game, and I knew that what I practiced here in the off-season really showed some good results. For sure I played last week in Mexico City. It was an unusual week. It was a tough week, just so many things going on with fans and the media and my expectations and trying to win the tournament. I had a rough start. I was 4-over the first day, and I was able to finish in the Top 10, so actually I was very happy with that. Right now I'm here in Guadalajara just preparing myself to fly on Sunday to Phoenix. And as far as the -- now we have two tournaments coming up in a row, Phoenix and Nabisco, Morelia, Orlando, so I can't wait to start on a run where I get -- I play one week and then off one week. I really am excited to start and to keep it going, so I'm ready for next week. Q. Lorena, I know you've talked about this in the past, but I'm putting together a story on how tough it is to win a major, and I know you won your first major last year at the British Open. Can you talk to me, before winning that major, when you didn't win a major, what did you learn? Why was it so tough to win a major for you? LORENA OCHOA: Well, you know, that's a really good question. I didn't ask myself, or I didn't try to understand why it is that way or why it's so hard. For sure we only have a few times a year, and I believe that to define a champion you have to win a major. I think it's all about the pressure you put on yourself. When you finally win, you're like, okay, not too hard, I can do it (laughing). But that's a tough question. I guess it's very different for everybody. I guess you just understand that that's the way it is. It's life, and it's golf, and it's going to come whenever it's your time, so you have to be patient for that time. Q. As you have been on your hot streak over the last year or so, do you find that your confidence grows from week to week? I mean, when you're playing well, does that only make you more confident the next time out? LORENA OCHOA: Well, I think, you know, over time it really helps. I don't want to say week by week, because every week is different. For example, last week I struggled a little bit even to finish in the Top 10. But for sure the more you win and the more you're in the last group and the more you have a chance to win a tournament on Sunday, it gets a little bit easier. You get comfortable with the pressure and the gallery and the tension. You know, it was really tough my first year on Tour and my second year on Tour to be in that position on Sunday. You don't sleep well, and you get to the course and you're nervous, and you are trying to calm yourself all the time. Right now I think I handle that a lot better. So for sure it's all about experience. You know, that's one of the things that really helped me last year, just really made me believe that I could win every week and that I feel comfortable in that position and that I like to win. I think for sure last year was a very important year in that matter, just to get more confidence with me. Q. One of the differences between a good player and a really great player, they're able to bounce back when the golf game isn't really back and they fight their way back up to the top. When your game struggled a little bit over a few weeks, what's your routine for trying to get things back together? And in that situation do you have anybody in particular that you turn to to get you back to where you want to be? LORENA OCHOA: Well, I think nowadays the difference in a great player is also -- besides hitting the ball good and being good with your head, making decisions, but you have to be physically strong. You have to be able to just be in good shape all year, and the better shape you have, the easier it is to finish strong at a tournament, to finish strong the season. I find that very important these days. I'm a player that if I don't play good or if I have a bad round, I put it behind, I put it in the trash and I don't look back. For some reason, I'm good at that, and I think it's a quality, and my coach really helped me, Rafael Alarcón. I'm more like a feel player. I don't worry too much about technique. But whenever I am in an emergency I call him, and he's the one that gives me a couple tips or a couple of thoughts to think on the course, and he really helps me. Q. Looking forward to seeing you in Arizona next week. LORENA OCHOA: Me, too, thank you. Q. What I wanted to ask you about, I think you have mentioned in the past the importance of spending time with your family when you have free time. Could you talk about what that does for you? Does it give you new energy, or what is it that you get from being able to do that? LORENA OCHOA: Well, for sure just, number one, being myself, just the way I am outside the golf course and outside Lorena the golfer. They make me feel normal, and I love that. I love that feeling. And also that's the way I'm happy. You've got to be happy and you have to have a good balance to be able to play good. I think it's all related. If you are not good outside the golf course, it's impossible to play good. And my family is the one that keeps me happy. It's my motivation, and I do it because it feels right, feels good. Q. What's your conventional game plan heading into any given week, and how does that game plan change for the majors? LORENA OCHOA: I do always the same thing. It doesn't matter if it's for a small tournament or a big tournament. I do really try to focus one tournament at a time. Right now my head is in Phoenix and I want to be there and I want to win the tournament. Even with the Nabisco coming soon, to me it's so far away, one week at a time. Same routine. It's very important to me to get a good practice on Monday and Tuesday, to get together with my caddie and feel comfortable with the course. Where I really spend extra time is on the putting, on the long putts. Week to week they change a lot, the speed of the greens, and that's the key, just to get comfortable with the speed of the greens, to be able to have a good week. Q. I've got two quick questions for you. First of all, I know you were in Phoenix over Super Bowl weekend, but you were there I guess out at Ping going through your clubs for the season. Did you put anything in the bag that you didn't have last year? And was it more of just a fine-tuning, or did you make any major changes with equipment? LORENA OCHOA: Well, I changed -- this was at the end of last season, in November. I changed my 3-wood to the G-10. I changed my putter. I have a Ping from the Redwood line, and I really like it. I went to Ping more for -- we did a few commercials and photo shoots. I spent some time hitting balls, but I just wanted to be sure everything was fine, the lie and the loft. Nothing really -- not a big change, nothing. Q. And then my second question is, I don't know if you're aware of this, but this is the last year that Safeway is sponsoring the Safeway International tournament, and so the tournament doesn't have a sponsor. Does that surprise you, that a big market like Phoenix would be looking for an LPGA sponsor? LORENA OCHOA: You know, you've got me surprised. I heard they wanted to make bigger the tournament in Portland. I didn't know that it was the last year for Safeway in Phoenix. I mean, it's a great event. I think it's just been nothing but success. If that's going to happen, hopefully we get a new sponsor because I think it's a great venue. We only play in Arizona once, and we have a lot of fun coming and it's a great golf course. I'm surprised to hear that, but hopefully we'll get a new sponsor for the other years. Q. What did you learn about yourself from winning at the Women's British Open? LORENA OCHOA: What did I learn about myself? Well, you know, I think -- so many things happened that week, it's hard to just give you one sentence. I guess just dreams, they come true. Like I said before, I always dreamed of winning that tournament when they first announced that we were playing St. Andrews. I had this gut feeling that something special would happen that week. I think you've got to have faith in what you can do and you have high dreams, and they can come true. For me it was more like a test for being patient and waiting for the right time and letting things happen. I see things more that way, just trust that it's going to happen, one way or another. Q. I'm doing some stories leading up to the U.S. Women's Open. And just looking at the history, not only in the Women's Open and in golf in general in the women's game, you're six of the past ten Women's Open champions have been foreign born players. Any thoughts on your part as to why that is? LORENA OCHOA: No, you know, but I think -- no, I don't have an answer. It's tough golf courses, and I think really anybody can win. It doesn't suit to any -- like the Koreans' games or the Americans' games or international. It's a really tough week, and it's just -- anything can happen that week. Anybody can win. I think we all have hope that we're going to be the winner on Sunday. I really don't have a good answer. Q. I was going to ask you to look ahead about a month at the Tulsa event, last year at Cedar Ridge I think 3-under was the highest winning score on the LPGA and you were 1-under, a couple shots back. The event has expanded to 72 holes for this year, raised the purse again, and I think you remember that SemGroup Points Championship. What do you think of that event? And assess the course there, and why do you think the scores were so high there? LORENA OCHOA: Well, you know, I love that golf course. I think it's a great test. You really need to move the ball different ways. Now SemGroup is one of my sponsors. I'm very excited to be there and support the tournament. I always liked that course. I love having 72 holes, and I can't wait to be there. I've been close a few years, and I'm going to make sure I give myself a good chance this year. Hopefully I can win that tournament on Sunday. Q. As you know, not to look too far ahead, but the Samsung is going to be coming to Half-Moon Bay in October. What do you know about the golf course and what do you know about Half-Moon Bay in general? LORENA OCHOA: Not much. I've only been in the San Francisco area once. I've never played golf there. I talked a little bit to Juli Inkster at Pinehurst, and they only say good things about the golf course especially. I guess it's a spectacular golf course. You know, I love that tournament. I've won that tournament a few times, and I think it's going to be a new challenge having to change the setup and everything, but I can't wait to be there. I'm excited. Q. Have you ever been to Half-Moon Bay before? LORENA OCHOA: Never, uh-uh. Q. Have you done some homework on that, or is that down the road? LORENA OCHOA: Oh, no, down the road. I'm going to just get there like always, maybe the Monday early, and get a good practice and go from there. Q. How do you feel with your confidence? And do you in the United States feel less pressure than tournaments here in Mexico? LORENA OCHOA: I think yes. I think playing in Mexico is something very special, very tough for different reasons. It's a little bit easier for me going to the States and having a little bit more time for myself and being a little more away. But you know, it's always a treat for me to play in Mexico. I didn't play strong the first day of the tournament, but the other two days on the weekend I played really good, played very solid golf. I'm going to leave the first round behind, and I know my game is in good shape and I'm ready to go to Phoenix and play there. Q. Annika Sorenstam is creeping up on 40 years of age, and in doing that she's trying to get back up to No. 1. For you personally what do you see yourself doing in life when you're the age that Annika is right now, and is it competitive golf? LORENA OCHOA: You never say no, but I do want to finish with my golf career a little bit earlier than that. I still want to come back here to Mexico and work on my foundation and do other things. I do want to have a family. Hopefully I can do that, have my wish. I don't want to play competitive golf for many, many more years. Q. You will be defending at Sybase in a couple of months down the road. Why do you think that golf course set up for you so well last year? LORENA OCHOA: I like tight courses, traditional, a lot of trees, poa annua greens, fast greens. It reminds me of the golf course where I grew up here in Guadalajara. It feels good, as well as Rochester, New York, those type of courses. I enjoy them very much. I just feel comfortable. It's a great tournament. I'm excited to defend my title, and hopefully we can make a few more birdies this year. Q. Just one last question for you. What is your greatest challenge on the course, and how are you working to overcome it? LORENA OCHOA: My greatest challenge? I was thinking about the food. I like to eat (laughter). No, right now I'm working a lot -- not really short game around the green, but 90 yards, 100 yards, 110. I'm hitting the ball a little bit farther and I have good control right now just with the wedges, so that's probably my greatest challenge that I'm facing right now. I'm going to make sure I spend a few hours on the range working on that just to feel comfortable and be ready to play good. KIM BERARD: I just want to, again, thank Lorena for taking the time out of her week in Mexico before she heads off to the West Coast for joining us and kind of giving us a little feel for the start of her season. We wish you the best of luck, Lorena, and thank you for joining us this afternoon. LORENA OCHOA: You're welcome. Thank you, everybody, and see you soon. Bye. End of FastScripts |
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