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JOHN Q. HAMMONS HOTEL CLASSIC

September 6, 2006

Lorena Ochoa

TULSA, OKLAHOMA

PAM WARNER: We welcome Lorena Ochoa, currently leading the ADT Money List and Player of the Year standing, do you just want to talk about the season you've had?

LORENA OCHOA: Yes, hello. Well, thank you for having me. You know, this has been a really good season. I'm having a lot of fun and it's been nice to see, you know, and accomplish some of my goals that I set at the beginning of the year.

We're almost, you know, in the last part of the season, and I'm just trying to be really positive. You know, I have a lot of energy to keep going and finish it strong, because it's very good for all of the positioning, you know, on the Money List and all of the different points systems that we have on Tour.

So this is just, you know, I'm trying to take one tournament at a time. I played good the last couple of weeks and I'm feeling good with my game. This is a tough course. I think it will be a big challenge, you know, for the players. It's playing long. It's more like you have to think, you know, and place the ball in on the fairway and the greens are challenging, you know, have different levels and the speed looks fast.

So I guess this week, you know, it's going to be a little more of a challenge but it should be fun. I'm really excited to be here and I can't wait to start the tournament on Friday.

Q. Does this course compare to any you've seen in the last couple of months on Tour?

LORENA OCHOA: Not really. You know, I want to say this course is playing almost, you know, like a U.S. Open, like the rough is high, it's tough. The fairways are narrow.

Of course, this year, we played the U.S. Open on a different golf course, being more like a links golf course, but it's a course that can get you in your head. You have to be patient, you have to be smart, and it's going to be key to just place the ball in the fairway.

Q. I think this is the first time you've played at Cedar Ridge since the tournament was here, have you ever played Tulsa Country Club?

LORENA OCHOA: I did come once. I played that tournament only one time. So this is my second time here in Tulsa, first time in this golf course. So I hear always good things about this golf course and I'm excited to be here this week.

Q. Is there a reason why you chose to play at this time, this year?

LORENA OCHOA: Well, before it just didn't fit my schedule very good. You know, it's always about how many tournaments in a row you play, when do you need to rest, and, you know, I made sure that I came because I always heard good things about the golf course; it would suit my game. You need good iron shots just to move the ball left to right, and it plays long. So I was always very excited just to give it a try and come here. So I make sure at the beginning of the year I leave a good schedule, so I could be here today.

Q. When you lead the Money List it seems like every course fits your game.

LORENA OCHOA: Well, that was my goal at the beginning of the year just to be more consistent. It's working so far. I work really hard on the off season, and it's nice to see good results, and I'm trying to get, you know, be very focused and not lose the same thing I've been doing, just practise hard and make sure I rest whenever I need to rest, and that way I could finish strong the rest of the tournaments.

Q. Is there one part of your game that especially has to be clicking on this particular course for you to be in the hunt on Sunday?

LORENA OCHOA: Your tee shots, for sure. That would be the key. Sometimes you need to sacrifice distance, make sure you hit 3 wood, 5 wood, sometimes even rescue just to make sure that you are in the middle of the fairway.

Q. Is it good for the LPGA that the way the season has progressed with a lot of the top players playing well and Karrie Webb coming back and Annika still up there, you're emerging, the young talent, it's a wide variety of stars and not just one player that's really standing out?

LORENA OCHOA: The question is if it is

Q. Is it good to see there's a lot of top players are playing well throughout every week?

LORENA OCHOA: Well, I think it's more fun for everybody, for the spectators and, you know, the sponsors and just everybody to have more of a variety of players and young players coming out.

I'm really excited to be part of that group that is playing good for the moment, and, you know, the idea is just to raise the level of golf and be more of a show for everybody. So we're working hard to make that happen, you know, and you can see that we go really low scores and making a lot of birdies, and that's good for everybody.

Q. That said, though, Annika has won this tournament three of the last four years, from that standpoint, do you think she has a mental edge and that, you know, she has confidence, or am I making too much of that?

LORENA OCHOA: Annika has all of that, you know, that and more. That's why she's been dominating this game for so long.

So I admire her a lot, I respect her and I always try to learn from her. And this is a week where, like I said, you need to think a lot, just to be smart, to be patient, to play with a lot of confidence, even though sacrifice some shots out there, sometimes make a bogey. And she's very good for that.

She's experienced, so, you know, obviously she's really good. So when I play, I try when I play with her, try to learn from her. And when I don't play with her, I just try to play my own game, and I'm doing good so far, and I know and I believe I could catch her and be in the No. 1 position. So I'm going to keep trying, and you know, keep doing my thing.

Q. To what degree do you play for your country, just to give that your country has pride in you and what you're doing?

LORENA OCHOA: If I play for my country?

Q. Sure, sure.

LORENA OCHOA: Yes.

Q. To what degree do you take that to the golf course, do you feel like you're playing for the people in your country every time you go out to give them something to feel good about?

LORENA OCHOA: Yes, every time. That's what I most enjoy about golf, being Mexican and representing my country, I'm very proud to represent my country. I share all I do with my people, and every time I go back home, they are waiting for me; and the newspapers and the media, they are always paying attention. I appreciate the support very much, and, you know, when I win, it's for all of them.

Q. Among sports in your country, where is golf in the hierarchy, is it soccer, and then something else and then golf is kind of down here?

LORENA OCHOA: Golf is all the way to the bottom, yes. It's a country where soccer is everything, but we are changing, a little bit of progress, and the future hopefully it will get more time on TV and in the media and have more respect. I think we will have more players in the future; that will help, too, and we are trying to grow all the time.

Q. Tiger brought diversity to golf and to golf galleries. Do you hope to do the same in women's golf?

LORENA OCHOA: Yes, of course, yes. And every time I play a tournament in the States, I always, you know, there are always some Mexicans and come and cheer for me with a Mexican flag, and there are a lot of Hispanic people out here. I always represent them and I always want to say thank you to them for the support and hopefully we'll work together and just make it a bigger sport.

Q. Is there anything you're disappointed about this season from your standpoint?

LORENA OCHOA: No. There are some tournaments I had a really good chance to win or I was really close to get them, but when you look back, it's part of the process and you always try to learn. I always tried to take everything in a positive way and don't be too hard when it's not it's not in your hands, you know. Sometimes things happen, and, no, it's been a great season. It's been my best season so far, and I'm really enjoying it and I want to improve and it makes me feel that, you know, believe me, that I can win tournaments and I want to do that. So I need to keep working hard.

Q. When you start getting on that roll of success, and it carried over to like every time you tee it up, do you feel like you're always going to have a chance to win where in the past, maybe, you know, you didn't have that feeling?

LORENA OCHOA: Well, you always have that feeling. That's why I play here, and every tournament I play here, I play to win. It doesn't matter if it's a major, a small tournament, or it doesn't matter where we are. I always play to win, yes. You need to take it one step at a time and play one day at a time and then go from there.

PAM WARNER: Thank you very much.

End of FastScripts.

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