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GINN OPEN

April 14, 2007

Lorena Ochoa

REUNION, FLORIDA

PAM WARNER: Another great round out there. You're currently at 14-under and tied with Laura Davies for the lead. Talk about your round today.
LORENA OCHOA: Hello. It wasn't a good day. Again I had a little trouble on the third hole. I made a bogey and then I was able to finish the front nine and I think I played very consistent all day. I'm really happy. I felt good with my irons, with my driver. I made a silly mistake on the 14th, I was 125 yards to the green and made a bogey there that really changed my momentum. But made up for it on 18 with a birdie, putting it back in a good position and I feel much better right now to go and get ready for tomorrow.
PAM WARNER: Can we go over your score card?
LORENA OCHOA: I made bogey on the third hole. I missed the driver on the right to the rough and I was just trying to punch out to the fairway but I hit it a little long to the rough on the side and just a lay up. I had like 70 yards to the green and I misjudged a little bit the wind and I ended up like 20 feet from the hole and made two putts for bogey.
PAM WARNER: What did you hit up to the green?
LORENA OCHOA: Sand wedge.
No. 6, I was 140 yards. I hit a 9-iron and put it close, about seven, eight feet and made it for birdie.
Then No. 7, I hit the green on one and I had a long putt, maybe 30 feet and made two putts for birdie.
PAM WARNER: What club did you use?
LORENA OCHOA: Driver, short par-4.
No. 9, I hit the green in two with a 5-wood, 220 yards and made two putts for birdie. That was about 35 feet.
No. 10, I hit the green in two with a 5-wood, 220 yards, a little bit shorter, maybe 20, 25 feet and made two putts for birdie.
Then 14, 125 yards with a 9-iron. I hit it behind -- I was in the rough and I just ended up short in the green. I got a bad break, like a really bad lie in the rough and couldn't make par, and my putt was maybe seven feet.
Then 16, I hit a 5-iron from the tee. It was like 200 yards. I thought I hit it really good and just went long, maybe 35 feet and just a little short, about four feet and I missed that.
Then 18, I hit the green with a 7-iron, 135 yards, I was just in the rough on the right side and I put it close about six, seven feet and I made it.

Q. You almost won this thing last year, anything about this golf course that suits you or that you like particularly? Of course it's not the only course you've played good on over through the year, but you have played well here.
LORENA OCHOA: I do like the course. I think you're so comfortable on a course that you have good memories and what happened last year, I played good golf for a week and I gave myself a chance to win the tournament.
I came here with a good feeling of the golf course and the whole place, so, yeah, it helps. Good vibes.

Q. Will you be thinking tomorrow at all about a win would finally be it and you would stop hearing the questions about when it would happen and you would finally take over No. 1?
LORENA OCHOA: If I will --

Q. If you win tomorrow you will pass Annika in the rankings. Will you be thinking about that at all?
LORENA OCHOA: No, nothing, it's not -- I don't have that like every shot, like, you know, every hole in my head. It's just something that I would love to achieve, and you know, I think it's more important just to focus on the tournament, focus on my day, don't even worry about Laura Davies. Just do my own thing and make sure I'm patient and just play smart golf. And then, you know, everything will come with a good day tomorrow.

Q. The weather is not supposed to be good tomorrow. Can you think back on past victories where you've won in bad weather --
LORENA OCHOA: After I made that putt, I really thought, you know, I really need to make this because you never know if the tournament is going to be three days or if we're going to finish on Monday. That was an important putt.
I really, you know -- it's going to be the same for everybody. The weather is going to be the same for everybody and I think it should be a fun day tomorrow either, if it's raining hard or maybe we finish on Monday.

Q. You and Laura have been tied from the get-go, is it more fun going into the last round pretty much stuck with the same player the entire time, same score card every day?
LORENA OCHOA: Yeah, I think it's fun and I love to play with Laura. She's such a nice lady to play with. She's a lot of fun and a lot of joking around. Today even an almost six-hour round, she's enjoying yourself. You laugh about it and it's good to be around her. I love the way she reacts; when she does good, when she does bad. I think she's a great player to watch and I think tomorrow is going to be fun. I want to make sure we give a good exhibition for the fans and for us.

Q. Does it take so long because there's a couple of drivable par 4s and the par 5s are all reachable? Why does it seem to take so much longer?
LORENA OCHOA: I think it was pretty decent the first two days. Just today having so many players making the cut, when you play from both tees -- from both tees, it's only good for, you know, 72, 74, 73. I think there were more than 80 players.
So there's so many people on the course, you just can't play fast. When it's going to be a six-hour round, just be patient out there.

Q. Does the pace of play not bother you?
LORENA OCHOA: No. We were ready with a lot of food in the bag and it was good out there.

Q. Who is longer, you or Laura off the tee? She's got this reputation of be able to hit it out there as far as most of the guys, and you're one of the longer hitters, too.
LORENA OCHOA: I think we're about the same. Just a couple yards in front, behind. I think we're about the same. She hits the ball good. I love to see her play good. You know, she's a player that when I grew up, I always see her, and like I said yesterday, you know, just being there with her is a good time.

Q. Are you able to hit the driver off the ground?
LORENA OCHOA: Maybe I could try it, just for fun. It looks hard -- (laughter). She is unique.

Q. Some fans from Ecuador came here just to see you play in the tournament; what does that mean to you to have so many people out there that are just drawn to you from South America?
LORENA OCHOA: It feels great to see them and feel the support. It was great to see the boys from México with the Mexican flag running around all day. It does feel good. You know, just like I always say, you know, I play for all of them and hopefully they are having a good time and they have kids -- hopefully their kids really like the game and they can play the game.
So hopefully they will be here tomorrow. I saw a lot of gallery today; it was a big crowd and it makes a big difference. It feels really good. It's always nice to have a lot of people around the greens, and it was a good day for the galleries. Hopefully even with the bad weather, they will come tomorrow.

Q. For those of us who don't get to a lot of the LPGA events over the course of the year, is this one of the better ones in terms of what they do for the players and the setup of the golf course and the way you're treated and all those types of things?
LORENA OCHOA: It is. It's one of the top tournaments. Everything is just, the volunteers and when you're here in the clubhouse just the way they help and you treat you and the locker rooms and where we eat, the food is really good. We were just saying, everybody is staying here, renting a house really close. It's an easy week and they make us feel good. It's a nice tournament. It's also very nice to stay in a house. I only do that maybe four or five times a year and it makes a big difference because you feel more relaxed.

Q. How many people are staying in the house with you?
LORENA OCHOA: Me and Marisa Baena, but more and more people are coming. She is from Fort Lauderdale so a couple of her friends and more people are coming today, so we're going to have a full house tonight.
PAM WARNER: Thank you very much.

End of FastScripts

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