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GINN OPEN

April 15, 2007

Lorena Ochoa

REUNION, FLORIDA

PAM WARNER: Thanks for coming in and joining us today. Your second runner-up finish here in some pretty tough conditions out there. Do you just want to talk about your round today and your finish?
LORENA OCHOA: Yes, hello. Yeah, the conditions were tough today. I think especially being such a long day, you had to kind of be able to just be patient. And it was really windy, so you expect to make some mistakes on some holes.
I was very happy and very pleased with my front nine. I played really good, solid golf and really close to make birdie on No. 9 and close to make birdie on No. 10.
Then on 13, the par 4, I thought I hit a pretty good tee shot and I found myself in a really bad lie in the rough, high rough and I hit a really good 7-wood, tried to put it up on the green and it just rolled down to the left, I didn't even know those big holes are on the side of the greens. You know, like just the way we practiced and the way we played it was completely different today. I just put myself in tough positions.
I cannot tell you what happened at the end, just one thing after another one and I keep trying to be positive.
And on 18, I thought just give myself a chance, going into a playoff would be good enough and just take advantage of the opportunity if everything came close on the 18th. Going in the bunker thought I could give myself a chance to go at the hole there and rather than be middle of the green and 2-putt for bogey, but it rolled back to the edge and it was in the high rough. So it was really difficult to get up-and-down, and it didn't happen.
PAM WARNER: Can we go over your score card? Birdie on 3.
LORENA OCHOA: I tried to hit the green in two. I went just over the green on the back fringe. I had two putts maybe from 35 feet for birdie.
Birdie on 5. I hit a 5-wood. It was just straight into the wind and it was really close, two feet for birdie and I made it.
Bogey on 6. I 3-putted. That was on the low part of the green and I 3-putted. I missed my second putt, maybe five feet. Par.
PAM WARNER: Then the double-bogey on 13.
LORENA OCHOA: I went over the green on the left side and then I thought I hit an okay chip and just with the wind, it just came all the way back down on the green and 3-putted from there. My second putt was maybe five, six feet.
On 15, I was 135 yards to the green and I misjudged the distance. I was in between clubs and I hit 7-iron over the green on the right side, again into that little hole. Couldn't even get it close. I had my putt for par about 15 feet.
The next hole, the par 3, I hit my 4-iron just pin-high again on the right side. It went down to -- I hit it up on the green and just rolled to the right side and I was by the drain in a divot. My ball was in a divot. I get it out okay, a little bit short, maybe ten feet and I missed that putt for par.
On 18, I was in the left rough, I was like 213 yards to the pin. I hit 3-wood, just trying to give myself a chance to roll it up there to the green and just hit it short in the bunker on the right. And then hit an 8-iron from the bunker trying to roll the ball up, but it didn't make it. It came back out of the green to the rough. Then I tried to roll a 9-iron just a little short, maybe ten feet and I missed that for bogey.

Q. What's the hardest thing about playing in the wind for you; is it mental or physical or both?
LORENA OCHOA: Mental. You know, physical, there's nothing different. You are up there -- I think everything is in your mind, in your head. If you get frustrated, if you lose your confidence, and then once you get over the ball, it just feels horrible with so much wind.

Q. You backed off several putts today, was that because you were afraid the ball was going to move or just because it was so hard to steady yourself in the wind?
LORENA OCHOA: Both. A couple of times -- I think it's kind of like the same reason, you get over the putt and maybe it moves, and kind of waiting for a good time to putt.

Q. Given what was at stake today, knowing what was at stake today, when was the last time you were this disappointed coming off a golf course; maybe the U.S. Open a couple of years ago at Cherry Hills, or is this one going to be the hardest one you've had to swallow for a while?
LORENA OCHOA: No, I can't remember -- it's just a different feeling. I didn't -- like Hawaii my second week, I felt a lot worse than today.
You know, it's just hard to describe. But it was just not meant to be. I tried really hard and I was calm and thought I was going to be the one that had a chance, and, you know, I mean, she also made a bogey on 18 and still won the tournament -- like I don't know, I really don't know.
But I'm okay. If I look back, I came to the States, played three weeks in Phoenix, won a tournament, Nabisco Top-10 and here second place. I'm just going to try to be positive and hopefully I will just try to learn from what happened today and not take it too hard on myself. And next week, in a couple of weeks, it's a big tournament for me. So hopefully we have a new approach (ph) and can win that tournament.

Q. I wonder if you could just talk about Brittany a little, you've played with her enough I'm sure. She did shoot par today in pretty tough conditions, just wonder what you think of her and her game and how far she's come over the years.
LORENA OCHOA: Well, I think obviously she's a very strong player, a very aggressive player. She's known as a player that made birdie, bogey, birdie, bogey and all of the sudden she will make like five, six birdies in a row and that means that, you know, she has the game.
You know, if she learns to be a little more patient, a little more smart, and sometimes if she stops making those mistakes and those bogeys, she's going to be a really good player. You know, she has a lot of potential. I played with her before and she's a tough girl. I'm sure she's going to do well. She has great help from Greg, her caddie, and it was just good to be around them and congratulations to both of them. They tried really hard.

Q. Was there a point during the round with the wind that you thought it was almost unplayable?
LORENA OCHOA: Yes. Especially the sand would come out of the bunker and just really hit us. We were talking about, you know, how hard it is to golf in the wind, if she should stop play -- the greens being soft, that helped a little bit but also and we didn't have many balls that rolled on the green. So I guess it was playable. You know, tough conditions, it proves who is the best player and today it was Brittany for sure.

Q. When you look back or when you think about the chair, the penalty --
LORENA OCHOA: No, that penalty, you make six birdies and it would be a different story or maybe if I didn't make that double bogey. No, today just on the back nine I just lost it. It doesn't feel good. I have a lot of emotions.

Q. Between the wind and the six-hour round, how exhausted are you?
LORENA OCHOA: No, I'm okay. I will feel that later. With the emotions and, it feels good to be in the last group and feel the pressure and be really excited. I didn't want to be here tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, but unfortunately I'm going home.

Q. Are you able to keep the No. 1 thing out of your while you were playing? Or was that in there bouncing at all at any point?
LORENA OCHOA: I didn't even think about it. I was just worried about the tournament.

Q. After a finish like this, does it take a couple of weeks to think back on it?
LORENA OCHOA: No. Tomorrow, you know, you cannot afford to just keep thinking about it and punish yourself. I'm okay. I don't know exactly what I'm going to do right now but I'm sure I'm going to be 100% with my game and my mind in a couple of weeks.
PAM WARNER: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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