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U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 1, 2007

Lorena Ochoa

SOUTHERN PINES, NORTH CAROLINA

RHONDA GLENN: Ladies and gentlemen, Lorena Ochoa, who tied for second place in the Women's Open, she finished at 3-under par, 281.
I was just looking at your stats. You were not able to hit the fairway on your last five tee shots. Would you say the driver was kind of what cost you the victory today.

LORENA OCHOA: That's a good question. I think, you know for sure on -- I was playing pretty solid on the 15th hole, the par-5, I hit my driver to the left in the left bunker. I really regret that, because it would be a good chance to reach the green on 2 and put the pressure on Cristie. I did save a great par. So that was good.
And for sure the tee shot again on 17, just lost my grip and it's hard to put it that way. There were many good things, good pars that I saved. And then at the end probably the 17th hole was probably the one that cost me, that driver, that tee shot.
RHONDA GLENN: When you say it slipped -- your grip slipped. Did it slip as it would say if the grip was wet, did it actually slip in your hands?

LORENA OCHOA: No, I lost my grip. I was kind of like my hands -- wow, how can I put this in English -- when you start your swing, I kind of like -- I didn't like my position, and on the way down I kind of lost the grip a little bit. It was loose on my hands.
RHONDA GLENN: I'm sure these people have questions for you.

Q. You were on the green a lot on regulation. You made a lot of great par saves. Did you have more greens in regulations than birdies, did you feel like the birdies weren't dropping?

LORENA OCHOA: I didn't really have really short birdie opportunities. But the one that I can think of was on the 13th. I completely misread that and I was pretty upset with that. That was a good chance just to get momentum going and be ahead of her. I'm just sorry I didn't make that putt.

Q. Can you talk about what you were trying to do on the second shot on 17, what were you hitting?

LORENA OCHOA: I had 200 yards, I was hitting a 5-wood. I was trying to be safe and put the ball in the middle of the green.
Of course, I was going to the green, because I was one shot behind and I needed to put it close and give myself a chance to at least make a par and be around.
Just was real quick with my swing. It was a tough shot. I had some branches hanging from the tee left. And I usually hit a fade and I didn't want to leave the ball on the right side of the green, because it would be impossible to make an up-and-down.
So I was really quick with my hands and I hit it over the top, so I grabbed the lip.

Q. It appeared that you topped the ball, is that correct?
LORENA OCHOA: Yes.

Q. How far did it go? It didn't go very far?
LORENA OCHOA: Maybe --

Q. A hundred yards?
LORENA OCHOA: Maybe less, like 70 yards.

Q. You talked about how big a day this was going to be for you. Leaving here is it going to be pretty tough to do so without the trophy?

LORENA OCHOA: No, I'm doing okay. I've been in worse places. It hurts, but I just did everything I could. I tried really hard every day, every shot. It just didn't happen for me. I'm quite happy. If you think about it, it's been good. I gave myself a chance and I wouldn't change that for anything.
RHONDA GLENN: Did it get down to be a little bit of a match play battle, since you were paired with Cristie and you were so close all day and at one point you were tied.

LORENA OCHOA: No, that was exactly what I didn't want to happen. I was just trying to play my own game. And I thought I'll make a couple of birdies on the back. If Cristie is a little bit off she is going to make a bogey. I'm not going to look at anything that's going on with Morgan or Cristie, just trying to play my own game and not to get distracted with them.
But I couldn't -- it didn't happen. I tried to -- I was close a few times to make birdie. At the end Angela came back and made a birdie, a couple of times, she birdied first on the back and then birdied 18. It wasn't just one player, there were for sure three or four players that were really close all the time, it was hard to make a move.
The golf course is so tough and the last five, six holes are really tough.

Q. I heard a lot of Spanish spoken in the gallery. Talk about the support of the crowd. I would love to know what that guy hollered at you on 13th tee. You hit a great shot on 13th tee and there was a guy that yelled something really loud in Spanish?
LORENA OCHOA: My name.

Q. Was that all?
LORENA OCHOA: He was going Lorena Ochoa (laughter).

Q. Talk about the support of the gallery and the crowd?

LORENA OCHOA: There were a lot of Mexicans, from here, and a few that came from home. My mom, a couple of aunts, my brother, Sophia, another Mexican. She had the relatives here, and all of them came and watched me play today. It was really nice. I felt the support and it was nice to see them with the Mexican flag. I appreciate the Mexican support.
RHONDA GLENN: You had a great support from a largely American gallery, did you feel that?

LORENA OCHOA: Yes, I did. I also want to mention that, because I feel support not only from the Mexican, Hispanic people, but people from here in America or different places. It feels very nice. I want to say thank you.

Q. Can you talk about the lightning strike last night and how close it was to you?
LORENA OCHOA: I don't really know how close. It was loud. It was scary. I want to say maybe a hundred yards.

Q. Did it hit a tree or the ground?
LORENA OCHOA: I don't really know what happened. But there were people that saw some sparks. It was scary. I'm glad nothing happened.

Q. Did you see the flash?
LORENA OCHOA: No, not me, just the noise.
RHONDA GLENN: Was that after play was discontinued and they were bringing you in or before?
LORENA OCHOA: Yes, it was after -- we stopped playing around 8:20 and there was probably around 8:40, 8:45.

Q. Where were you?
LORENA OCHOA: I was on a golf cart driving from the 12th hole to here.

Q. Can you address the difficulty it is in winning a Major? Coming close like this, do you find it -- do you find a greater appreciation of how hard it is each time you go out there and something like this happens?

LORENA OCHOA: It is pretty tough. I don't really -- today I was feeling really good. I was very positive. I was very calm. I was feeling almost like playing in New Jersey, that tournament that we won.
For sure you don't want to be thinking, "Oh, my God, I'm in the last group, in a Major championship, I'm playing the U.S. Open, maybe I'll win."
If you think that it's no good. You just try to enjoy the day and just play as any other time. We're the same players, same conditions, same golf clubs, same golf ball. I always try to put it that way, just to relax and really enjoy it.
RHONDA GLENN: What did you learn?

LORENA OCHOA: A lot of things. A lot. Thinking about my game, I need to work a lot on keeping the ball down in different shots and making sure I get down the distance -- distance control. But I was very happy the way I managed myself, saving pars today and making sure I was with the leader in contention.
And communication with my caddie. We saw a few things different today that we need to work on. When to be aggressive and when not to be aggressive. Someone needs to tie your hands behind, don't hit it to the pin, just hit it in the middle of the green and make 2-putts. That type of golf really helps you, just to be more patient. I really learned.
RHONDA GLENN: You had a lot of great chip shots, too.

Q. Mentally were you hurt at all by the three-putt at the end of the third round? Was that difficult, did that carry over at all into the afternoon?

LORENA OCHOA: No, nothing. We went back home. We had a few hours to relax. We were sitting at the table and I just started laughing, I said, "How do you like my big hit on my first ball?" And everyone said, "Why are you doing that?"
I was very nervous. It was one of those that just happens. It was almost like a Nintendo game, you hit it so hard that you laugh. And then I had a long putt coming back.
But I was comfortable with my position being one back. All I wanted to do was be in the last group, nothing to do with that three-putt.
RHONDA GLENN: How many holes did you play this morning?
LORENA OCHOA: Seven.

Q. You just said that the three-putt at the end of the third round didn't bother you. You just said it earlier in the flash interview that you have no reason to be frustrated, you don't need to be frustrated. Could you give a little bit more on how you manage to be so serene in the face of things that would upset most mortal golf players?
LORENA OCHOA: Are you talking about right now or the putt?

Q. I'm talking about in general. It seems that you seem to be carrying yourself with a great deal of serenity on these events that don't always turn out your way, but you said you're doing fine.

LORENA OCHOA: Yes, I'm doing okay. I just -- that's the way I am. Of course, there are times where I will really either just be sad or upset. It really hurts when I don't win. But at the same time it's just life.
I'm going to go home now and have a good time with my family, my friends. They came here and I have no reason to be upset and cry in my room. It's just an enjoyable moment being here and having the chance to win the U.S. Open. I'm okay. Sometimes people take too seriously or -- I always try to approach things this way.

Q. You talked about a couple of times with David where you had different viewpoints on shots. Is it in your mindset to always be aggressive? Is this a tough golf course? Does this golf course keep you from being aggressive all the time?

LORENA OCHOA: Yes, for sure. One time after another David would say, "Just put the ball on the left side, don't try to get too close, because it will be hard."
And he really helped me. I think we did really good with the course management. I want to say thank you to him. We've just got to try again.

Q. What do you know about St. Andrews?

LORENA OCHOA: What do I know? Nothing. But I always tell Dave, because he's from England and he is very excited to be there, he knows the course, he's been there a few times. I always tell him, "Half of the time I pay attention to what you say, hit it to the left, and sometimes I go, 'yes, yes', and I hit it right. But in St. Andrews I think I'm going to follow your advice and I'm going to do a hundred percent whatever you tell me to do."
I guess it's a pretty tough golf course. For sure strategy is very important, so I'm going to make sure we do that.

Q. Did you watch at all when Tiger won The Open there?

LORENA OCHOA: I did. Just the last few holes. Hopefully we get those conditions. I know it was hot and no wind. I like those conditions, just like Mexico.
RHONDA GLENN: Thank you so much.

End of FastScripts

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