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HSBC WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSFebruary 27, 2008Lorena OchoaTANAH MERAH, SINGAPORE MIKE SCANLAN: Welcome to the media centre, and welcome to Singapore. This is your first time here. LORENA OCHOA: Yes, first time, thank you. MIKE SCANLAN: Can you just talk a little bit about the HSBC Women's Champions, the new event on the LPGA schedule and what it means to be here in Asia? LORENA OCHOA: Hello, everybody. Yes, this is my first time in Singapore, and it's been amazing so far. I took my time, got here one day earlier and I tried to see a few times the course. I think it's going to be a fantastic event. Everything looks great. The hospitality has been amazing, and the course is in great shape. Fast greens, and we cannot ask for a better place to start. MIKE SCANLAN: In the first two weeks of the season, both Annika and Paula won a tournament, and now here in your first event do you feel any pressure to come out and perform having those two win before you started? LORENA OCHOA: No, no. I think I didn't play the first two weeks because I wanted to spend a little bit more time at home. It was important for me to get more practise and be more prepared. You know, we all know how good Annika is and Paula, and I'm not surprised that they won. So I'm really excited for this season. I think it's going to be tough because there are so many good players. But I feel prepared, and I can't wait to start playing tomorrow. Q. In terms of the draw, you'll be playing amongst the world top three. How do you feel about the draw for tomorrow? LORENA OCHOA: I'm sorry, I didn't understand the question. Q. In terms of your playing partners. LORENA OCHOA: I like very much my tee time. I think playing with Karrie Webb and with Annika tomorrow is going to be a special way to start the year. Not only them, but all the good players. Like I said, I can't wait to be here tomorrow and tee off. I've been waiting over three months to get a competition round, so I'm really excited for tomorrow. Q. I just wondered, given the growing popularity of women's golf on a global scale, do you think that the LPGA should move a little bit more into Asia to tap those markets, somewhere like the Gulf where the LPGA never plays? Do you think it should become more global? LORENA OCHOA: Well, I think we are doing that right now. I think you can see how we have more international tournaments and how we come now to Asia one or two times more than what we used to. And it's happening. I think it's fair, I think it's right. It's a very global Tour, and I do support the LPGA very much. We have a great support here in Asia. We have great sponsors, and it's great to see how it's moving and it's growing. We have better -- more fans, better players, so it's great to see that. I always support the LPGA and I'd be happy to be back here or in Asia in different places. Q. Having got your first major last year, are you concentrating more in the majors this year? Are you sort of targeting them specifically? LORENA OCHOA: I didn't understand the question, sorry. Q. Having got your first major, how important are the majors to you this year? Are you targeting them? LORENA OCHOA: Majors are always important. I always put more attention on those. I also play three times in Mexico, and to me those are majors, so I have more than four. But I think I feel for sure more prepared. I think what I learned last year and what happened at the British really gave me a good lesson, and I'm ready to win more, yes. Q. Can you talk about the course a little bit, what kind of shape it's in, what you've seen? LORENA OCHOA: I think it's going to be a good challenge. The course is long and the greens are tough, having different levels. The speed of the greens are getting faster and faster. I love the last four or five holes. I think those will be really good holes to finish the tournament. We'll see tomorrow. It's a good place and I think it should be a good show for all the people. Q. Which holes would you say would be a tough test? LORENA OCHOA: I think that the last four or five, 15 and then 17 and 18. I think 18 is a great hole to finish. There's going to be a lot of surprises on that hole and you've got to really get a good tee shot and put yourself in a good position to make the hole easier. Q. Mexico has not traditionally been known as a country for golf. Now with your achievements golf is a big thing in Mexico. How important do you see yourself as a competitor for golf in your country now? LORENA OCHOA: If I understand, you say that Mexico is -- golf is very popular in Mexico than in the past? It is; it's changing. Now we have more players and also better facilities and more golf courses, so it's nice to see those changes. I believe that in the next two, three years we'll have more Mexicans on Tour, so I'm excited for that. Q. On the LPGA Tour you grew up step by step and now you're No. 1 player. What's your final goal? LORENA OCHOA: This year? Q. No, what's your final goal as a player? LORENA OCHOA: Well, I'd like to be No. 1. I'd like to stay at the top. Hopefully I can do that as long as I play. I do have other activities outside the golf course. I have a golf academy in Mexico. I have a foundation, Lorena Ochoa Foundation, that we help kids with education. You know, I think later on I really want to make an impact and help as many kids as I can and use golf to do that, you know? I have many goals, and I think I'm blessed to do what I do. Right now we're in 2008 and I'm going to try to concentrate one year at a time and play my best. Q. I heard that you were in the Hall of Fame when you -- maybe first round of the Ginn in Orlando. Someone saw you at the Hall of Fame. LORENA OCHOA: I went to the Hall of Fame early in the week of the Ginn tournament in Orlando for my first time, and I liked it very much. It was a great experience. And I do want to be there, yes. That's one of my main goals. Q. You paid for tickets, too, didn't you? LORENA OCHOA: I didn't know we could get in for free (laughter). Q. Other than yourself, who would you pick to win this tournament this week and why? LORENA OCHOA: Anybody can win. There are a lot of good players. I don't like to pick a player or to think about them. I only have control of myself. I would love to win the tournament, and hopefully it happens. Q. Just back to the globalization of golf, can you foresee a time in the near future when the LPGA is going to be playing tournaments in the Middle East, for example, and what's the feeling amongst the women players? Would they be prepared to travel more outside of the U.S. do you think? LORENA OCHOA: Well, I only know that we -- or me, what I'm thinking is I need to be prepared to play anywhere. I think the LPGA is moving. We have more tournaments outside the United States. I like that idea. And like I said, I would prefer that. You know, it's not my job to think two, three, four, five years ahead. I'm here right now and I'm trying to deal with one season at a time. But I'm willing to travel. I love to travel. I love to visit different countries, see different cultures. They always treat us so good. It's like a treat to come here. So I think it should be something good. Q. Is that the general feeling amongst the players on the Tour, that they would be prepared to travel more? LORENA OCHOA: I think. I mean, it's obvious that we're seeing those changes. Like I said, I think being an LPGA player is something very special that many, many people want to do. But now we are here and that's what we should do, just grow with the new ideas and the new tournaments and support them. Q. You're not guilty of it, but slow play seems to be quite an issue in the LPGA these days. Do you think it is, and what can be done about it? LORENA OCHOA: I think we could all improve. I think it's something that we need to really pay attention to that. It's much better for people to come and watch us play, for the TV, time on the TV. Slow play is horrible. We don't like that. We can always improve, and I think this year we should all focus on that to be better. Q. I want to get to something that's a little bit more inside your golf bag. Could you take us through your golf bag? What's in your golf bag, head cover and all that kind of stuff? LORENA OCHOA: I have all Ping irons, 56-degree, 60-degree, and then from the wedge to the 4-iron; and then I play a hybrid Ping Raptor; and then I play a 5-wood, which is a Raptor, I believe; and then I play a 3-wood that is a G-10; and I play a driver that is a Raptor. Q. What's the story behind the Superman head cover? LORENA OCHOA: What is the story? Well, I had that even before college, and when I went to Arizona in Tucson to play in college, I had a few friends, teammates and the coach, they called me "Super Ochoa." It stuck with me, and I really like it. I'm in trouble because they don't make them anymore. But I have to keep them for all my career. Q. One more question. Are you superstitious? Is there anything else that you carry whenever you play? LORENA OCHOA: I'm not superstitious. I'm Catholic and I have a lot of faith, and I think we can always get a little bit of help from God, but I'm not superstitious. Q. What do you think of the Asian contingent now for this event? Do you feel that they're pretty much stronger than probably a few years back? LORENA OCHOA: I think so. Having more players and having a better Tour, playing in Korea and Japan and different places, improves the competition and their game. I believe they are strong. Every year you can see when they play Q-school that a lot of them qualify and then they play on the LPGA. Me, I'm always saying, careful, because they are really strong and they are coming on strong. MIKE SCANLAN: Lorena, thanks a lot. Good luck this week. LORENA OCHOA: Thank you very much. End of FastScripts |
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