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KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP

April 1, 2008

Lorena Ochoa

RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA

DANA GROSS-RHODE: Thank you all very much for joining us. Lorena, you currently own 19 wins on Tour, two wins in your first three events this season, and you're playing your best ever, and now this is the first major of the year. How are you feeling coming into Kraft?
LORENA OCHOA: Hello, everybody. This is finally the first major of the year. I'm really excited to be here. I practiced on Monday and got the feel of the course. I think it's in great shape and it looks tough. It looks like the rough is going to keep growing and the greens are hard.
And, you know, I can't wait. Everything about this week makes you want to play so good and just be out there on Sunday.
I'm getting myself ready and I can't wait to tee off on Thursday.

Q. (Regarding keys to success for the year).
LORENA OCHOA: Yes. (Laughter) You see?
Yes, I think for sure the most important thing is to have time for yourself and to be happy. That's the only way you can play good golf. So that's why I'm going to try to reduce my schedule to less tournaments. That's the plan. You know, maybe I need to play a few more events to make the minimum position and I will make changes at the end of the season.
Right now I believe in myself and I'm working hard. I think you always want to improve. That's something that is important; to have this motivation, always have motivation, and there's room to improve. So I'm going to make sure I do that and hopefully win more tournaments.

Q. (About swing changes and improving).
LORENA OCHOA: With my putting, you know, I used to have a little bit of an outside backswing and then a little loop and cut the ball a little bit. You know we work a lot on that, not even worrying too much about the head. The head is always a natural moment and always will probably. Just have a really nice and straight stroke, and we're able to eliminate that loop, and it's a lot easier. The ball starts on line, and I need to change my alignment, too. I'm back to having a pretty straight, square alignment.
It looks good. I feel comfortable. There are still times that I go back maybe because on tournaments, I'm not 100% there, but I like the changes. I think we are going in the right way and hopefully we get that done and make many putts.

Q. (About fan support).
LORENA OCHOA: No, I think it's good. I always see that as something that way, something positive, something good, something that gives me extra motivation to play good.
It gets sometimes difficult but I don't change anything, the support and the love that I feel, and I will always appreciate that.

Q. You've played here seven times and been in the Top-10 five times and could have won it a couple of times. Why do you play so well here? Is your game geared up for this tournament as the first major, or does the golf course just fit you?
LORENA OCHOA: Well, I think both. I think it's just a tournament that I really like. I like the first stretch of the year. Last week's tournament and the course and coming here this week, this is a special place. I came here two times as an amateur. I have great memories and I have a lot of support from people that come from MÃ©xico and cheer for me. It's just someplace that feels good.
I'm ready to have a good week. I've been close a few times and hopefully this is the year.

Q. Are the changes to the golf course this year very noticeable out there? ? Did you notice the finger bunkers?
LORENA OCHOA: Yes, for sure, a few holes there are huge bunkers. And I think especially No. 11, having that bunker shot, and right of the green, I thought that's a really good move and makes it harder to hit the green in two.
And then bunkers are playing tough. It looks like it will be easy to get a club lie, so I'm going to try not to get there.

Q. Now that we are a few weeks into the season -- -- (indiscernible)-- can you talk about what you've seen this year that might be different from last year and what effects that's had and what kind of questions you've had on the courses you've played so far?
LORENA OCHOA: For sure, I want to say thank you and congratulations. We thought Singapore was a great golf course. I'm not sure -- especially last week, you see the conditions of the course, especially on a Monday, hard greens, fast greens and to be able to keep the same pace of the greens the whole week, I think that's something that we as a player asked for before, and it was very nice to have the same speed on the greens. You know, you get used to something, and just to play the whole week with that.
And yesterday we practiced the tournament course, it was very impressive to see how hard the greens were. You know, usually on a Monday, the grass is a little bit high and the ball is really -- you know, the greens hold good. Yesterday we saw the opposite. So I like that a lot so we can get used to a course, the real course. So it's good.

Q. The course seems to have been lengthened a little bit, how will that play into your hands? Obviously you've increased your distance off the tee even more this year compared to last year; so you've got to be feeling fairly happy with some of those changes.
LORENA OCHOA: Yes. Well, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that my driver works as well as last week.
I feel comfortable. I think those are positive changes, and it's good for me, for the long hitter. There are holes I need to hit a 3-wood so I don't run through a couple of fairways. I think yesterday we got a good feel for the course and just make a good strategy for the tournament.
So, I'm ready. I think it's time to have a long golf course, and it's a good challenge for a major, especially.

Q. Tiger Woods, his dominance for the men's side of the Tour, is that when you see is possible for you on this side of the Tour?
LORENA OCHOA: That's what I'm trying to do. Yes, you know, it's very different where he is and what he's doing. But I do believe that, you know, every tournament I play, I'm there to win and I'm 100% ready to do my best and give myself a good chance to win the tournament and I'm doing that, just every week, and try to get as many as possible.

Q. Obviously you've experienced a lot of success winning a number of tournaments, not only in your collegiate years in Arizona but at the professional level, as well. But where would winning the Kraft Nabisco rank on your list of accomplishments if you were able to come through on Sunday?
LORENA OCHOA: I think it's too soon to think on that. I'm just going to take it one day at a time, be ready, hopefully get a good start and give myself a good chance on Sunday, and I'll let you know, on Sunday, hopefully. (Chuckling).

Q. (About playing the Kraft in the past and not winning).
LORENA OCHOA: No, I don't even think on that. I already erased them. I only feel good things about this course, and good vibes and good memories.
Of course you're going to make mistakes and have a few bad holes, and like what happened on 17, last year, I struggled on holes 13, 14, and 15 and they were holes that I played over par and I'm going to work on those this year and make sure I play that stretch in a positive way and I think that will really help get a good result on Sunday.
Like I said, coming here as an amateur player, I already played here a few times really good, and I was close to winning the tournament.
I just feel comfortable. I have a lot of support, my family is coming, a lot of Mexicans are coming. The whole environment, I think the atmosphere is good. I like to be here.

Q. How many people do you have coming?
LORENA OCHOA: I'm going to ask for a hundred tickets. We'll see how many I can get and I'll just pay the rest. (Laughing).

Q. Can you talk a little bit about your Ochoa Golf Academy, the one in Guadalajara and the ranch in MÃ©xico, what's the plan, do you want more academies?
LORENA OCHOA: Well, right now, the people that we have been helping, they have golf courses they want to play. We are doing good, and we have teachers there that are giving lessons every day. We have, in Guadalajara, the last number, 44 boys and girls playing, so we can see the interest is growing.
And we are not moving right now. We are going to stay a Guadalajara and make the next one in Mexico City better, and then once we really feel comfortable and we get more teachers prepared, we'll move to different parts of the country.
So we are doing good and it's going slowly. I think it's been a challenge but I think we are making people aware that one, for them to play the game, and we are trying to help. So we have -- probably this has been a good year and we have more people playing.

Q. You mentioned that Tiger, earlier, I was wondering have you ever had a chance to meet him or have you ever talked golf with him?
LORENA OCHOA: Well, I knew him from junior golf, and then last year I saw him at the Masters in Augusta, just very briefly, maybe five minutes, you know, hi, congratulations, he said like good playing, and just gave me a big smile and said good luck in the tournament and good-bye. So no, I haven't had a chance to talk to him.

Q. Golf seems to be different in other sports in that people love a dominate player. If a woman golfer emerged as dominant as Tiger, would you be as popular as Tiger?
LORENA OCHOA: I didn't understand the question.

Q. Could a woman golfer be as popular as Tiger if they got -- if she was to get that dominant?
LORENA OCHOA: That's a good question. I'm doing anything I can do to make that happen. Tiger is Tiger and he's from the United States.
I'm doing okay in my country, too. (Laughter) it's just a different world. But I'm going to try to get there.

Q. (What areas do you think you can improve)?
LORENA OCHOA: Anything, traveling, resting, chipping, putting, moving the ball with my irons; everything; the communications I have with my caddie, the strategy, last week I made three or four dumb bogeys. There's always room to improvement. I think when that's up, it's time to go home. You need to find something where you can improve, and I'm going to keep looking for that.

Q. Your caddie, Dave, has said every time he sees you early in the week, you feel like you're so rested, you've had three weeks off, but clearly you have not always had three weeks off. How do you recharge your batteries day-by-day? I know you have a busy schedule. You keep your fitness up; can you kind of take us through your day and how you manage to come out fresh every day and every week?
LORENA OCHOA: Well, I think the most important thing is to know yourself. I had little allergies on Saturday and Sunday in Phoenix and I struggled a little bit. Once the tournament, if I've had a good week, maybe the Monday or Tuesday after, you get a little bit of a feeling that you don't have much and heavy legs. I'm at that stage right now.
But because I know and I'm able to know me, yesterday I just went to the course and I spent most of the time chipping and putting, and then I just went home and you know, was in bed by 8:30.
It's important relax and get good rest, especially yesterday, today, and maybe even tomorrow in the afternoon, so I'm going to be 100% ready. Everybody is different. You know, this is only my second week, and then I'm going to make sure I get enough rest, so you need to prepare yourself in advance to be ready.

Q. (What do you think you could learn from Tiger)?
LORENA OCHOA: I think that's a good question. I think we can all learn so much from him. I think we all want to know what he has in his head, inside. It would be hard to find, but I'm happy for what I have.
DANA GROSS-RHODE: Thank you very much.

End of FastScripts

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