|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
CN CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 13, 2008Lorena OchoaOTTAWA, ONTARIO ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Lorena, thanks for joining us today. Welcome back to the CN Canadian Women's Open. It's one of your eight title defenses from the 2007 season. Can you just talk about being here this week and hopefully successfully defending your title. LORENA OCHOA: Yes, thank you. Hello, everybody. It's great to be here. I'm really excited. This tournament move every year, and I think it's very special to be able to come to a different city with new fans. And I really enjoy it. It's a great tournament. Winning last year, coming from the British Open and winning in Canada, it meant a lot to me. It's great to be the defending champion. I think, you know, I love the position to defend the titles. I really want to win, so hopefully everything goes well and I can be there on Sunday with the trophy. ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Can you just talk about playing this course the last couple days, the practice rounds, your thoughts and feelings on the course. LORENA OCHOA: I'm impressed. For sure congratulations to everybody in here working hard. This is a beautiful course. I can say so far it's my favorite place on tour. I love that it's old and it's very traditional. The greens are going to be a good challenge with different levels. The grass is quick. I really like the setup, too. I think going to be a very -- not many low rounds. I think you know for sure it's going to be under par, but I don't think 15 or 18 or 17 under par. So I think that's a good challenge for all of us. I think today is an important day to feel comfortable again with the strategy and play good in the Pro-Am and play good tomorrow. ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Lorie Kane said the same thing about the scores yesterday. Questions for Lorena. Q. You got off to such a great start this year and were so dominating. You went back to Mexico to deal with several family issues. Do you feel like you're in a position now to get that momentum back that you had? LORENA OCHOA: I was ready a few weeks ago. Yeah, I mean, I'm doing okay. It' just of course it's impossible to win every week. I got a great start and I slowed down a little bit. It's the way sport is and life is, up and down. I played pretty good the last two weeks. I finished top 10 in the two weeks and I'm putting good and hitting the ball good. I think my game is right up there. You know, I just have to be patient. Like I said, I'm ready for a win. Hopefully we can do it this week. Q. You've got the ADT Championship coming up. I'm just wondering looking at the rest of the LPGA Tour, do you see anybody emerging as a main challenger to you for that championship? LORENA OCHOA: Only for the ADT or? Q. For the ADT, yeah. LORENA OCHOA: Anybody can win. It can be any of the 32 players. It's really a fun tournament. It's just, you know, you have to play in a different way just to make sure you qualify and you're in after the third round. Anybody has a chance. I don't worry too much about that tournament. I think it's great to qualify and be there, and once you are there to have a good time and hopefully you can do it. But right now that's too far ahead. I have many good tournaments here. I try to only take one week at time and be 100% there and then just do it that way: just one week at a time. Q. Is that the nature of the LPGA Tour now? Looking out over the entire LPGA, is it the depth factor? When Annika was so dominate there seemed to be a real space in there, and now it just seems there are so many. There seems to be a lot of people out there who aren't that far behind you. Is it a depth thing now with the LPGA? ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Is there more talent than maybe a couple years ago? LORENA OCHOA: Well, for sure the level of golf is raising every year. It's becoming very global. We have so many players from different parts of the world. It's changing a lot. We have a lot of tournaments outside the United States. I think all that really opens new doors and new players and new talent. It is not easy. You know, the competition is so hard. When they ask me who they think is coming after you, everybody. There are just so many. And like I said, I always try to focus on my game and be worried about the things I have control of them. But you need to be careful, because there are really good ones, and close. Q. You've been here since yesterday. I believe you played nine holes yesterday and you're going to play 18 in the Pro-Am today. At what point do you get beyond just feeling your way around a golf course and picking the spots where you think you can attack or be more aggressive or make up the shots that you want to make up? LORENA OCHOA: I play 18 holes yesterday, so today will be my second round. I think 36 holes for a new course is a good number. It's enough. It's not the best to play every day 18 holes because then you get too tired. On Monday I didn't get my clubs and my luggage, so I rested on Monday. I didn't feel guilty because I didn't have them and I just watched the Olympics. (Laughing) And then yesterday I played 18 holes, so 36 is good. I think what is most important, you don't always put the ball in a good position, but what is important is to get comfortable around the greens, get the speed of the greens and feel comfortable with the grass around the greens chipping, putting. Q. At what point do you get that? LORENA OCHOA: 36 rounds holes, two rounds. Q. You talked a little bit about the great depth of talent globally in the game. Name one or two golfers coming up that might be the great stars in the game. Who would come to mind? LORENA OCHOA: Not only two, it's true. We saw Yani. She won the LPGA Championship and how good she start playing and how good she's been performing in the last few months, and she's only a rookie. I was not even close to winning a tournament in my rookie year. And you can see that way how strong they are coming. Paula Creamer is great, Susann Petersen. It's not fair to mention names because it's not only them. Sometimes there are the faces everybody sees, but there are many, many girls that are working really hard and playing very good, very consistent every week. It's tough. You have to make sure you're one step ahead, because they could catch you. Q. You spoke about how much you like the course and all the great players that are out there, and they're all here right now. Does this have a feel of a major championship right now? And if so, how? LORENA OCHOA: Yes, I get that feel from the golf course and the setup, especially the first four or five holes. They're tough. They could get you in trouble if you don't get a good start. It's playing like a major championship. The other thing is that it's so special because you only come to Canada once a year. The sponsors, the fans, the media, Monday you get people on the course. Tuesday I had a great crowd follow me in my practice round. You don't get that very often. So you can tell that it's really a great community that gets together to help and support. It feels really good as a player. We appreciate that very, because it feels better to play that way. Hopefully I can enjoy it. Going to try my best. Q. What will you say to the new generations of fans that are playing golf seeing you, especially to the Mexican crowd? LORENA OCHOA: I think, you know, for us the best that we can do is give them a good example. Do things in the right way: practice hard and play good and leave in a good way with values. I think it shows, you know, a lot what we do. And for all of them hopefully they see us and get motivated and excited. I think it's important to have a role model. I think we all had a role model growing up, and it's a big responsibility. Sometimes when I see little kids that watch out, they see what I do, it's a big responsibility. But I'm really happy to have that opportunity to really help a kid and motivate them and just motivate them to dream. You first have to dream to get there, to achieve your goals. There's no limit for your dreams, not to be afraid of being different. I wish my life to everybody. I have more than I ever expected, and it's really blessing to be a professional golfers. Not only for Mexicans. Hopefully we see more Mexicans in the future, but for everybody. Q. You have a reputation of being pretty grounded. Do you have to work at being grounded given all the success you've had? LORENA OCHOA: I think I've been very lucky with the family I have, with everything I receive. It's just me, you know. I am -- I believe that you need to be the same person inside and outside the golf course, and the same person if you have money or not or if you have fame or you don't have fame. I always say thank you to my parents, people around me and my team that always help me to just be normal. They treat me like a normal person, and that's the way it should be, because I'm just like them. I like to be treated that way. I'm learning, you know. I'm always learning, and it's been always a challenge because a lot of people talk about you and your life change a lot. But that's the way I am, you know. I don't want to change. Hopefully I don't change. I want to live that way. Q. Over perhaps the course of the year, several veterans have been critical of Michelle Wie for her choices of playing the men's tour or not. Does they maybe not respect the women's tour enough to try and take it seriously? LORENA OCHOA: I think it's something that you got to ask her. I don't really want to get too much into it. I think it's a really hard subject, and there's not really an answer, a good answer. I just wish her the best. We all know that she's a great very talented girl, and she made, you know, poor decisions that's costing her. But I think she has time. She just needs to get back to a good routine, to enjoy her life as a teenager, and I think she'll be fine. So good, but you need to make sure that you respect other's opinions and other's life. They will respect her and she's going to get her place here on tour. So I only wish her the best, and hopefully she comes here and play the LPGA full time. Q. Annika's final year is winding down now. Just wondering when the final putt drops on her career, just can we get your thoughts on what Annika meant to you as a role model? I know you've said in the past how much you paid attention to her career. Just reflect on some memories of Annika. LORENA OCHOA: Well, I have good memories. When she won the Nabisco, the Dinah Shore, I won the best amateur. I got a sponsor's exemption. I remember getting the award together and getting the taking the picture together. I still have the picture. She have really short hair. She said, You look great. Congratulations. I hope we'll see you later here on tour. Every time she's been for sure a motivation to me. I think not only to me, but to everybody, the rest of the tour. I have so many memories, you know. She's always been very helpful. I actually called her before I turned professional. I told her, I need some help. I didn't know what to do and where to go. She answered the phone and she gave me good advice. She's always been there, and that shows you how good a person and champion she is. I'm going miss her. I think we're all going to miss her. I think what she did is amazing, and I feel honored to be able to play with her at the same time. I can say I played with her, and it's been great. I would say that when the name comes out of the No. 1 in the world, I want a Mexican to be there. But I did that, and it's been really a great time. I guess we need to enjoy her as much as we can in the next few months. Like everybody else, I wish her the best. It's great that she's moving on, and hopefully she can start a family and have priorities, because life is too short and she deserve that. Q. I was just wondering if you could reflect back on last year at the ADT. Just the shot you made to win the ADT. Does that shot, in your mind, stand out to you as maybe one of the best in your career? LORENA OCHOA: Yes, for sure. I mean, it was just one shot. You win or you lose, and I did. There was a lot of pressure on 18. I was fortunate enough to put it really close and I just did a tap-in. But you can say that's my best shot in my career. Q. Just wanted to comment on you say you watched the Olympics on Monday. I think Canada and Mexico are running neck and neck in the medal standings so far. LORENA OCHOA: No, they're winning. Q. They winning now? LORENA OCHOA: Of course, we have a medal in synchronized diving, women. Q. I wonder if you thought golf should be included, and if so, would that be an important thing for you to participate for your country at the Olympic Games? LORENA OCHOA: I would love to play, yes. I think we all think the same. We see so many sports and we say, Why golf is not in there? But, again, it's in a way out of our hands. We just hope that it can happen, I hope it happen soon so I could play. I heard it's not happening, I mean, in the next four years. Maybe eight years. Maybe I'll be playing in that time, so we'll see. It would be an honor. Even though golf is not in the Olympics, we all dream like in the Olympics. Getting the podium, getting the gold medal, the national anthem. As an athlete, that's all where do you want to go and what do you want to achieve, and it would be great. Q. You weigh less than 130 pounds. How the hell do you hit the ball as far as you do? How much of an advantage will that be this week on a course that's going to play pretty long because it's pretty wet? LORENA OCHOA: Uh-huh, I think it's an advantage. You know, that's one of my priorities. I always work hard in the off-season to get a little more distance. I'm light, but I'm strong. I think I have strong legs. I do a lot of exercise. I have a quick turn. That helps me to create speed. The course is very -- it's important, like you say, I think it's going to be playing long. On the back 9 there are some shorter holes and we need to take advantage of that. In the back 9, No. 10 and 18, if you have the driver you can reach the green in two, so that's an advantage. What I'm going to try to do. Take advantage of that little extra distance, and hopefully give myself a few eagle chances. Q. Considering how driven and passionate Annika, is do you actually expect her to stay retired? LORENA OCHOA: I think -- no, I don't have an answer. I think all depends. If she goes out and doesn't miss practice and playing she's not coming back. If she has a couple kids and stay busy she has no reason to come back. I think one year at a time and we'll see how it goes. I think it would be always great to see her in five, six years playing at U.S. Open or something that we all can enjoy her one more time. We will respect her decision. End of FastScripts |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|