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Lorena
Ochoa, of
Mexico
, holds up the Kelly Jo Dowd championship trophy along
with four fingers to signify her four-straight LPGA wins
on 18th hole following the final round of the Ginn Open
LPGA Golf Tournament in
Kissimmee
,
Fla.
, on Sunday.
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REUNION, Fla. - Lorena Ochoa
hustled around the corner, hoping to jump in a car and catch a
flight home to Mexico.
No chance.
There were about 100 people waiting
for her in the resort lobby, some seeking pictures and autographs,
others hoisting glasses of champagne.
Ochoa wanted to sprint away, but
she paused for another few minutes. After all, this was deserving
of one more celebration.
The 26-year-old Ochoa became the
first LPGA Tour player in 45 years to win four tournaments in
consecutive weeks. The world's No. 1 player shot a 3-under 69 in
the final round of the Ginn Open on Sunday and beat rookie Yani
Tseng by three strokes for her fifth victory in six starts this
year.
"I'm very grateful. It's been
a blessing, you know," Ochoa said. "But I know that bad
times will come. It's just the way life is. I'm just trying to
enjoy my moment, and I would like to enjoy it for a long time. So
even if it's going to be an up-and-down ride, hopefully I can stay
there."
Ochoa trailed early in the final
round, but went ahead for good with three straight birdies
beginning at No. 8. She finished 19 under and became the second
player to win four times in as many weeks.
Mickey Wright did it in 1962 and
1963. Kathy Whitworth (1969) and Annika Sorenstam (2001) also won
four consecutive events, but both had a week off during their
runs.
Sorenstam (2004-05) and Nancy Lopez
(1978) hold the tour record with five straight victories in events
entered, but neither of those came in consecutive weeks.
Ochoa will give her colleagues a
chance to take the spotlight next week in South Florida. She will
sit out the Stanford Invitation Pro-Am, and then try to make it
five straight in two weeks in Tulsa, Okla.
"She's proven that she's our
top player," fellow golfer Paula Creamer said. "She's
set that mark pretty high."
Ochoa talked all week about how
tiring it was to play four straight events, especially since last
week's victory came in her native country and was filled with
visits from friends and family members, plus countless media and
sponsorship requests.
But even with a little less energy,
she was better than everyone else at the Ginn.
"She's really No. 1,"
said Tseng, who finished 16 under and five shots ahead of
third-place Teresa Lu and Suzann Pettersen.
Ochoa was up a stroke to begin the
final round, but Tseng pulled ahead with a birdie-birdie start.
Ochoa had several chances to move back in front, but she just
missed birdie putts on Nos. 5, 6 and 7. She finally grabbed the
lead with a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 8, then followed with two
more on the next two holes.
The 19-year-old Tseng couldn't keep
pace on the back nine, bogeying three of the final six holes and
allowing Ochoa to cruise to her latest win. Tseng, who now has two
second-place finishes and six top-25 showings in as many starts
this year, said she got distracted by thoughts of winning.
"A little bit," she said.
"Maybe not just a little bit, more than that."
Ochoa tapped in for par on No. 18,
then raised both arms in celebration. She congratulated Tseng and
told her they were going to see each other on many Sundays.
Ochoa won a car and $390,000,
raising her 2008 earnings to $1,440,500. She also took home
another trophy. She grabbed the giant, shell-shaped glass bowl
with one hand and held up four fingers with the other.
"The biggest thing is her
confidence," Creamer said. "She goes out there and knows
she can do it and knows how to win."
It was Ochoa's 10th win in her last
15 tournaments, dating to last year. She won eight times in 2007
and has been even better to start '08.
She opened with an 11-stroke
victory in Singapore, defended her Safeway International title
with a seven-stroke romp, won the season's first major by five
shots and then went wire-to-wire last week in Mexico and won by
11.
Although she worked all offseason
on her short game _ she got up-and-down from every bunker at the
Ginn and finished 12 under on the par 5s _ she credits her recent
success on her mental toughness.
"Even if you don't have your
best swing or your best rhythm or you're not feeling the best in
your life, you have to be able to manage the score and put
yourself in a good position," she said.
She's in position to make it five
in a row.
But first, she's ready for a break.
After that final toast in the
lobby, Ochoa flew home and had a big lunch planned for Monday with
mom, her brothers, her sister and some in-laws.
She's not sure what's on the menu,
but given she just made the record book, she has an idea.
"My mom knows which one is my
favorite plate, so hopefully we'll have that," Ochoa said.