Ochoa Rallies to Win Safeway International

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Lorena Ochoa - Photo by Golf GraphicsBy ANDREW BAGNATO
AP Sports
SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN, Ariz. (March 25) – Viva Lorena!

The chant echoed through the foothills of the Superstition Mountains as Lorena Ochoa blew a four-stroke lead to Suzann Pettersen, then birdied four of the last five holes for a two-stroke victory in the Safeway International on Sunday.

Wearing a green shirt and white shorts to honor her homeland, the Mexican star shot a 4-under 68 to rally past Pettersen (66) for her 10th tour victory. After Ochoa holed a short birdie putt on 18, an impromptu fiesta broke out on the green with her family and members of the grounds crew.

Ochoa had visited with the workers on Tuesday and thanked them for their efforts, as she does at many tournaments.

“I told them to come and celebrate with me, because this trophy is for all of you,” Ochoa said. “It was very nice to see their reaction and to see them close. Hopefully they enjoyed the day as much as I did. I’m very proud to be Mexican.”

Ochoa, the tour’s reigning player of the year, earned $225,000 for her 10th LPGA Tour victory. She finished at 18 under.

The victory gives Ochoa momentum heading into the season’s first major – the Kraft Nabisco Championship, which tees off Thursday in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Ochoa lost to Karrie Webb in a playoff last year.

“She’s maybe the best in the world right now,” said Pettersen, who made $137,649 for her career-best finish. “She’s just a very great player, and I think she raises the bar for all of us to chase her.”

Ochoa reversed the curse of the Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club, where she blew a four-stroke lead with three holes to go, losing to Annika Sorenstam in a playoff.

“It is hard to tell you right now, but in 2005 it was a really tough day for me,” said Ochoa, a former University of Arizona player. “It hurt me, and especially being here in Arizona, a special place for me. It was just a hard one.”

Pettersen needed only five holes to erase Ochoa’s lead, birdieing the second, third, fourth and fifth holes. Pettersen surged ahead when Ochoa bogeyed the par-4 sixth hole, missing a 4-foot putt.

Pettersen appeared unstoppable when she birdied the par-5 seventh. But then she cooled off, and she had only one birdie over the last 11 holes.

Asked what had changed, Pettersen said, “You don’t plan to go out and make seven birdies in a row. You just have to let it happen and let it come to you.”

Pettersen, who struggled with elbow and back injuries in 2004 and 2005, went away feeling good about her game despite blowing the late lead.

“It’s just been a fantastic week,” Pettersen said. “I was close this time. It’s just nice to be in contention and feeling the pressure.”

Ochoa was feeling it when she saw Pettersen’s name atop the leaderboard. But this time Ochoa didn’t give in.

“I just tried to be patient,” Ochoa said. “I had a lot of holes left.

“I was trying too hard. Sometimes when you try too hard, it’s hard to make them.”

She tied Pettersen with a birdie on the par-4 15th. Ochoa, who never trailed by more than a stroke, reclaimed the lead for good when she made a 10-foot putt on the par-3 17th.

A few moments later, Pettersen missed a 15-foot putt for birdie on the par-5 18th.

“It would have been nice to have even closed the gap on the 18th to see how she works under pressure,” Pettersen said.

Most Popular Sports Stories Mets Win Baseball Opener Lady Vols Steal Final Four Win Farmar Does Hoops Double Dip Trump Wins ‘Hair Match’ China Bowl to Be Cancelled? But the 18th turned out to be a procession instead of a pressure-cooker. Ochoa’s gallery lined the 18th fairway, chanting their “Viva Lorena!” and “Vamos Lorena!”

“It was like a football match,” Ochoa said.

Unlike two years ago, there was no 18th hole drama – or trauma. Ochoa drove down the middle, laid up with an iron and then chipped to four feet. She made the putt for a birdie, and the celebration began on the 18th green.

That’s also where it ended, at least for Ochoa. After finishing her postmatch interviews, Ochoa planned to hop in a car and make the four-hour drive west through the desert to Rancho Mirage.

“I’ll be listening to Mexican music so I don’t fall asleep,” Ochoa said.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

2 thoughts on “Ochoa Rallies to Win Safeway International

  1. Adams Golf Blog Yani Wins RR Donnelley LPGA Founders CupMar 19, 2012 She keeps adding to her inlcrdibee portfolio. Yani Tseng battled the conditions and weather delays at Wildfire Golf Club in Phoenix to capture

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