A distracted, yet determined Ochoa (Yahoo! Sports)
September 19, 2009
LA JOLLA, Calif. – The approach from 111 yards on the 18th hole of Torrey Pines, like so many others in the magnificent career of Lorena Ochoa, was on target, the ball ready to cooperate almost on command and head directly for the pin.
Except not this time. This time, the ball, as has been the case too frequently this year, took orders from no one, catching the slope and going directly … into the pond. The result was a bogey 6, and a disappointing even-par 72 that put Ochoa seven shots behind third-round leader Na Yeon Choi.
Ochoa won’t win this thing on Sunday. She hasn’t won, in fact, since the Corona Morelia Championship in Mexico all the way back in April. She has only two victories the whole year and stands just 11th on the money list with $857,210.
For any other mortal on the LPGA Tour, that’s a heck of a season.
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For Ochoa, 27, the premier player on the planet, the heir to Annika Sorenstam’s throne, that’s a heck of a problem.
Check out the numbers: From 2006 through 2008, she prevailed 21 times in 72 starts, nearly one of every three times she teed it up, and recorded a remarkable 58 Top 10s. That’s Tiger territory.
In 2009, she has posted only three Top 10s. That’s Briny Baird territory.
What is going on? Is this a slide, a slump, or perhaps something more ominous?
The answer Ochoa gives, and she deserves the benefit of the doubt, for the time being, are the distractions caused by the upcoming changes in her personal life. She will marry Andrés Conesa Labastida, the CEO of AeroMéxico, later this year, and is moving to a new home in Mexico City.
“I always give a priority to my personal life,” Ochoa said after Saturday’s round. “I’ve been away (from the tour) because I wanted to and not because of any other reason. I’m happy with that.”
Her brother, Alejandro, who often travels with her, elaborates:
“It’s just another stage in her regular life that she needs to learn how to deal with,” he said. It’s one thing to anticipate the changes, he admitted, another to incorporate them without losing focus on the course.
Alejandro believes his sister has emerged from the worst of it, as evidenced by her tie for 10th at the Canadian Women’s Open two weeks ago, her first Top 10 since early July at the Jamie Farr event. Her solid, if somewhat erratic, performance the first three days at Torrey Pines, would also seem to indicate that she is beginning to rediscover her game.
“She’s been through the (adjustment period) the last three months,” he said, “and she’s already balanced again.”
Ochoa is also victimized by trying to match high standards, the standards that she set during those three years of dominance.
That’s why there is only one Tiger Woods or one Annika Sorenstam. Winning six or seven times a year is never routine.
Suzann Pettersen can relate. Pettersen won five times in 2007 to become an elite player on the LPGA Tour. Over 42 appearances last year and this year, she’s won only once, and that was two weeks ago.
“There are even more good players in contention every week,” Pettersen said. “You need to play well and you also need a little bit of luck to win those six or seven times. You lose more than you win at this game.”
The true test for Ochoa won’t come this year. This year is shot, unless she were to win her last couple of starts, including her own tournament in Mexico in November. The true test will come in 2010 when the newlywed will again battle the likes of Jiyah Shin, Ai Miyazato, Paula Creamer, Yani Tseng, Cristie Kerr, Pettersen and other top players.
Ochoa has been practicing hard recently with her longtime instructor, Rafael Alarcon, and has been using a new driver that has given her greater distance. She is determined to regain her lofty status.
“I have priorities the next few years,” she said, “and now I’m going to proceed. I’m going to do whatever it takes to get back to No. 1.”
The bet here is that she will. Her work ethic and desire have never really been in question, and now that she has gone through these struggles, Ochoa will emerge stronger than ever. The fact that she talks of getting back to No. 1, even while she remains on top of the official rankings, shows her awareness of the challenge ahead.
There will be countless more approaches in the years ahead, and most of them will cooperate.
Michael Arkush is an editor for Yahoo! Sports. Send Michael a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
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