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Going into the 2008 Kraft Nabisco Championship, Lorena Ochoa was the overwhelming favorite to win the title. Leading into the LPGA Tour’s first major championship, Ochoa had won three of her last four tournaments dating back to the 2007 ADT Championship.
Ochoa dominated the tournament from start to finish. She disposed of Annika Sorenstam by five shots in what would turn out to be her final Kraft Nabisco Championship. It was the official handing over the torch ceremony for the LPGA Tour.
Over the course of the remainder of the season, Ochoa would win four more times and embrace the number one spot in women’s golf. Despite taking over as the official face of women’s golf, Ochoa’s grasp over number one slowly has begun to ease.
Ochoa did not win again after the Navistar LPGA Classic at the end of September. It could be argued that the combination of early season success, the media blitz associated with becoming number one, and being the host of her own LPGA invitational event for the first time drained Ochoa of the energy and focus required to win golf tournaments in bunches.
Then, in the off season, it was reported in Mexican tabloids that Ochoa had gotten engaged to Andres Conesa, 39, the CEO of Ochoa-sponsor company Aeromexico. They are expected to wed at the end of the year or early in 2010.
As number one in the world and a sporting legend in her home nation, Ochoa has had her life much more complicated because of the success and happiness that she is experiencing. More and more of her life is occurring away from golf.
In the meantime, young Korean Ji Yai Shin has been making a splash on the LPGA Tour. Shin began making her mark on this tour with a victory at the Women’s British Open. Later, Shin went on to win in Asia and $1 million on United States soil at the ADT Championship. She accomplished all of this as a non-member of the Tour.
Shin missed the cut in her opening event of 2009 as a full LPGA Tour member. During the Asian Swing, Shin won the limited-field HSBC Women’s Champions event. She finished a runner up two weeks ago.
The result of Shin’s performance over the last nine months has been a closing of the gap between her and Lorena Ochoa. Just before Shin’s British Open women, Ochoa held a 7.5 point lead over Paula Creamer for the number one spot and a gap of 14.25 over Shin.
Today, the gap between Shin and Ochoa has closed to less than five points – and Shin is now second in the world.
There are now rumblings that Ochoa’s game may be falling off as a consequence of the increasing demands on her time. The supposed symptoms are kind of eclectic. First is an apparent increase in her displays of dissatisfaction when her game does not cooperate. This was on full display at times during the Kraft Nabisco Championship, including club slamming and ball tossing. That kind of unpleasant body language is bizarre for Ochoa, who is known for winning over people with the combination of incredible golf talent and a charming, modest personality.
The other symptom being observed may not mean anything at all. It is the appearance of the skirt in Ochoa’s on course wardrobe. Over the course of Ochoa’s career, she has sported knee length shorts or khaki pants during play. Two weeks ago in Arizona, she wore a golf skirt for the first time in her career. She again wore it this week at the Kraft Nabisco.
In a slightly-chauvinist extrapolation, observers wonder if Ochoa’s fiancé – or another stakeholder - is influencing how Ochoa presents herself on course. If that influence is true, observers intimate that perhaps Ochoa is losing focus on simply winning golf tournaments.
In other words, Ochoa could be forgetting what made her life so great (and demanding) in the first place.
There is no way to prove or disprove that line of thinking. On one hand, it is understandable considering how much is going on in Ochoa’s life. Getting married, buying a home, being the number player in the world – it is a daunting task list.
Ochoa has also been on record as saying that she does not play on playing golf for long – maybe even only a decade as a professional. She has a lengthy list of life goals and she appears to not want to delay them for golf. Given her successful career, Ochoa can walk away from the game today and never have to worry about achieving those goals or her place in golf history.
Meanwhile, Shin appears to be worker-like in her focus on golf. She is determined to become the best in the world and the results show that her plan is working. Thus far, it appears that Shin has been making the move to the United States – physically and culturally – very well. It could be argued that her move is almost as daunting as what Ochoa is facing.
The intriguing thing, though, is that both players appear to be slowing from their frantic run of the LPGA table. This year, both have won once and have shown inconsistency in their game. It appears that their private challenges and goals are taking a toll on their performance on course.
It is likely premature to wonder if and when Shin will take over the number one ranking from Ochoa despite her determination and results. Perhaps the answer to the question of who will be number one may well be the player that best finds the way to balance fame, fortune, golf, and life.
Ochoa dominated the tournament from start to finish. She disposed of Annika Sorenstam by five shots in what would turn out to be her final Kraft Nabisco Championship. It was the official handing over the torch ceremony for the LPGA Tour.
Over the course of the remainder of the season, Ochoa would win four more times and embrace the number one spot in women’s golf. Despite taking over as the official face of women’s golf, Ochoa’s grasp over number one slowly has begun to ease.
Ochoa did not win again after the Navistar LPGA Classic at the end of September. It could be argued that the combination of early season success, the media blitz associated with becoming number one, and being the host of her own LPGA invitational event for the first time drained Ochoa of the energy and focus required to win golf tournaments in bunches.
Then, in the off season, it was reported in Mexican tabloids that Ochoa had gotten engaged to Andres Conesa, 39, the CEO of Ochoa-sponsor company Aeromexico. They are expected to wed at the end of the year or early in 2010.
As number one in the world and a sporting legend in her home nation, Ochoa has had her life much more complicated because of the success and happiness that she is experiencing. More and more of her life is occurring away from golf.
In the meantime, young Korean Ji Yai Shin has been making a splash on the LPGA Tour. Shin began making her mark on this tour with a victory at the Women’s British Open. Later, Shin went on to win in Asia and $1 million on United States soil at the ADT Championship. She accomplished all of this as a non-member of the Tour.
Shin missed the cut in her opening event of 2009 as a full LPGA Tour member. During the Asian Swing, Shin won the limited-field HSBC Women’s Champions event. She finished a runner up two weeks ago.
The result of Shin’s performance over the last nine months has been a closing of the gap between her and Lorena Ochoa. Just before Shin’s British Open women, Ochoa held a 7.5 point lead over Paula Creamer for the number one spot and a gap of 14.25 over Shin.
Today, the gap between Shin and Ochoa has closed to less than five points – and Shin is now second in the world.
There are now rumblings that Ochoa’s game may be falling off as a consequence of the increasing demands on her time. The supposed symptoms are kind of eclectic. First is an apparent increase in her displays of dissatisfaction when her game does not cooperate. This was on full display at times during the Kraft Nabisco Championship, including club slamming and ball tossing. That kind of unpleasant body language is bizarre for Ochoa, who is known for winning over people with the combination of incredible golf talent and a charming, modest personality.
The other symptom being observed may not mean anything at all. It is the appearance of the skirt in Ochoa’s on course wardrobe. Over the course of Ochoa’s career, she has sported knee length shorts or khaki pants during play. Two weeks ago in Arizona, she wore a golf skirt for the first time in her career. She again wore it this week at the Kraft Nabisco.
In a slightly-chauvinist extrapolation, observers wonder if Ochoa’s fiancé – or another stakeholder - is influencing how Ochoa presents herself on course. If that influence is true, observers intimate that perhaps Ochoa is losing focus on simply winning golf tournaments.
In other words, Ochoa could be forgetting what made her life so great (and demanding) in the first place.
There is no way to prove or disprove that line of thinking. On one hand, it is understandable considering how much is going on in Ochoa’s life. Getting married, buying a home, being the number player in the world – it is a daunting task list.
Ochoa has also been on record as saying that she does not play on playing golf for long – maybe even only a decade as a professional. She has a lengthy list of life goals and she appears to not want to delay them for golf. Given her successful career, Ochoa can walk away from the game today and never have to worry about achieving those goals or her place in golf history.
Meanwhile, Shin appears to be worker-like in her focus on golf. She is determined to become the best in the world and the results show that her plan is working. Thus far, it appears that Shin has been making the move to the United States – physically and culturally – very well. It could be argued that her move is almost as daunting as what Ochoa is facing.
The intriguing thing, though, is that both players appear to be slowing from their frantic run of the LPGA table. This year, both have won once and have shown inconsistency in their game. It appears that their private challenges and goals are taking a toll on their performance on course.
It is likely premature to wonder if and when Shin will take over the number one ranking from Ochoa despite her determination and results. Perhaps the answer to the question of who will be number one may well be the player that best finds the way to balance fame, fortune, golf, and life.
