Lorena Ochoa casts some doubt on her surprise retirement
Lorena Ochoa was the Tiger Woods of the LPGA Tour before she retired from the game at the ripe age of 28 years old.
Last April, Ochoa, winner of 27 LPGA Tour events over her short eight-year career, retired from the game, citing burn-out and a desire to spend more time with her family at her home in
Guadalajara, Mexico. Ochoa was the number-one ranked female golfer in the world from April 2007 to May 2010, winning 14 tournaments, including two majors, over this stretch.
But today, Ochoa made some interesting comments, perhaps casting some doubt on the permanency of her retirement. She said she plans on playing a handful of LPGA Tour events, as well as
a couple of majors, next year.
"I don't think I will play full time but I would love to play maybe the Nabisco (Championship) or the Evian (Masters) or British Open," she said while preparing for this week's Mission
Hills Star Trophy Pro-Celebrity tournament in Haikou, China.
"I will play some tournaments in the future,” she said. “We want to start a family, my husband and I, (so) it depends on the timing. But I will play some tournaments for fun."
Ochoa said her surprise announcement last spring may have been misinterpreted.
"I didn't retire from golf. I retired from the LPGA," she clarified. "I play golf every day."
She said she still gets in a lot of work on her golf game at home in Mexico, adding that she has enjoyed being away from the daily grind of the LPGA Tour.
"Every day it appears more to me I've made the right decision at the right time,” she said. “I'm at peace and enjoying the game in a different way. I play without pressure, practice a
lot less hours a day and I have more free time.”
Her appearance this week in China marks Ochoa’s first competitive tournament since last May. Next month, she plans to compete in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara.
The Star Trophy is a pro-celebrity event pitting nine male golfers against nine female golfers at the new Mission Hills complex in Southern China, with the winners taking home $1.28 million.
Celebrities participating in the event include Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Hugh Grant, and Michael Phelps. Professional golfers include Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, and Colin Montgomerie
as well as Annika Sorenstam, Se Ri Pak, and Ochoa.
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