Lorena Ochoa wins Star Trophy at Mission Hills
In the Star Trophy event, Lorena Ochoa made a brief return to competitive golf last week. The special pro-celebrity event is played on the world-renowned Mission Hills golf complex in China.
The event is particularly special because it is a winner-take-all occasion, pitting man and woman on the same golf course and playing from the same tees.
Ochoa beat closest competitor Colin Montgomerie by two-strokes on Sunday, 31 October, on her way to earning $1.28m.The 28-year-old Mexican had two rounds of 71 over the two day tournament.
The event was headlined with rules and violations, and the Ryder Cup captain’s (Montgomerie) two-stroke deficit can be blamed on the two-stroke penalty he suffered on the 16th hole in the second round. His caddie moved a sponsor’s sign without realizing
that a local rule prohibited the movement.
On top of Montgomerie’s penalty was an infraction suffered by Nick Faldo that resulted in his disqualification (he picked up his ball on the eighth green in the first round). Ryuji Imada also found himself confused with the local rules when he took 26 penalty
strokes because he failed to follow the scorecard length lift-and-clean policy.
After her win, Ochoa told reporters that the win was not enough to make her come back to competitive golf (she originally went into retirement last year because she wanted to spend more time with her husband and family). Before returning to Mexico, Ochoa
reported that she was "really happy" to have been crowned champion.
The field included many golf greats such as Greg Norman, Annika Sorenstam and Faldo, along with celebrities Catherine Zeta-Jones, Hugh Grant, Michael Phelps and Matthew McConaughey. In addition, young golf prodigy Danny Lee competed in the winner-take-all
exhibition event.
The winners of the pro-celebrity team competition were American LPGA pro Candie Kung and Hong Kong celebrity Eric Tsang.
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