Outstanding Ochoa bows out at the top
Lorena Ochoa once said of golf: "It's hard to do well, and I like the challenge." Sadly, that challenge has now lost its allure, with Ochoa officially announcing her retirement from the game last week at just 28 years of age.
Ochoa had previously suggested that she wasn't in the sport for the long haul, explaining that once she had children of her own, family would take priority over the fairways. Having married last November, perhaps Ochoa has decided that the time has come when she should be worrying less about places on the leaderboard, more about places at kindergarten.
From the press conference, where she announced her retirement, she said: "I just want to be honest with all of you. I went to Asia [at the Honda LPGA tournament], and after two or three days of being in Thailand, it was really easy to me - it was really clear to see that I didn't want to be out there, you know. I just was thinking of other things. I wanted to get home. I wanted to start working on the foundation. I wanted to be here close to my family."
Not that we've quite seen the last of the Mexican maestro; the current world No. 1 will contest the Tres Marias Championship in her home country, and also plans to play on a regular basis at the Lorena Ochoa invitational, the tournament she set up in her native Guadalajara.
Ochoa hasn't ruled out the possibility of coming back to contest a major in the future, to add to the two she's already won over her short but glittering career. Having occupied the top spot for the last three years, Ochoa has also amassed winnings approaching $15million, though she has never given the impression that money was a crucial motivating factor.
Retirement at the age of 28 may seem ridiculously young, but in truth the brilliant Mexican has already crammed more into her years than many of us could manage in several lifetimes. Quite apart from a mastery of golf that has seen Ochoa win 27 times on the LPGA Tour over eight years and miss the cut just four times in 172 competitions, the Mexican is one of those all-round athletes who displays superb talent in every endeavour she undertakes.
Tennis, football, basketball and volleyball are all pastimes that Ochoa pursued from a young age; she has completed half-marathons, climbed to the summits of mountains, trekked, kayaked, and swam across freezing lakes in a bid to slake her thirst for competition.
An all-round sports lover, Ochoa is also a genuine role model who lives up to the tag - and she's a heroine in her homeland, despite Mexico's fundamental indifference to the sport of golf. As an inspiration to aspiring young sports fans around the world, it's difficult to think of many finer examples. Lorena, you'll be missed.
Tags: