Tulsa World: Grand slam? Ochoa in reach

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Grand slam? Ochoa in reach

Lorena Ochoa of Mexico hits out of a sand trap on the eight hole during the LPGA Corona Morelia Championship on April 12. ALEXANDRE MENEGHINI /Associated Press

By ANDREA ADELSON The Orlando Sentinel
Published: 4/24/2008 1:11 AM
Last Modified: 4/24/2008 5:22 AM

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Now would be a good time for Tiger Woods to come out and clarify his comment that the Grand Slam was "easily within reason."

It could go something like this: "Oh, you guys thought I was talking about myself! Ha! I would never be that bold. I really meant Lorena Ochoa!"

Because the way it stands now, Ochoa will win a Grand Slam before Tiger does.

The most dominant player on the LPGA Tour has won the last two Grand Slam events. She is already up 1-0 this year on Woods, having won the Kraft Nabisco while Tiger finished second in the Masters.

With victories in the McDonald's LPGA Championship and the U.S. Women's Open, both in June, Ochoa would be the champ in all four Grand Slam events at the same time. A victory in the Women's British Open in early August would give her the season Grand Slam.

Of course, it is easy for writers to make such predictions. Ochoa, one of the humblest athletes around, was not about to pull a Tiger Woods when addressing the Grand Slam topic at the Ginn Open last week.

She has her eyes on winning one, yes, but used the standard "I'm taking it week-by-week" cliche. The words "easily within reason" never entered her vocabulary.

The question was taken one step further when Ochoa was asked whether she would win a Grand Slam before Woods. Ochoa laughed and said, "Well, you need to let me know when is he going to win. ... I guess right now I'm a little bit ahead because I won the last two. So I like that idea. I'm ready for that."

There is no use comparing their major victories. Woods has 13. Ochoa has two. But she seems to be ready to win many more after shedding her nickname "Ochoka" for her propensity to choke in the final round with majors on the line. Ochoa, 26, blew at least four chances to win majors before her first last year at the British.

But that victory seemed to boost her confidence. She has won four tournaments this year, clobbering her opponents, winning by an average of 8.5 strokes.

Ochoa is either No. 1 or tied for first in eight different statistical categories, including driving distance, rounds under par and rounds in the 60s. Yes, those are Tiger-esque numbers.

But what gives her a shot to win a Grand Slam before Tiger, aside from the fact that her hopes are still alive for this year, is the level of competition she is facing and the setup of the courses at the majors. It has helped Ochoa that former world No. 1 Annika Sorenstam was injured for most of last year and is just now starting to feel healthy.

But at 37, Sorenstam is not really a threat to transform back into the dominant player she once was. It is time for everyone to realize that Sorenstam is long gone, and Ochoa has replaced her.

There are other good golfers on Tour, but nobody has been able to consistently challenge Ochoa during the last 24 months. Ochoa has 18 victories in that time span (only two have been majors). For a quick comparison, Morgan Pressel has one victory, Brittany Lincicome has two, Paula Creamer has two and Karrie Webb has five.

So, Tiger, you should delete Sorenstam's number from your cell phone. No need to keep up your "competition" with her about who has the most majors. No more taunting messages every time you win another one.

Ochoa is the person you should start texting.

SemGroup Championship

May 1-4

Cedar Ridge Country Club

Tickets: www.semgroupchampionship.org or (877) 583-9925

By ANDREA ADELSON The Orlando Sentinel

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