US Women's Open - Stars Gear Up

Lorena Ochoa (born in Guadalajara, Jalisco on 15 November 1981) is a Mexican golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and is currently the number one ranked female golfer in the world. As the first Mexican golfer of either gender to be ranked number one in the world, she is considered one of the best Mexican golfers of all time.

EDINA, Minnesota – Lorena Ochoa knows how mentally draining a US Women's Open can be, and the 2008 edition will be perhaps the most challenging of all as she takes on a long course, a retiring star and the woman who beat her to last year's title.

Ochoa, Annika Sorenstam in her last US Women's Open, and defending champion Cristie Kerr will be among the players to watch among the woods of Interlachen Country Club.

"It's one of those tournaments you just take so much out of you that hopefully you can take a week off after the US Open," said Mexican Ochoa, the LPGA Tour's leader and winner of six events — including one major — already this season.

"Just too much thinking and worrying and trying to save pars, and giving yourself some birdie chances that you really want to make. Just a lot of up and down. You need to be prepared," Ochoa said.

Swede Sorenstam is not only preparing for four rounds of long fairways and tiny tilted greens, but for the end of her decorated career that includes first-place finishes at 10 major tournaments.

"You only have so much to give, and I'm coming to a point where it's hard to get geared up other than for big events," Sorenstam said. "I have a lot of patience coming into a tournament. If it goes well, it's easy to stay on top and keep going. But when things are not going so well, it's easy to lose it."

American Kerr lost it last year, but not until after she tapped in the ball for par on the final hole to beat Ochoa by two strokes at Pine Needles. She dropped to her knees and cried, before leaping into the arms of her husband.

Her game is peaking toward the Open again this summer, and she'll try to repeat her feat by maintaining that bring-it-on attitude toward this layout of 6,789 yards, the longest in tournament history.

"This is a golf course you definitely have to respect," Kerr said. "You have to golf the ball around it. You have to execute that game plan as well as you can."

The dogleg 18th hole could be a major source of risk-reward suspense down the stretch. It's a par 5 that measures 530 yards but can be reached in two shots, and Ochoa was among the handful of players who easily cleared the pond with a 5-wood during practice rounds.

Some of the length of the course is negated by the generous assigned par of 73 — including five par-5s. Organizers have also mitigated the difficulty of the elevated, severely undulating greens with conservative pin placement.

"Sometimes caddies, they come and talk to you, 'We really need to be below the hole.' Sometimes they overreact," Ochoa said. "It's OK if you are 2 or 3 feet by; you can make a nice birdie putt. Not on these greens. You really need to pay attention."

There will be plenty of people paying attention to Sorenstam, especially in a state like Minnesota with so many Scandinavian descendants. One house next to the course has hoisted a big banner outside reading "Skol Annika" colored in Sweden's blue and yellow.

"I try to just stay cold about my emotions and focus on what I have to do," Sorenstam said. "But I do know in the back of my mind that when Sunday comes, I will not be playing here any more."

Ochoa figures to participate in many more of these, but she's still looking for her first US Open title. The 26-year-old from Mexico has had a rough couple of weeks, though.

She withdrew from the Ginn Tribute when her uncle died, and later learned after the LPGA Championship that her maternal grandfather passed away. He had been ill for some time, but Ochoa figured she would only be gone a week and have plenty of time to see him again.

"I never really said goodbye ... so that was tough," Ochoa said this week. "He was my joy and motivation."

She is longer than ever off the tee, and while her putting has cost her the past couple of events, she has a Tiger Woods-like drive to constantly improve all facets of her game.

The hardest part now will be blocking out all the potential distractions around her.

"The last few weeks have been rough for me," she said. "I play for a week, and I didn't play. It's been on and off, and I feel that it's important for me to get a rhythm, get my concentration on the golf course, and I'll be ready to play."

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