Guadalajara's sweetheart debuted in 2003 as a LPGA member
She was the best female golfer in the world for 3 years, she won the Player of the Year award 4 consecutive seasons, she received the National Sport's Award, she broke records such as first LPGA member to reach the 4 million dollar mark in a single season, lowest round in a major championship (62), fastest to reach 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 million dollars in career earnings.
Nevertheless, some people see Ochoa's leave as a mistake and even as a justification since she was close to losing the first position at the Rolex Rankings, after displaying a very inconsistent game since last year. Either way, it's pretty interesting how lots of Mexicans just won't forgive her for saying goodbye, while most North Americans and Europeans think she deserves to step away, they support her decision and look at the bright side of it; ironically they didn't received any benefits from Lorena's Foundations, while many Mexican kids did get education and have a place to spend their time while having fun.
Lorena's decision is a combination of factors:
Marriage: many years ago, since she was chasing Annika's position at the Rolex Rankings, Lorena said she didn't want to stay in the tour forever, 'cause her priority was having a family. After she got married it was obvious that her time was running out.
Pressure:the Mexican had lots of up and downs in the mental side of her game; still, this was something difficult to master for her and, of course, easier for Scandinavians since keeping it cool is just part of their culture. But, lets not forget that roots determine personality; therefore, most Koreans are shy, Nordics are unattached and Latins are outgoing and amicable.
Lack of interest:doing the same for 23 years must be exhausting by itself, now imagine doing it at the toughest level, with no support form the government and in a country where golf is simply unknown. Maybe there will be some people who think: Hey, Tiger has been doing this for even longer; yes, that's true but guys tend to be unattached while most women look for stability and realization through family.
I must confess I've never been Lorena's fan, compared to some buddies from the source, in fact I always questioned her "mental debility" and I never forgave her for throwing tantrums in the course and in some press conferences; still I need to be honest and objective: Lorena is great and is very possible that Mexico won't have such an important golfer again; so we should celebrate her success, as well as putting Mexico in the map of a sport that many rejected.
Having three LPGA events, plus the skins game organized by Grupo Ochoa, was something that we never had before and it's gonna be tough to repeat it. So, what about leaving criticism behind and start feeling proud for having such a big star as a representative of our country?
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