ADT victory caps year of dominance for Ochoa
BY Bruce Young | LPGA Tour | 2007 ADT Championship | Round Four | 19 Nov 2007
Lorena Ochoa’s brilliant year got a whole lot better today when she added her 8th title of the season and another US$1 million to her already record earnings in 2007 after winning the ADT Championship by two shots over Natalie Gulbis.
The victory will move Ochoa to US$4,363,000 in season 2007, more than US$2.5 million ahead of her nearest rival, Suzann Pettersen, and exactly US$1.5 million ahead of the previous season’s earning record of Annika Sorenstam’s in 2002. Not only did Ochoa win eight events in season 2007, she finished runner up on five other occasions and there is every reason to believe things can only get better for the charismatic, brilliant and marketable Mexican.
In today’s final round of the ADT Championship at the Trump International in West Palm Beach, eight players remained to battle for the US$1 million dollar first prize after 16 had been eliminated after 36 holes and another eight eliminated after 54 holes. With a difference of US$900,000 between first and second and another US$80,000 back to the third place finisher there was a lot at stake to say the least.
Ochoa quickly served notice of her intentions when she raced to the turn in 5 under 31 and it was all but over for the rest of the field. A double bogey at her second to last hole gave Gulbis some hope but a birdie at the last hole, after what Ochoa described as the best shot of her career to date, gave the 26-year-old a two shot victory. From 150 yards or so and from a horrible lie, she placed her approach close enough to make birdie and the title was hers.
Afterwards Ochoa gave her rivals further cause for concern when asked if things could get any better.
“No, there is always room to improve. I want to get much better in my short game, especially 100 yards, 110, 100, 90, 80,” she said. “I hit them just okay, maybe 10 feet. But at the same time with a 9 iron, 8 iron, 7 iron, I need to improve on my short distances.”
“My putting, when I putt good, I win tournaments. I want to make sure I putt good more often. Sometimes on Sundays when I’m under pressure, my speed is a little bit off, so I want to work on that a lot, long putts, and just make sure I get better on that, as well as my swing.
“I think I improved a lot from last year to this year, but I still go over my head a little bit, my hands come a little from behind, so I want to make sure I shorten maybe a little bit my swing, come from in front of the ball and have more room because that really helps me. I’m more consistent doing that.”
Natalie Gulbis completed her second best season in terms of money list position when she finished alone in second place and secured the US$100,000 second place cheque. Given that she won her first LPGA Tour event this year, Gulbis may well consider 2007 her most significant season in the game. Paula Creamer was third and finished fourth on the ADT Money List.
Karrie Webb rallied back to make the top eight but had a horror last round of 84. It completed Webb’s second worst season on the LPGA Tour despite having won twice in Australia before the 2007 LPGA Tour started.
