Hound Dog and Ryan Ballengee have already hit the high points of Lorena Ochoa's 4th consecutive sub-70 round to clinch the Corona Championship, so I guess it's up to me to emphasize that even this win wasn't as easy as her 11-shot margin of victory over Song-Hee Kim makes it seem. Standing on the 12th tee, Ochoa (-21) was facing a massive charge by Inbee Park (-17), who had made up 6 shots in the previous 4 holes, thanks to Park birdies on the 8th through 11th and an Ochoa triple-bogey on the 11th. Park hasn't been within 4 shots of Ochoa since the 14th hole on Saturday and momentum seemed to be on her side. But Ochoa proceeded to birdie 4 of her final 6 holes, the last one on the 18th hole to get her 69 and bring her to -25. And Park made 2 bogeys and a double-bogey 7 on the 18th to match her 8 the day before. What Park needed was a Sunday even better than Carin Koch and Kristy McPherson's 66's; what she got was a T3 in the tournament and a second in her class. What Ochoa got is an invitation to the Hall of Fame once she's completed 10 years on the LPGA in 2012.
With the win, Ochoa also becomes the fastest player in LPGA history to reach the $1M mark in season earnings, topping (who else?) Annika Sorenstam, who had done it in 6 events to Ochoa's 5. On the down side, she didn't get the LPGA 72-hole scoring record she said in her post-round interview that she was aiming for. Here's the ESPN Deportes story (en espanol) and video:
Congratulations, Lorena!
[Update: As always, Hound Dog's epilogue hits all the right notes.]
[Update (4/16/08): Hound Dog asks what Lorena's slam should be called if she wins the next two majors in mid-summer. And Daniel Wexler discusses the odds of Ochoa getting the Grand Slam.]
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