Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Could Ochoa's Limited '09 Schedule Hurt Her POY Chances?

Lorena Ochoa's posted her 2009 LPGA schedule on her website. She's committed to playing 21 events (by my count), which is 1 fewer than her family-tragedy-shortened 2008 and 4 fewer than her previous 2 POY years. Meanwhile, Ji-Yai Shin played 37 events around the world in 2008, won more often, and earned more on the course than Ochoa did. Either Ochoa is supremely confident in her ability to face down her ever-growing lead chase pack (which includes Paula Creamer, Ya Ni Tseng, Cristie Kerr, and Suzann Pettersen, as well) this coming season, or she's resolved to seek a balance between her family life and professional life in her last 4+ seasons on tour and will let the chips fall where they may. What do you all think? More to the point, how many wins do you expect for her in '09 and how high on the money list do you expect her to finish?

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