Ochoa in Hall of Fame after win

Hall of famous 20-somethings?

SOURCE:.. GOLFWEEK.COM
 

Unable to practice at the LPGA Tour event in Orlando, Ochoa and a friend stopped by the World Golf Hall of Fame for a visit that was unannounced and almost went unnoticed until a volunteer recognized her and alerted staff members.

Such is the humble nature of this 26-year-old dynamo from Mexico.

Odds are she will be back in five years for her induction.

The question is whether Ochoa still will be the best in women's golf. And there is sure to be renewed skepticism about the depth of the LPGA Tour, its points system for the Hall of Fame and why so many players can qualify at such a young age.

Ochoa won her eighth tournament of the year Sunday at the ADT Championship with what might have been the best shot of the year, a 6-iron out of thick rough over the water to 30 inches that clinched a two-shot victory and the $1 million prize.

She is No. 1 in the women's world ranking by a comparable margin to what Tiger Woods has over the men.


Then, it's a matter of waiting until she puts in 10 years. Her induction would be in 2012 at age 31.

Her victory at Trump International came six days after Se Ri Pak became the youngest player inducted into the Hall of Fame at age 30. The most recent active LPGA player to be inducted was Karrie Webb in 2005. She was two months away from turning 31.

PGA Tour players must wait until they are 40 before becoming eligible for the ballot, and even that seems young.

Annika Sorenstam was so good that after she was inducted at 33, she earned the equivalent of 28 points the next three years by winning 21 times, four majors, two Player of the Year awards and a Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average.


"If you look at someone like Mickey Wright, these women were on the same track," said Judy Dickinson, the LPGA's liaison to the World Golf Hall of Fame and a member of its advisory committee. "It's pretty consistent with the players in the Hall of Fame."


And it could very well be that these are four special players.

But the time it has taken – and will take – these players to qualify raises questions about the true depth of talent on the LPGA Tour.

The late 1970s and 1980s featured no fewer than nine players now in the Hall of Fame, and six of them qualified under the old criteria.

Rivalries these days are short-lived or not well-attended.

The Sorenstam-Webb tango lasted as long as Webb was on top of her game, a three-year stretch in which it took her only eight majors between the first and fourth legs of the career Grand Slam. After that, Sorenstam was rarely challenged.

It appears to be the same for Ochoa. She won eight times this year. Suzann Pettersen won five tournaments. The only other player with multiple victories was Paula Creamer, who went nine months between her two wins this season. She now has four for her career.

That's not to say no one is on the horizon.

Remember, Ochoa only had three victories when Webb was inducted in 2005. Maybe when Ochoa is inducted in 2012, Creamer will be closing in on 27 points, then waiting to be inducted at age 28.

Ochoa had much to take away from the final event of the year

FINAL LEADERBOARD:

-4 L Ochoa (Mex)
-2 N Gulbis (US)
level P Creamer (US)
+2 C Kerr (US)
+6 M Kim (SKor)
+8 S Lee (SKor)
+9 C Kim (US)
+12 K Webb (Aus)

World number one Lorena Ochoa survived a late scare to seal a two-shot victory at the ADT Championship in Florida.

The 26-year-old suffered a double bogey at the 17th but birdied the last for a 68 in the 18-hole shoot-out at the season-ending event at West Palm Beach.

Ochoa, became the first LPGA player to earn more than $4 million [£1.94m] in a season following the $1m success.

Natalie Gulbis birdied two of the last six holes for a two-under-par 70 and second place, with Paul Creamer third.

Britain's Catriona Matthew failed to make the third round cut, while Laura Davies bowed out at the 36-hole stage.

Ochoa began in explosive fashion and birdies at four of the first six holes gave her a five-shot advantage at the turn.

After three putts at the par-three 17th, at which point Gulbis had reduced her lead to a single shot, she collected her sixth birdie of the day after sending an approach to within three feet at the last.

Creamer birdied the 11th but drove in the water at the last en route to a 72, while another American, Cristie Kerr, picked up three shots in the the closing five holes to claim fourth.

Former world number one Karrie Webb suffered a quadruple bogey at the par-three seventh in a round of 84 and finished last of the eight competitors.

British Open champion Ochoa was in jubilant mood after securing her eighth title victory of the year.

"One of my goals was to win more titles than last year [six] and to win a first major. I've done both," she said.