Early Success of Lorena Ochoa

Lorena Ochoa has always been ahead of the pack. By the tender age of 5, she was already a fledgling golfer. But her passion sport almost came to a halt when the native Mexican fell out of a tree house in her backyard in Guadalajara. The 15-foot fall may have broken both of Ochoa’s wrists, but it certainly had not broken her determination to become the world’s best golfer. Legend has it she thought God had actually given her “magic wrists.”

At age 7, Ochoa had won her first state and national events. She focused on perfecting her game, winning tournaments and championships along the way. Then, at 25, she became the world’s No. 1 golfer, a title she held for three years.

Suddenly in 2010, Ochoa announced her retirement from the Ladies Professional Golf Association. She released a statement explaining that the game had become too easy for her. “It was really clear to see that I didn’t want to be out there,” she said at the time. Though she left the door open for a possible comeback, it has become clear that Ochoa wants to reinvent herself as a family woman and redefine her own definition of success. She has dedicated more of her time to the Lorena Ochoa Foundation, an organization that raises funds for lower-income kids’ education. In late April of this year, the star athlete announced via her Twitter feed that she and her husband were expecting their first child sometime in November.

Photo: Getty Images

by Shirley Velásquez