By Ron Sirak
Photo By Travis Lindquist/Getty Images
May 15, 2008
CLIFTON, N.J. -- Let's discuss cups that are half empty and those half full. On the one hand, it is a shame the Lorena Ochoa-Annika Sorenstam rivalry is ending just as it was starting. One the other hand, just think what golf fans have in store for them the rest of the year as Sorenstam sprints toward retirement determined to play her best golf and Ochoa defends the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Rankings she has earned with 19 victories in a little more than two years. Suddenly, a subplot to this LPGA season has emerged that promises to be highly entertaining.
The attention has been non-stop for Sorenstam since her Tuesday announcement that this would be her last year of competitive golf. There was tossing out the first pitch at the New York Mets game Tuesday night ("I'm better than that," she said of her low-and-away offering), followed by delivering the Top-10 list on Late Night with David letterman Wednesday. And then there is the matter of about a billion media interviews, give or take a million.
But all those outside-the-ropes demands have had no visible negative impact on her inside-the-rope performance. In fact, every indication is that by going public with the decision to call it quits at year's end, a weight has been lifted from her shoulders. The bogey-free 67 she posted Thursday at the Sybase Classic in which she hit 13 of 14 fairways at Upper Montclair CC and 15 greens was so effortless it was almost disappointing in that it could have been much lower.
The fun thing for those who care about golf is that Ochoa, who was taken to school by Sorenstam in their match-up in the first three rounds at the Michelob Ultra Open last week, where Sorenstam won by seven strokes and Ochoa finished T-12, relishes the challenge. It was going to be interesting to see how Ochoa responded to the Sorenslamming. Short answer: No scars were evidenced in a 68 that set up the hope Lorena and Annika might be headed for a weekend head-to-head showdown.
When asked for the umpteenth time if she thinks she can catch Ochoa in the Rolex Rankings Sorenstam just smiled and explained for the umpteenth that her focus is on playing great golf, not catching anyone. One of the key tenets of the Vision 54 philosophy she follows is to stay focused on the process (total commitment to each shot) and not on the result (beating anyone else).
"Hey, the swing is loose, enjoy it and take it from there," she said when asked her mindset for the week. "I'm playing as well as I have ever played. That's what matters. That's why you play. That's what I strive for. And when I am through playing I will direct that energy, focus and effort at the incredibly competitive world of business. I want to be one of the few women to build a brand in golf."
There are so many ironies this week at the Sybase you can get hurt tripping over them. Ochoa is the defending champion. Next week is the five-year anniversary of when Sorenstam played in the Bank of America Colonial on the PGA Tour, which may well be remembered as her greatest contribution to the women's game. Ochoa won four in a row earlier this year, and Sorenstam is going for three in a row this week. The new queen is looking very comfortable in her throne but the departing monarch is going to make sure she earns it in battle with the best.
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