REUNION, Fla. — Lorena Ochoa hustled around the corner, hoping to jump in a car and catch a flight home to Mexico.
No chance.
There were about 100 people waiting for her in the resort lobby, some seeking pictures and autographs, others hoisting glasses of champagne.
Ochoa wanted to sprint away, but she paused for another few minutes. After all, this was deserving of one more celebration.
The 26-year-old Ochoa became the first LPGA Tour player in 45 years to win four tournaments in consecutive weeks. The world’s No. 1 player shot a 3-under-par 69 in the final round of the Ginn Open on Sunday and beat rookie Yani Tseng by three strokes for her fifth victory in six starts this year.
“I’m very grateful. It’s been a blessing, you know,” Ochoa said. “But I know that bad times will come. It’s just the way life is. I’m just trying to enjoy my moment, and I would like to enjoy it for a long time. So, even if it’s going to be an up-and-down ride, hopefully I can stay there.”
Ochoa trailed early in the final round, but went ahead for good with three straight birdies beginning at No. 8. She finished 19-under and became the second player to win four times in as many weeks.
Mickey Wright did it in 1962 and 1963. Kathy Whitworth (1969) and Annika Sorenstam (2001) also won four consecutive events, but both had a week off during their runs.
Sorenstam (2004-05) and Nancy Lopez (1978) hold the tour record with five straight victories in events entered, but neither of those came in consecutive weeks.
Ochoa will give her colleagues a chance to take the spotlight this week in South Florida. She will sit out the Stanford Invitation Pro-Am, then try to make it five straight in two weeks in Tulsa, Okla.
“She’s really No. 1,” said Tseng, who finished 16-under and five shots ahead of third-place Teresa Lu and Suzann Pettersen.
It was Ochoa’s 10th win in her last 15 tournaments, dating to last year. She won eight times in 2007 and has been even better to start 2008.
