[I chose this photo so that you could see the torque of her body when she swings a club--her belt buckle and hence her torso is facing forward in the direction that her ball just flew but notice the way her club and arms are twisted around her body--that's great form!]
I think that the golf media has often overlooked Ochoa in the past--perhaps because she doesn't have the typical (or stereotypical) all-American girl looks of Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, or Cristie Kerr. But Ochoa's dominance within the LPGA can't be ignored and certainly with Annika Sorenstam's impending retirement, the tour needs a new force to galvanize galleries and inspire people not only to follow the LPGA but to take up the sport of golf. In particular, the LPGA could use a rolemodel to inspire young girls and women to start hitting the links.
Lorena Ochoa could be that rolemodel. Read this latest profile of her in The New York Times. And be sure to check out her official LPGA page, which also lists her official website and the charity that she founded in Mexico. By all accounts Ochoa is not only a gifted golfer, she is a really generous person, caring and compassionate and kind.
She is also a great reminder that "America" includes countries like Canada and Ochoa's home country of Mexico--and certainly Mexico's ethnic history is about as mixed as you can get. So Mixed Race America gives a shout out to the #1 ranked female golfer, Lorena Ochoa. Be sure to catch her at the US Open next weekend--she's certainly a golfer to watch.
[By the way, this whole post is dedicated to my friend "S" on the West Coast, who has been bugging me about including other golfers than Tiger on this blog and showing some love to Latinos by including Ochoa--so this one's to you my former golfing partner "S"--the biggest Fresno State bulldog fan I know]
[June 24, 2008 -- Link addition -- Tip of the hat to Dance for alerting me to this SI article on Ochoa--the more I read about her the more I think she is amazing both because of her golf prowess but more because she seems like a really wonderful person, which seems to be a rarity in professional sports--someone who truly is "good" (in the moral sense)]
