How do GOATs become GOATs?
Many desire to reach the pinnacle of success, but few are labeled among “The Greatest of All Time” – or GOAT. The term should represent a singular individual, THE greatest of all time but there it’s more loosely applied to the best of the best.
How does one become, THE best, among the best in their profession?
Lorena Ochoa won 30 times in 10 years as professional, including 27 LPGA titles and two majors – the 2007 AIG Women’s Open and the ’08 Chevron Championship. She became world No. 1 on April 23, 2007 and held that spot for 158 consecutive weeks – a women’s record that still holds. At age 28, she retired and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017.
Ochoa is one of golf’s GOATs, revered in the game and respected by sports fans for her impeccable athleticism, skill and talent.
How did she do it?
That’s a difficult question to answer, because only Ochoa understands the decades of trial and error, perseverance, courage and discipline she authored. But she can provide us with a glimpse of what it takes to become one of the greatest ever.
“My career was a little bit different or unique because I was the only golfer from Mexico at that time,” Ochoa, who grew up in Guadalajara, said recently via phone.
Ochoa was a trailblazer, driven to become a pioneer for future Mexican players. As a junior, she won 22 state events in Guadalajara and 44 national events.
Then, in 2000, she enrolled at the University of Arizona. In two years in Tucson, she won NCAA Player of the Year twice and, as a sophomore, set a collegiate record by winning seven consecutive tournaments in her first seven events. After finishing runner-up for the second time in the NCAA tournament, she was ready to turn pro – despite some doubts.
“Don’t get me wrong, I was really afraid, I was scared, I was confused,” Ochoa said about turning pro, despite all of her amateur success. “I told myself that it was going to be really hard and a really big challenge.”
But a challenge that she accepted with a mature perspective.
“You need to be ready for a full year of surprises. It’s kind of like a roller coaster. It’s impossible to be flat and on an uphill line. So, the better you know yourself, the better you know what you need,” she said.
Ochoa joined the developmental Futures Tour (now known as the Epson Tour) in 2002 and won three of her first 10 events, finishing No. 1 on the money list and earning her LPGA card.
Though she didn’t win in her rookie season on the LPGA, she caught everyone’s attention with eight top-10 finish and Rookie of the Year honors.
But instead of being exited for her second season, Ochoa was exhausted and pushed to a breaking point.
“After my rookie year, I went home and said, ‘I don’t want to do this,’” Ochoa said. “I love to express that to rookie and college players, because it’s normal to go through so many ups and downs thinking, This is not what I thought, I’m really confused. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to do it.”
The then 23-year-old decided to shelve the clubs for a little while. But once she ended her hiatus and got back on the course after several weeks off, her love for the sport was reinvigorated.
“But it’s important to acknowledge that you go through a lot. It’s impossible to skip some of the tough days or bad decisions or bad tournaments. It’s in yourself how you react,” she said.
Ochoa learned this lesson through experience and applied it to the remainder of her career. She opened herself up more, becoming friends with others around the world. She formed outside passions and hobbies. This widened her personal identity and benefitted her professionally.
“If you’re 100% all the time with practicing and exercising, it’s impossible to keep that pace for 33 weeks,” said Ochoa, who had three primary outlets off the golf course that were essential.
First, Ochoa had her relational outlet – her community on tour. She encourages young players to reach out and connect with more seasoned pros.
“I’m really close with Betsy King and Juli Inkster. Being with the veterans and the way they give you advice was great. I feel lucky to say that I’m their friend,” Ochoa said. “I also had a strong community with the Latin American players. Marisa Baena from Colombia, Candy Hannemann from Brazil, Nicole Perrot from Chile, we are all so close. I used to travel with Reilley Rankin.
“Having this close group feels great. On Mondays, we used to do laundry, fishing, hiking, or go to a fun place. I like adventures and I knew the players I was with liked the same and we had so much fun together.”
There, of course, is no place like home and even having a tight-knit group of friends couldn’t stop Ochoa from feeling homesick. For support, all she had to do was ask.
“When I was tired, I used to call my mom and ask her to come for two, three weeks,” Ochoa said. “When you’re honest with what you really need, then it’s easier to play good and get in a good rhythm to have the results.”
Ochoa’s second outlet was a physical activity – running. Specifically, running before tournament rounds. Running might seem counterproductive, as walking and competing over 18 holes can be demanding enough. But Ochoa says otherwise.
“The more I run, the more I win,” said Ochoa. “Running helped me get out all the energy and the pressure. If it was really warm or we were exhausted from playing two, three weeks in a row, then I would go early in the morning and run a 5k or 6k. If I was feeling good with a lot of energy, I would run 10k. But it was really clear to me that when I was running a lot, it really helped [me] play good on Sundays.”
She must have done a lot of running, because she is T-19 on the LPGA’s all-time wins list with over $14 million in official earnings.
Ochoa’s final outlet was more personal and the most important part of her identity – faith.
Ochoa joined the LPGA bible study group led by Chris Stevens, which met every Tuesday night when the tour was in action.
“[Chris] used to travel every week, so sometimes on Monday or Wednesday, I used to have breakfast or lunch with her. We are still good friends now and keep in touch,” Ochoa said “With the group, we had dinner together or planned activities during the week, like going to visit a hospital or a local charity. It’s the least that we could do, saying thank you and being grateful for what we have.”
GOATs need to be selfish to achieve their greatness. But Ochoa found a balance. She was devoted to her playing career, but she knew that to become the best version of herself, there had to be something bigger than herself. Establishing a community created a sense of belonging for Ochoa and added lightness to her grueling career.
Running allowed her to funnel her energy positively and explore the nature of the cities to which she traveled. Tuesday Bible-study sessions helped reinforce that God was the No. 1 priority in her life.
However, there’s another side to Ochoa we have yet to explore – her mental strengths.
Everyone with a tour card has talent. A special few can be great. But what helped make Ochoa among the greatest was that she never dwelled on her mistakes.
“I was very good at never carrying more than 100-yards of frustration over a bad shot or bad decision,” she said. “There is always going to be a few mistakes out there, but you need to accept them during a golf round and be easy on yourself. Don’t punish yourself for the rest of the day or think that you’re going to lose the tournament because of a silly mistake. Learn from those experiences, grab all the good things and just be easy and continue.”
That’s not always easy to do, especially when you narrowly lose a tournament. Ochoa was 2-5 in playoffs during her career. One of those losses came at a major, to Karrie Webb at the 2007 Chevron. That would have been Ochoa’s first major victory.
“Some players give themselves chances to win a tournament and if they don’t win, they think, It’s impossible. I don’t feel comfortable under pressure. Don’t blame yourself or doubt yourself too much, because putting yourself in a position to win is something that’s really difficult,” Ochoa said. “The more chances you give yourself on Sunday the more likely it’s going to happen.”
Ochoa won her maiden major the following season at The Women’s Open – at St. Andrews, no less. She then prevailed at the Chevron in ’08.
Ochoa wasn’t defined by her mistakes; she learned from them and became better. That was another aspect of her mental strength – she knew how to problem solve and had the fire to attack obstacles.
“Sometimes players have a bad day and go to the range and hit two hours of balls, but what happened? Was it a mental error, a problem with strategy with your caddie, a bad thought over the ball that you are second-guessing or having trouble with 120 yards? It’s not going to get better if you get frustrated and hit two hours of balls,” she said. “That can be worse, because you could be getting in bad repetition. If it’s mental, then go sit down and talk to your sports psychologist. If it’s 120 yards, then practice 120 yards, and then you go home.”
Words of wisdom from a GOAT: don’t dwell on mistakes; analyze your problems; make your corrections. A career is not without defeats, but use those defeats to create victories.
Ochoa retired at the peak of her career, in 2010, when she was still world No. 1. People still question her decision. She was literally on top of the world, why leave?
The answer was pretty simple: it was part of the plan. Ochoa set herself a 10-year timeline as a pro and when end-bell rang, she had nothing left to give. Even though golf was not all-consuming, it drained her. And in her mind, what more was there to achieve? She was a multiple major champion. She was world No. 1. She was only 28.
Though many were baffled at the decision – and remain baffled – Ochoa was and still is at peace with the decision. She does not miss competitive golf. Well, she doesn’t miss playing competitively. She thoroughly enjoys watching, however.
“I was happy to stop, because I know what it takes,” said Ochoa. “This is not my time and there are new players. Giving yourself a chance on Sunday, we all want to be there, but it’s a whole package. You have to do everything and that’s not something I’m willing to do. I love watching the women and the men and the Mexican players, because it gives me a feeling of what my family or friends felt when they watched me play. I get nervous, I cry, I get frustrated. It’s fun to see golf on TV.”
Today, Ochoa is a mother of three – Pedro, 8; Julia, 6; Diego, 4. She uses her platform to give back to her community through the Lorena Ochoa Golf Foundation and the La Barranca Educational Center, which offers education for low-income students.
“Last year, we gave 9,000 scholarships to kids all over the country,” she said. “I feel really proud that we are giving outside of La Guadalajara and I’m working a lot on education. Every year we have a couple of athletes that go to the Pan American Games. I love that, because their stories are amazing when you hear where they came from.”
The GOAT’s priorities now are being present with her family, growing her foundation and designing golf courses. She’s working on two courses with Greg Norman that will be finished soon, one in Belize and one in Mexico.
“When your priorities change, you need to be honest with yourself,” said Ochoa. “I retired at the perfect time because I was not angry with golf and I was not injured. I knew that there were so many other great things in life, so to me, it was impossible to be a professional golfer for the rest of my life. I still work a lot, and I’m really happy and at peace.”
