Lorena Ochoa Reyes is the best Mexican athlete of all time and was the number one female golfer in the world for 157 weeks in a row. She was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco on November 15, 1981. Her family shares her passion for sports; that is why, the place where she grew up is only a few steps away from Guadalajara Country Club, her second home and permanent host of LORENA OCHOA INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY BANAMEX. Lorena started playing when she was five years old and her career advanced very fast. At six, she won her first state championship; at seven, a national one; at eight, she ranked number one in the World Junior Golf Championship and at thirteen, she was the only player in the world to win for five consecutive years the Junior World International Championship and the World Junior Golf Championship; a record that Lorena still holds. In 2000, she studied Sports Psychology at the University of Arizona in the United States, where she joined the golf team and started her career on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at a time when there was only one other Mexican in the collegiate ranks. Lorena won seven tournaments in a row setting a new record. While in school she won 12 collegiate tournaments. Lorena started her professional career in 2002 on the Futures Tour, where she won three tournaments and ranked first place on the money list; this granted her a place on the LPGA. Five years later, in 2007, Lorena Ochoa, at only 25 years of age, ranked number one of the world. Since 1989, Lorena has won 129 local, national and international titles, and 27 LPGA events, in addition to other 83 prizes and recognitions. She has won two Majors (2007, RICOH Women’s British Open and 2008 Kraft Nabisco Championship) and her achievements have been compared with those of Tiger Woods and Nancy Lopez, two golf legends. Lorena Ochoa became the ultimate winner of the Premio Nacional de Deportes (National Sports Prize) after obtaining this award for three years in a row from 2004 to 2007. In 2008, Lorena was on the Celebrity 100 list of Forbes Magazine. On May 2008, Times Magazine ranked her among the 100 most influential world celebrities and was awarded with the ESPY Award for Best International Athlete. In 2009, she was named Tourist Ambassador of Jalisco, Young Player of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America, Rolex Player of the Year and won the Vare Trophy for the fourth time. In 2010, Lorena paused her sports career to dedicate more time to her charity Fundación Lorena Ochoa A.C., to the design of golf courses and to her personal projects. She maintains her interest for encouraging the practice of golf in Mexico through her academies in Acapulco and just about to Open the first one in California. Lorena Ochoa receives every year the best 36 world players in her home at the LORENA OCHOA INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY BANAMEX a symbol of our city and our country. In October 2011 Lorena Ochoa and Greg Norman reached the final 8th in the competition to design the golf course of The Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016. In March 2011 launched her Golf Program VIVE EL GOLF con Lorena Ochoa at CNN en Español, 30 minutes golf show covering how golf grows in Latin America and reaching 34 million people Lorena will receive the EWGA’s Leadership Award at the 2012 Golfpalooza this April, 18th in Las Vegas and the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association (MGWA) will give her the Mary Bea Porter Award on their 61st National Awards Dinner on June 19th in New York. Lorena is married to Andres Conesa, whose Aeroméxico’s CEO, and had her first child, Pedro Conesa Ochoa, on December 8th, 2011. Currently working on a publishing project “Memories,” written by her. This book tells her story, successes and failures and reasons for retirement ready on stores for July 2012. Also promotes encouragement of people thru her master speaking conferences.
