Ochoa gives Sorenstam a run for her money

Lorena is interviewed by the media

The 24-year-old from Guadalajara eagled the 17th, which was her eighth hole, hitting her driver more than 300 yards and then playing a six-iron 165 yards to five feet.

“I was so many strokes behind that I needed to play crazy today,” said Ochoa, who leads the US LPGA Tour’s money list.

“I started with a couple of birdies and got some good momentum and also I made an eagle on my eighth hole, the 17th. That really fired me up. I was really excited and happy and then I had a good back nine after that.

“I think the difference was also my putting because I made a lot of good putts. It wasn’t really close but I made at least four or five 20 footers so that was a big difference. I shot eight-under with two bogeys so you know I left a couple of strokes out there today.”

Having carded a 62 in the first round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship earlier this year Ochoa is no stranger to shooting low numbers and like Sorenstam, she has won twice on the LPGA Tour this season.

As a guest of Sorenstam this week, she is hoping to upstage the Swede on home territory by securing her third win of the season and her sixth in total.

She is in good company, having been joined by a group of some 20 Mexican supporters. This is the first time that the Swedish based Mexicans have had the chance to see their superstar in the flesh.

Karen Stupples

Italians Veronica Zorzi and Sophie Sandolo tied for fifth place on five-under-par, while Bettina Hauert, Liselotte Neumann and Riikka Hakkarainen tied for ninth on four-under-par.