Ochoa defends title at Safeway International Presented by Coca-Cola
SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN, Ariz., March 30, 2008 – Rolex Rankings’ number one Lorena Ochoa (65-67-68-66=266) fired a final-round 6-under-par 66 at the Safeway International Presented by Coca-Cola to successfully defend her first of eight victories during the 2007 LPGA Tour season.
Entering the final round with a one-stroke lead over eventual runner-up Jee Young Lee (67-67-67-72=273) and Angela Stanford (62-69-70-74=275), Ochoa maintained her slim margin of a lead through the first five holes, where she countered two birdies with a pair of bogeys. Ochoa and Lee briefly shared the lead when Ochoa bogeyed the par-4, 406-yard sixth hole, but the 19-time Tour champion followed with back-to-back birdies on holes eight and nine to reclaim a two-stroke lead. Ochoa went bogey-free on the back nine, and after a trio of birdies on holes 13, 14, and 15, she clinched her seven-stroke victory in front of the largest crowd in tournament history on the 18th green.
