Lorena Ochoa of Mexico, tees off on the first hole during the final round of the Navistar LPGA Classic golf tournament at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Capitol Hill in Prattville, Ala., on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Jamie Martin)
(AP)
Lorena Ochoa fashioned a few more nice memories from the Navistar LPGA Classic.
Getting a celebratory beer shower on the 18th green. Making a nice birdie on No. 17 — again. And, yes, winning.
Ochoa successfully defended her title, overcoming early troubles to shoot a 2-under 70 on Sunday for a four-stroke victory over Michelle Wie and Brittany Lang.
Ochoa finished at 18-under 270 on The Senator course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail's Capitol Hill complex to snap an 11-start winless streak dating to the Corona Championship in late April. The top-ranked Mexican star has three victories this year and 27 overall on the LPGA Tour.
"There are places where you feel comfortable and you feel a good vibe and you like the course," Ochoa said. "This has been really good for me. I feel comfortable here. I have a lot of good memories."
Among them: Friends Shanti Granada from home and Marisa Baena, a Colombian LPGA Tour player, chased her around the green spraying her with cans of beer afterward.
"It feels good," said Ochoa, second behind Sophie Gustafson last week in California. "I have a lot of emotions because it hasn't been easy. I'm ready to keep playing good ball and would love the chance to finish with a few more wins."
Ochoa wiped out her three-stroke lead coming into the day with a bogey and double bogey in the first five holes, sending her drive into the trees for an unplayable ball on No. 5.
"I told myself, 'Forget it, you have many holes to play and just be patient,'" Ochoa said.
She erased any drama with a birdie on No. 17 for the third straight day. Ochoa two-putted from some 50 feet.
The conditions made for few low scores on the day, and rain began shortly after the round ended.
"The wind picked up, the temperature was lower and the greens were a little harder," Ochoa said. "They were really hard. It changed the golf course."
