EDINA, Minn. (June 29, 2008) - Lorena Ochoa just walked off the Interlachen Country Club, having played four rounds in the U.S. Women's Open without once shooting under par. This on one of the easiest Women's Open courses ever.
This from the overwhelming No. 1 ranked player in women's golf, a player that drew some ridiculous Tiger Woods comparisons from the mainstream media earlier this year.
Sorry, but it's time to admit that Ochoa might not be as good as many thought she was. Again, it's hard not to love the way Ochoa handles herself. She's one of the classiest figures in all of sports, the rare star who never acts like a diva star. But you have to separate that from her performance.
And Ochoa stunk it up at this U.S. Women's Open.
This is when her fans - and Ochoa has the best, most loyal and largely classiest fans in women's golf - come up with the "You idiot, what about her grandfather and uncle dying." Sorry, it's not a matter of being uninformed, it's a matter of realizing what's irrelevant to the actual shots on the course.
You don't get a pass in two majors - and this was also the reason some Ochoa maniacs gave for her coming up short in the LPGA Championship - because your uncle and your grandfather passed away. Those are tragic losses to be sure, but playing through that is part of being a professional.
The guy who works in an office doesn't get a free pass from his boss for a month because his grandfather died - in fact that average guy is lucky to get one extra day off for the funeral.
This is not the equivalent of Tiger Woods' father dying either, no matter how much Ochoa’s grandfather taught her about golf. Anyone who's had a parent or sibling pass away can tell you that's a whole other type of loss. Plus, others might have, but Tiger himself never ever used his dad's death as an excuse for missing the cut at that one U.S. Open.
Sometimes life sucks, it throws hardballs at you and your heart completely shatters. But that doesn't excuse you from subpar job performance. That's real life.
