GUADALAJARA — You don't get to be the No. 1 women's golfer in the world by backing down from challenges.
So when a fledgling pro named Lorena Ochoa was approached with the idea of saving an unconventional elementary school in one of Guadalajara's poorest neighborhoods, she didn't flinch.
Three years later, the school, named La Barranca after the steep ravine it overlooks, has 245 students and a waiting list of dozens. Ground is about to be broken on a high school complex next door, a $650,000 project funded by Ochoa's foundation.
Not bad -- for a start.
"This is something I want to do nationwide," Ochoa says. "You change the life [of] one girl, one guy and you change the life around them with their family. It's something amazing. I play golf and my motivation is to help.
"The more I win the more I can help."
In that case, Ochoa can help a lot. Since she joined the LPGA in 2003, her 24 tournament victories are second only to Annika Sorenstam. Last year she became the first woman to earn more than $2.9 million in a single season, topping $4.3 million in prize money.
And today Ochoa, who turns 27 on Saturday, takes another big step in her career when she plays host to the Lorena Ochoa Invitational at her home course in Guadalajara, becoming the 15th woman in history to have her own LPGA tournament
But while Ochoa has come to define women's golf, the sport is a long way from defining her.
"Who wins a golf tournament or leaves with that beautiful trophy is only a memory for a while," Ochoa says in a second-floor ballroom overlooking the Guadalajara Country Club course, where she learned to play the game while in kindergarten. "And it's only satisfaction mostly for you and the people around you. It sounds a bit selfish.
"I prefer to be remembered for other things. Being a good person. Giving back to the community and help[ing] others. I don't get any more satisfaction than seeing the kids and seeing them happy and thinking about the opportunity of their getting an education."
The school
As soon as you turn off the paved highway and on to the rutted, rocky dirt path that serves as Main Street for the barrio known as La Coronilla, it becomes apparent that Guadalajara has turned its back on this neighborhood on the city's northeastern edge.
