There’s a chorus calling Lorena Ochoa the favorite at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles. Which is sort of funny considering that Ochoa is 0-for-22 in majors and that her failings in the biggest events are in her head as much as they were in Phil Mickelson’s before Lefty finally took that white man’s leap on Augusta’s 18th green.

Still there’s little doubt about one thing when it comes to Ochoa. The No. 1 ranked player in women’s golf suffers from dominating while Mexican. As I reported at the LPGA Championship, Ochoa did not even have a golf club deal. The top player in women’s golf was not paid by anyone to use their sticks, an unfathomable fact considering there are some club pros who couldn’t beat WorldGolf.com’s own Brandon Tucker with their own longtime Callaway or Nike endorsements.

I wrote at the time in a column:

Ochoa’s snub is about more than just her gender.

You cannot help but conclude it may have something to do with the fact she’s Mexican. With immigration reform almost turning into as much of a hot-button, divisive issue as abortion these days, Ochoa is the wrong nationality for certain U.S. companies. (She does have a deal with Lacoste and more international-leaning companies such as Rolex).

Still, here it’s too often: Why go with an endorser who could turn off potential customers when you can use one of the blondes with a ponytail?

Ochoa suffers from dominating while Mexican.

That’s sad.

That changed at the U.S. Women’s Open this week. Ping announced on Tuesday at Pine Needles that it had signed Ochoa. Which is some interesting timing considering how Ochoa’s no-club-deal had been bouncing around the internet.

The first WorldGolf.com column brought about some interesting responses from other bloggers. Ryan Wilson at AOL Sports’ popular FanHouse argues that “That she’s from Mexico is irrelevant … Is it peculiar? Sure. But that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something nefarious behind it. And if Ochoa continues to play well, all the other stuff will take care of itself.”

Of course several readers fired back at AOL, backing up the column, including Juan who wrote: “We all Know, Most of the Golf course maintenance workers (you know, the ones who keep our nation’s golf courses so beautiful) are “illegal” and mostly Mexican. With everything going on with immigration reform… Corporate America is reluctant to put a “Mexican” face in front of them… I know that My next set of clubs and balls that I will bye for myself, wife and kids… will be from whomever endorses Lorena. Good points about Lee Trevino and others… but times are VERY different now!”

The Golf Girl didn’t take a stance when discussing the column, but one of her readers suggests that “Lorena should explore opportunites with Taco Bell, Chiplote, Qdoba, or Chevys” rather than an actual golf club deal.

Enough said?

Everyone’s heard of Driving While Black. I still say, Ochoa suffers from Dominating While Mexican. Sure Ping finally stepped up and signed her. But it didn’t happen until after the embarrassment of her nondeal had been exposed. Even if Ping officials say they’ve been in talks with Ochoa since April.

Ochoa’s only been playing with Ping clubs for 10 years. She’s been giving them free publicity forever whenever anyone asked her what she chose to play with for free. Still Ping deserves some credit. It sure took Ochoa a lot longer than most players to get here though. She had to make it nearly impossible for someone not to sign her by becoming the world No. 1 first. And then still had to wait and wait.

Still think that’s coincidence?

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