Having watched professional golf for well over 30 years, I can safely say that I have never in all that time seen anyone enjoy themselves more than Lorena Ochoa did last week in the Women’s British Open. That’s in any tournament. Ever. Had they kept track of on-course laughs and smiles, she would have lapped the field. Watching her play one great links-style shot after another, I couldn’t help but be captivated by her joyful exuberance. Surely it was no accident that this wonderful role model would come to the fore on such an historic occasion as the very first women’s Open on the oldest course in the world at the home of golf.

The LPGA could not hand-pick one other touring professional to better carry the banner of best female player alive than Ochoa. Gracious nearly to a fault, her play matches the lofty level of her public persona. This is someone who has been dominant in every phase of her development. She nearly owns the NCAA record book. And now after winning 11 regular LPGA tournaments and 1 Major in less than 4.5 years on tour, and having learned some painful lessons about winning (by losing), she is looking at the final frontier.

The question now becomes: will Ochoa begin to dominate major championship golf? In other Majors there have been a few horrible duck-hooks coming down the stretch. So I suspect she will not become a really scary opponent until she triumphs during a photo finish in a future major championship. If she can pull that off relatively soon, prepare for the next period of domination to rival that of Annika Sorenstam.

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