John Huggan: A league of her own

EVEN this early in a still callow season, much talk of Grand Slams has been circulating. With good reason, too, it must be said. Given the current dominance of Tiger Woods, the odds against the world's best golfer winning the world's four most important events in the same calendar year have surely never been shorter.

Outside of a crippling piece of bad on-course luck, a serious illness, or finding himself on the wrong end of a weather-affected draw, there surely isn't much out there to stop the Woods bandwagon, even if, in Tiger's absence, the distant numbers two and three in the world, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els, have both recorded PGA Tour victories already this year.

Hang on a minute though. One week before Tiger takes on all-comers at next month's Masters, an event he has already won on four occasions, someone else may by then be one pace ahead of the 13-time major champion. Step forward Lorena Ochoa, who will set off on her own Grand Slam quest at the Nabisco Championship (the other three are the LPGA Championship, the US Women's Open and the Women's British Open) that ends four days before another four-time champion, Arnold Palmer, ceremoniously kicks off the 'toonamint' at Augusta National. And, it says here, she is just as likely as Woods to knock off her own distaff version of the 'Impregnable Quadrilateral'.

Only last weekend, with a performance that was positively 'Woodsian' in its near-perfection, the 26-year-old Mexican picked up her 18th LPGA title in Singapore. In taking the HSBC Women's Championship she was the not-so-small distance of 11 shots ahead of her nearest 'challenger', former number one, Annika Sorenstam. Even more impressively, Ochoa – who has won 14 times in the last two years, notching up 41 top-tens in her last 50 events – shot the low round of the day three times out of four. The best round each day by anyone else in the 78-strong line-up (containing the top 17 players on the world ranking list) would still not have beaten her. In 'Lorena versus the field', Lorena won by a shot.

Comparison with Woods is further underlined by some more numbers: since winning her first major, the Women's British Open played over the Old Course at St Andrews last August, Ochoa has won six of the 10 LPGA tournaments she has played in and been in the top three 16 times in her last 23 starts. Not quite Tiger-like stats, but close.

"She was incredible last week," enthuses Scotland's No.1 player, Catriona Matthew, who finished tied for 18th in Ochoa's wake. "It's always difficult to gauge what the winning score will be when you go to a new course, but my initial feeling was that no one would go lower than 10 under par for the week. And if it hadn't been for Lorena I would have been about right. I couldn't believe her first two scores (66-65)."

While the margin of her latest victory was spectacular, it was no surprise that Ochoa should begin her season with a win. A quick look at her statistics for last year shows just how dominant she has become on the LPGA circuit. In 2007 she shot more rounds under par than anyone else; no one broke 70 more than she did; she hit more greens in regulation than any other player; and once on those greens she used her putter less than anyone; and, oh yes, she made the most birdies. Add in the fact that she was in the top-three in eagles made (12) and driving distance and you have a pretty reliable formula for success, one that has earned the diminutive Guadalajara native nearly $11m in only five full seasons as a professional.

Inevitably, comparisons are already being drawn with Sorenstam, who was the game's number one for so long before the emergence of Ochoa. Both come with actions that are distinctive rather than classically orthodox – whatever that means – and both are grindingly consistent.

"The things that stand out immediately are that Lorena drives the ball so well," continues Matthew. "And she is a great putter. But I have to think that if you are playing as well as she obviously is, you are doing everything well.

"There were some doubts over her ability to close out events she should have won, but those seem to have disappeared. Winning at St Andrews last year seems to have given her a new sense of freedom. Certainly, she has separated herself from the rest of us since that victory.

"As for how she compares with Annika at her best, I'm not sure she is quite so relentless tee-to-green just yet. But this is still early in Lorena's career so it is perhaps unfair to compare her directly with Annika's peak years. What is for sure is that she is the player you want to beat in any given week. If you do that, you are probably going to win, or at least feature in the top-three."

It would also be a little premature – 11-shot humiliations apart – to completely write off Sorenstam just yet. Having played most of last season less than fully fit after suffering neck and back problems, the Swede has emerged from the winter break both physically and mentally energised by the thought of overhauling her strongest competitor. In three events so far this year, the 10-time major champion has a victory (her 70th on the LPGA Tour), a second place and a fourth. She has also broken par in all 10 of her competitive rounds so far. Pretty good, if not quite good enough, but still ample evidence of a continuing high degree of competitiveness. And she certainly won't lack motivation after last week's little dusting.

"Sometimes you play for second place," shrugged Sorenstam last week. "I can't remember the last time I had to do that, but it was just the way it happened to be."

Still, it is not merely with Annika that Ochoa is being compared, her numbers are being set beside those of the man who is already the finest player ever to draw breath.

"I admire him a lot and respect him a lot," said Ochoa of Woods in the wake of her latest victory. "We're in two different worlds, but when he won the first time by 10 (it was actually only eight, at Torrey Pines in the Buick Invitational), I had that number in mind. You know, it can be done and why not go and win my first tournament by 10. I guess in a way that's something that motivates me."

Which is probably just as well. If things go on like they did last week, Ochoa is going to need fresh challenges. Then again, with only one major title to her name and that Grand Slam thing to keep her occupied, she has plenty of incentives to keep her going. All of which can only mean, one fears, more 'playing for second' for Annika and the rest.