Golf across the globe: Ochoa does it again

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A week after the excitement of the Masters, which produced its first South African winner since Gary Player in Trevor Immelman, Lorena Ochoa did her part in keeping golf across the globe interesting again last week. Catch up with what went on around the world of golf.

Lorena Ochoa poses with her latest trophy and lets everyone know it was her fourth-straight win. (Halleran/Getty Images)

Schedules

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LAST WEEK

Event: Ginn Open
Sanctioned by: LPGA
• Just one week after Ochoa secured eligibility for the World Golf Hall of Fame with her home-nation win at the Corona Championship, she got back to work writing her own history with a fourth-consecutive victory at the Ginn Open in Reunion, Fla. With that three-stroke victory, Ochoa tied the LPGA record for the most consecutive wins.
• The other players to have reached the record Ochoa just tied are Mickey Wright (twice: in 1962 and 1963), Kathy Whitworth (1969) and Annika Sorenstam (2001).
• While the Ginn Open victory was Ochoa's fourth straight, don't forget it was her fifth win of the season so far, including a major at the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
• Other notable finishes at the Ginn Reunion Resort were Yani Tseng in solo second, Suzann Pettersen in a tie for third, Stacy Prammanasudh in a tie for eighth and Jee Young Lee in a tie for 17th.

Event: Volvo China Open
Sanctioned by: European Tour, Asian Tour
• Ireland's Damien McGrane earned his first European Tour win at the Beijing CBD International Golf Club by an impressive nine strokes. A harsh storm caused many players to fall down the leaderboard during the final round, leaving McGrane in charge as he played through the torrents and cruised to the win.
• The final-round conditions were so bad that out of the 20 players who began Sunday's play under par, only four -- including McGrane -- remained in the red. The Irishman saved par over and over again to finish with a 73 and a total score of 10-under-par 278.
• Other notable finishes came from England's Oliver Wilson in a tie for second, New Zealand's Mark Brown, Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell and the defending champion, Markus Brier of Austria, in a tie for fifth and Korean teen Noh Seung-Yul in a tie for eighth.

Event: Token Homemate Cup
Sanctioned by: Japan Tour
• The Japan Tour kicked off its 2008 season last week at the Token Tado Country Club Nagoya where 35-year-old Katsumasa Miyamoto squeaked in with a one-shot victory over Taichi Teshima. The winner shot two rounds of 66, tying Wayne Perske of Australia for the low of the tournament -- to secure his win.
• Other notable finishes were a solo-ninth from David Smail, a tie for 11th from Hideto Tanihara and a tie for 22nd from Shingo Katayama.

THIS WEEK

Event: BMW Asian Open
Sanctioned by: European Tour, Asian Tour
• France's Raphaël Jacquelin will be in defense mode this week at the Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club in China as he tries to earn his first European Tour win of 2008.
• Look out for Henrik Stenson, who will be making a move to regain the top spot on the European Tour Order of Merit, which he just lost to Masters champion Immelman.
• Also in the field ready to do some damage this week are Retief Goosen of South Africa, Brier of Austria, Martin Kaymer of Germany and Jeev Milkha Singh of India.

Event: Stanford International Pro-Am
Sanctioned by: LPGA
• No one has the pleasure of defending this week as the LPGA introduces a brand-new tournament with a $2 million purse at Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort and Club in Aventura, Fla.
• Lorena Ochoa, who must be exhausted after winning five events already this year -- four of which were in a row -- has taken the week off to rest. Other players in the field looking to take advantage of Ochoa's absence are Annika Sorenstam, Yani Tseng and Paula Creamer.

Event: Vodacom Origins of Golf Gauteng
Sanctioned by: Sunshine Tour
• After a couple of weeks off, the Sunshine Tour is back in full swing at Pretoria Country Club where Hennie Otto of South Africa will be defending his 2007 title.
• Also look out for Marc Cayeux of Zimbabwe, Jean Hugo of South Africa and Mark Murless -- fourth on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit -- also of South Africa.

Event: Tsuruya Open
Sanctioned by: Japan Tour
• The Japan Tour heads to Hyogo this week for its second event of the season, where Australia's Brendan Jones gets set to defend at Yamanohara Golf Club.
• Players in the field to watch out for are Toru Taniguchi, Daisuke Maruyama and last week's winner Miyamoto.