ON THE FRINGE

By Doug Ferguson

updated 8:21 p.m. ET April 1, 2008

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. - The comparisons between Tiger Woods and Lorena Ochoa are inevitable, and mostly accurate.

Woods gave the PGA Tour a two-week head start in Hawaii, made his debut at the Buick Invitational and won by eight shots. Ochoa also skipped the first two LPGA Tour events in Hawaii, started in Singapore at the HSBC Champions and won by 11.

Woods has won 18 times on the PGA Tour since the start of the 2006 season. Ochoa has 16 victories. They are No. 1 in their respective world ranking by more than double the margin of No. 2.

And over the next two weeks, both are overwhelming favorites to win the first major championship of the year.

But that’s where the parallel paths come to a fork in the road.

Woods has four green jackets from the Masters, not to mention a career full of positive vibes at the majors. He captured the career Grand Slam at age 24, before he had completed four years on the PGA Tour.

Despite her dominance, Ochoa arrived at the Kraft Nabisco Championship to face some demons.

She loves Mission Hills, where she first played as a teenager. The affection she gets in the California desert rivals that of her native Mexico, with someone waving a red, white and green flag on just about every fairway. Ochoa sheepishly mentioned that she asked tournament officials for 100 tickets for her family and friends, and she was willing to pay for them.

“I have great memories, and I have a lot of support from people that comes from Mexico and cheer for me,” Ochoa said Tuesday. “It’s just someplace that feels good. I’m ready to have a good week. I’ve been close a few times, and hopefully, this is the year.”

She is being modest about close calls.

Ochoa should have won this major by now.

Two years ago, she tied an LPGA major record with a 10-under 62 in the opening round and still had a three-shot lead going into Sunday until a meltdown on the back nine. Ochoa recovered with an eagle on the final hole to get into a playoff against Karrie Webb, who won on the first extra hole.

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Ochoa was tied for the lead going into the weekend last year and looked poised as ever until she missed the par-3 17th green, whiffed on a wedge, took three putts once she got on the green and took quadruple bogey that effectively knocked her out of the tournament.

Moments like that are what makes winning even harder.

The Kraft Nabisco is the only LPGA major that has been played on the same course every year, which makes it similar to the Masters in that respect — and only that respect. Augusta National does not have a Wienermobile next to the practice green.

Geoff Ogilvy spoke recently about why the Masters has such a long list of players who never won a green jacket, and he mentioned the familiarity of the course breeding so much contempt.

“There are demons that don’t go away,” Ogilvy said. “If you have a few close calls at the U.S. Open, you’re always doing it somewhere else. If you have demons at Augusta, which everybody does, guys always remember.”

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