That's exactly the way a major champion thinks: Everything else is prep work. With five victories in the bank, Creamer, at 21, probably assumes the label as the best on tour without a major triumph. Rachel Hetherington and Mi Hyun Kim, with eight wins each, are the active players with the most LPGA victories and no majors, but Creamer, No. 5 in the Rolex Rankings, is the highest-ranked among that group.

Webb and Pak (five career majors) also have to be considered among the favorites going into Mission Hills. Pettersen, who let a four-stroke lead slip away at last year's Kraft Nabisco when she played Nos. 15 through 17 four over par, is looking to build on her breakout 2007 season in which her McDonald's title was one of five LPGA victories, and Kerr has clearly removed all doubt about her ability to compete with anyone on any given week.

If the trend of last season extends into this year — four first-time major winners — the likely candidates include Creamer, Lincicome, Matthew and Jee Young Lee, all of whom finished in the top 16 in all four majors last year. Laura Diaz, who has played with a new-found calm since the birth of her first child, Cooper, in 2006, is off to a strong start with two top-five finishes. Yani Tseng, a 19-year-old, has been impressive among the rookies, finishing T-8 at the SBS Open and second at the MasterCard Classic in Mexico to another rookie, Louise Friberg, a Swede by way of the University of Washington.

For Ochoa, who has said she would like to end her competitive career early (perhaps before her mid-30s) to devote more time to her charitable foundation and to raising a family, there is an unusual urgency to winning majors although still only 26. Toward that end she devoted the bulk of her off-season practice to those weaknesses in her game most exposed under final-round, major-championship presssure: driving the ball into the fairway and making those five-foot par-saving putts.

"I learned a lot, and I took my game to a new level, so I'm going to keep trying to repeat myself," said Ochoa, recalling what she learned at St. Andrews. "The key is to give yourself as many opportunities as possible." And that is exactly what she has done, finishing in the top 10 in nine of her last 11 major starts.

"There are a lot of birdies out there, and hopefully I'll have great rounds this year," said Ochoa, who won her 2008 debut earlier this month at the HSBC Champions in Singapore. "When I'm in Nabisco teeing off for that first major, I'm going to be ready to win the tournament, so that's what I do." And that's exactly how major champions think.

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