That was as close as Ochoa has come to winning what must feel like her home major.

She began playing Mission Hills as a teenager when she dominated college golf at Arizona. The support she feels in the Coachella Valley is second only to what she gets in her native Mexico, with so many family and friends in the gallery, along with fans from the area who make their presence known by waving the Mexican flag.

Tournament typically give players tickets for their family. Ochoa asked for 100.

“We’ll see how many I can get, and I’ll just pay the rest,” she said with a laugh.

Ochoa was asked at the start of the year what came to mind when she heard Sorenstam’s name.

“That she’s coming after me,” Ochoa said. “I know Annika. I know she likes to win. She’s very strong and she’s ready to play good. But I’m prepared. I know I can be here. It’s going to be a good year.”

Ochoa has never jumped into the water that surrounds the 18th green, a tradition that began 20 years ago when Amy Alcott won.

The Kraft Nabisco has the smallest field among LPGA majors, with only 109 players, including select amateur. But it is opportunity for young and old, as Pressel showed last year, and as Laura Davies and Meg Mallon would love to experience for the first time.

Davies is 44, and a victory this week would give her the career Grand Slam and make her eligible for the World Golf Hall of Fame. Mallon turns 45 next week, and lacks only the Nabisco for the Grand Slam.

Even so, the focus is squarely on Ochoa, who captured her first major last summer at the Women’s British Open and is heavily favored at Mission Hills, mainly because she has won twice this year by a combined 18 shots.

She likes being No. 1 and has no plans to leave, all of which makes Sorenstam’s chase even more difficult.

Slideshow   The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos

Her decline began at this tournament last year. Sorenstam tied for 30th, and a month later, learned she had disk problems in her back and neck and forced her out of golf for two months. She failed to win on the LPGA Tour for the first time as Ochoa got farther and farther away from her in the world ranking.

“It’s different to chase somebody than being chased,” Sorenstam said. “I was disappointed to lose the No. 1 spot that I had for a while, and I enjoyed being up there. With the injury, that was a huge setback for me. I’m in a different situation today. It’s not just me trying to chase Lorena. It’s about me trying to play the golf I know how.

“I know I have it in me, and I’m just going to let it happen,” she said. “I’m hitting the ball well. I won this year. I have all the ingredients I need.”