During the USGA's press conference Wednesday, Executive Director David Fay answers media questions. The Association announced that the Women's Open will be headed to Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., in 2013. (John Mummert/USGA)

By Erica Goodman, Alex Miceli and David Shefter

Edina, Minn. – In her quest for a first U.S. Women’s Open title, Lorena Ochoa reflected back on her best chances in her pre-championship press conference Tuesday. The first came in 2005 when she shot a final-round 72 at Cherry Hills Country Club outside of Denver to finish tied for sixth. The loss at the time was devastating to the 23-year-old Ochoa, partly because of what happened at the 72nd hole when she dunked two tee shots into the water and made an 8.

Last year at Pine Needles, Ochoa also had a chance on Sunday, only to finish in a tie for second, two strokes behind winner Cristie Kerr.

"Both really hurt me, at the moment, at the time," said Ochoa, the world’s No. 1-ranked female golfer. "Cherry Hills, I was too young. It was not meant to be. And my life would be different today if I won the U.S. Open. So I understand the reasons why I didn't win."

Ochoa went on to say that last year she was not sure why it didn’t happen, why she didn’t win, but when she went on to win the Women’s British Open in August at historic St. Andrews (Old Course) she understood better.

"I did everything I could," said Ochoa of the 2005 and ’07 results. "I know where I made the mistakes and with the adrenaline and the pressure, I did swing a couple of times really fast. I want to make sure that doesn't happen. I've been good and the last few months and I'm ready for this one."

Ironically, another golfer cut his teeth at Cherry Hills. In 1960, Jack Nicklaus actually led midway through the final round of the U.S. Open at Cherry Hills as an amateur. Like Ochoa, Nicklaus would admit later he was too young and inexperienced as a 20-year-old to deal with the Open pressure and finished second to Arnold Palmer, the best result by an amateur at the Open since Johnny Goodman’s victory in 1933.

Ben Hogan was paired with Nicklaus in that final round. ‘The Ice Man’ would go on to say about Nicklaus, "I just played with a kid if he had a brain in his head would have won by 10 shots."

Nicklaus, who had a couple of critical three-putts on the second nine, was well aware afterward of the opportunity he missed.

 "I started thinking about what I had given away," said Nicklaus, recalling the final nine holes at Cherry Hills on the recent HBO documentary "Back Nine at Cherry Hills."

"Sure. I mean I kid Arnold all the time. I said, ‘Arnold, if I hadn’t shot 39 the last nine nobody ever heard of you,’ you know. We go through all that. If you’re young and you get beat, it teaches you a lesson and you learn from things."

Nicklaus would not wait long for his first U.S. Open victory. During his rookie season on the PGA Tour in 1962, he defeated hometown favorite Palmer in an 18-hole playoff at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club. This week Ochoa is seeking her third major, but first U.S. Women’s Open. Her bid for a grand slam and third consecutive major triumph ended at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship earlier this month when she finished a stroke out of a playoff.

"I'm going to just take the bounces, or the mistakes, in a positive way, and be confident that I can do it," said Ochoa on her current approach to playing the Women’s Open. "It's about staying together and keep doing the same things that I do every week. And then I will be there on Sunday."

Clearly a lesson learned from both Cherry Hills and Pine Needles.

Three’s Company

She was the third UCLA player to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur. This is her third appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open. And it’s her third major of 2008.

Maria Jose Uribe, 18, is ready to experience the magic again this week. As the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, the Colombia native is one of three fully exempt amateurs in the 156-player field.

Uribe certainly is easy to spot on the course. With dangling earrings and an endearing smile, Uribe is friendly and personable, opting sometimes to walk along with another player in light-hearted conversation.

Instead of defending her Women’s Amateur title in August at Eugene (Ore.) Country Club, Uribe opted instead to compete in all four majors. The Women’s British Open ends a day before the Women’s Amateur starts so logistics prevent her from playing in Oregon.

"It was a tough decision," said Uribe, who just completed her freshman season at UCLA, where she helped the Bruins finish second to rival Southern California at the NCAA Division I Women’s Championship. "But winning back-to-back [titles] is difficult. I know it will make me a better player in the end."

The choice is a career move. Uribe has no intention of leaving the UCLA program early for the pros like recent Bruins Jane Park and Amie Cochran did. She enjoys going to class and being part of the college experience.

"I plan to finish college and really grow up as a player," said Uribe, who beat Duke star Amanda Blumenherst in the ’07 Women’s Amateur final at Crooked Stick Golf Club.

Having already competed in two majors this year – Kraft Nabisco Championship and McDonald’s LPGA Championship – Uribe is using this unique opportunity to gain valuable experience before eventually joining the professional ranks.

For the time being, Uribe relishes the chance to play alongside the world’s best players. As the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, she received the traditional Thursday and Friday grouping with the reigning U.S. and British Open champions. That meant a spot alongside Cristie Kerr and world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa.

"I am excited to play with Lorena Ochoa and others," said Uribe. "Playing in the [U.S.] Women’s Open and the British Open, it is a hard opportunity to get, especially as an amateur. I am going to enjoy it."

There is one player, however, that Uribe wishes was in the field: UCLA teammate and recent Women’s Amateur Public Links champion Tiffany Joh. Joh captured her second WAPL title last Saturday at Erin Hills, but failed to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open June 9 in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

"She’s like a sister to me and she is my family in the states," said Uribe, who contacted Joh by phone the night before the WAPL championship match. "I was very excited for her last week but wish she was here."

But one current Bruin (Sydnee Michaels) and another future Bruin (Tiffany Lua) are here at Interlachen. So even if Joh failed to qualify, there are three Bruins playing.

Perhaps, there’s a little magic in that.

Going For It?

The short par-4 seventh hole, a dogleg-left that measures 316 yards, will play 249 yards for at least one or both of the weekend rounds. This is part of the new USGA course setup philosophy under Senior Director of Rules and Competitions Mike Davis to alter teeing grounds to create more of a mental game for the world’s best players. The 14th hole at Torrey Pines was shortened to 269 yards for Sunday’s final round at this year’s U.S. Open.

"I wouldn’t do it Thursday or Friday just because of a pace of play issue," said Davis. "What’s neat about the hole is if … you are going to go for it, you’ve got to curve your ball right-to-left. It’s not a duck hook [for a right-handed player], but it’s just a nice gentle draw."

Davis added that about 11 holes will allow USGA officials to make adjustments on teeing grounds, which will alter the true yardage of the course.

"I doubt you’ll see any of the championship rounds quite play the yardage," said Davis.

As for a possible playoff, the U.S. Women’s Open did away with the 18-hole format following Annika Sorenstam’s victory over Pat Hurst in 2006 at Newport (R.I.) Country Club. Should two or more players be tied at the end of 72 holes, a three-hole aggregate playoff would take place on holes 16, 17 and 18. Should sudden death be needed if the playoff remains deadlocked after the three holes, the players would go back to 16 and work forward from there.

Odds And Ends

Sarah Huarte, a member of the 2004 USA Curtis Cup team and college star at the University of California-Berkeley is working as a caddie this week for former UCLA standout Charlotte Mayorkas…Brigham Young University golfer Hannah Summerhays is carrying for Joanne Lee, who just finished her freshman season at USC. Lee and Summerhays grew up in northern California…Auburn teammates are also teaming up as Candace Schepperle is caddieing for Cydney Clanton.

Alex Miceli is a freelance writer whose work has previously appeared on www.uswomensopen.com.