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MIAMI, Florida (AFP)

Red-hot Lorena Ochoa will be absent but 2008 winners Annika Sorenstam (seen here on April 18) and Paula Creamer will tee off at the LPGA Stanford International Pro-Am which begins on Thursday.

Red-hot Lorena Ochoa will be absent but 2008 winners Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer will tee off at the LPGA Stanford International Pro-Am which begins here Thursday.

Chances are no one is going to complain about Ochoa missing the inaugural event at Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort and Club because it opens the door for the rest of the field.

Ochoa has won five of the six events she has played this season, including last week's Ginn Open. Her combined margin of victory this year is 37 shots and she has 10 victories in her last 15 starts.

After four consecutive wins in as many weeks, tying a tour record, Ochoa decided she needed a break and decided to skip this two million dollar event.

Red-hot Lorena Ochoa will be absent but 2008 winners Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer (seen here on April 17) will tee off at the LPGA Stanford International Pro-Am which begins on Thursday.

The Stanford International Pro-Am is the first professional-amateur tournament on the LPGA schedule since the 2001 Office Depot at Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami, which was won by Grace Park.

Park is in the field this week, as are Sorenstam (SBS Open in Hawaii), Creamer (Fields Open in Hawaii) and Louise Friberg, all of whom have won this season.

Sorenstam and Creamer won in Hawaii when Ochoa was not in the field. Friberg won the MasterCard Classic in Mexico and is the only player to win an event with Ochoa in the field.

Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr and Morgan Pressel are also in the field this week. Pettersen won five times in 2007 but is still searching for her first win of 2008.

She won't have many better chances than this week, thanks to Ochoa.

24/04/2008 04:56:16 UST

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