The 28-year-old Mexican announced her decision on her website and will discuss her plans Friday. Ochoa, who has been No. 1 in the world the last three years and won 27 times over the last six years, may well be the best-known athlete in her country who is not a soccer player.

As the first Mexican golfer of either gender to be ranked number one in the world, she is considered the best Mexican golfer of all time. Ochoa took up golf at the age of five. She won her first state event at the age of six and her first national event at seven. An 11-year-old Ochoa approached the professional Rafael Alarcon, 1979 winner of the Canadian Amateur Championship, as he worked on his game at Guadalajara Country Club, where her family lived near the 10th tee. She asked him if he would help her with her game. Alarcon asked her what her goal was, "She said she wanted to be the best player in the world." As a junior, she captured 22 state events in Guadalajara and 44 national events in Mexico.

Tour Victories:
27
Major Championships:
2
• Kraft Nabisco Championship: 2008
• Women's British Open: 2007

"Lorena Ochoa confirms her retirement from the LPGA, as news reports in some media have said today," her statement said. "The reasons and more details on the matter will be given by Lorena personally in a press conference on Friday in Mexico City. Lorena will share this news of a new stage in her life with her sponsors, family members and friends."

The LPGA told The Associated Press it would not comment until Friday's news conference.

Ochoa is scheduled to play next week in the Tres Marias event in Morelia, west of Mexico City. It was not clear if she would indeed play there or if this month's Kraft Nabisco Championship in California, where she finished fourth in the year's first major, was her finale.

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