Respected golfer and cultural trendsetter Lorena Ochoa, the best known golfer Mexico has ever produced, visited Los Cabos recently to host a charity Baja Golf Tour event at Palmilla Golf Club to raise money for the Los Cabos Children’s Foundation as well as her own charitable organization.

Ochoa, now 41 and the mother of three children, retired at the very top of the women’s game in 2010. She was ranked No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings for 158 consecutive weeks (2007 – 2010) and has been recognized by TIME Magazine as among the “Top 100 Most Important People on Earth.” Ochoa amassed 27 victories in her short but storied career, including two major championships. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017. Since her retirement, she has used her success and acclaim as a golfer to promote family golf activities as a teaching tool for a healthier and more fulfilling life.

The charity golf event, sponsored by Visit Baja California Sur, One&Only Palmilla and several local and corporate sponsors, featured a cocktail reception and silent auction followed by a scramble-format tournament. Ochoa played a hole with each competing foursome.

The Los Cabos Children’s Foundation is a Civil Society Organization (CSO) focused on improving the health and well-being of children and adolescents in Baja California Sur through financial support. The Foundation operates its own programs and also provides strategic support and funding to other CSOs and government institutions.

“We are big fans of Lorena’s golf accomplishments, her down-to-earth attitude, and of how she’s an example to youth all over the world, said Marisa Comella, the Foundation’s executive director. “What we love even more about her is how she practices philanthropy: professionally, responsibly and in collaboration. Teamwork is key to achieve great things, and at Los Cabos Children’s Foundation we live by this by supporting 28 programs that will collectively help 8,000 families this year. By attending this tournament, golfers supported two of the most important needs of childhood in Mexico: education and health.”

By providing access to specialized pediatric care at Salvatierra Hospital in La Paz, LCCF continues to support treatment for cancer, heart defects and other critical health issues through professional support, supplies, training and innovative equipment that literally save the lives of thousands of children every year.

The mission of the Lorena Ochoa Golf Foundation (LOGF) is to offer family-based education and inclusion programs for children and adults through family golf activities. Through the LOGF, which lists the PGA of America as an official partner, Lorena shares the life lessons of health, education and family values she learned as a young girl growing up in Guadalajara, Mexico, where her foundation is based.

According to the LOGF, “Golf provides a fun and healthy environment for the entire family. A sport of a lifetime, there is no sport that better promotes interaction of generations and offers the learning opportunities that go along with this. The lessons learned in becoming a golfer are the same as those needed to achieve success in life. Golf teaches honesty, integrity, sportsmanship and the value of hard work. Within this learning environment, families learn a path to a healthy life and a better education.”