MEXICO CITY – Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa, who has been No. 1 in the world for the past three years, said Tuesday she was retiring after a 10-year career that saw her win 27 tournaments.

Ochoa said in a statement that she would hold a press conference in Mexico City on Friday to discuss her reasons for calling it quits.

Last year, Ochoa won her fourth straight Ladies Professional Golf Association player of the year award, edging out South Korea’s Jiyai Shin by one point in the final standings.

The Mexico City daily Reforma broke the story that Ochoa was retiring, saying that the golfer planned to bid farewell to the tour on the day that she will have held the No. 1 spot for three years.

Ochoa married Aeromexico chief Andres Conesa on Dec. 4 and has been talking about the importance of her family since then.

The golfer has not won a title since October and started the 2010 season with lower-than-expected results.

Ochoa needed to spend 10 years on the LPGA Tour to meet the minimum requirements for a shot at admission to the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida, but she meets the requirements under the tour’s point system.

The 28-year-old Ochoa is one of the greatest female athletes in Mexico’s history. EFE