Lorena Ochoa confirmed her status as the world No 1 with an outstanding victory in the Ricoh Women’s British Open at St Andrews yesterday. The Mexican, who had led the championship since an opening 67, had a final round of 74 for a five-under-par total of 287 and victory by four strokes over Jee Young Lee, of South Korea, and Maria Hjorth, of Sweden.

It was Ochoa’s first win in a major championship and laid to rest any doubts that she had the temperament to close out a tournament successfully when in contention for the highest honours. She started the day six strokes ahead of Linda Wessberg, her nearest challenger, and was never under threat.

Out in 34, home in 40, Ochoa had three birdies and four bogeys in her round and had the luxury of a four-stroke lead coming up the last hole. She had been followed by family and friends, Mexican flags waving, and finally allowed herself to relax in what was about to become an historic victory at the home of golf – the first women’s major championship to be played on the Old Course. A par at the 18th secured her the championship and the £160,000 first prize.

Ochoa has followed in the footsteps of great champions and is worthy of her place alongside the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Severiano Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, John Daly and Tiger Woods, all of whom have won here since 1970. “It’s hard to describe,” Ochoa, 25, said. “That was the most special round of golf I’ve ever played. On the 1st tee, I was feeling comfortable and I just kept doing the same as I had done before and played aggressive.

“Hopefully, this is the first one [major] of many. I was playing for all of Mexico and hopefully [as a result] there will be many more Mexicans playing in the future.”

Her victory means that all seven major championships played this year – four women’s, three men’s – have produced first-time winners. In the women’s game there was Morgan Pressel (Kraft Nabisco Championship), Suzann Pettersen (McDonald’s LPGA) and Cristie Kerr (US Open). Among the men, Zach Johnson won the Masters, Ángel Cabrera the US Open and Padraig Harrington the Open Championship.

A player who enjoys film-star fame in Mexico, Ochoa is renowned for going behind the scenes at tournaments in the United States to find the Mexican maintenance crews and to buy everyone a meal. Her interest in her countrymen is completely genuine and it is amusing to watch them sneaking away from work to watch her going about her business.

As a middle-class child growing up in Guadalajara – her father is a property developer, her mother an artist – she was one of the few girls to play the game in a city with only six courses.

But so good did she become that she would climb the trees at the Guadalajara Country Club to show off her trick shots – and then she would take on the boys, beating them regularly.

“It wasn’t easy playing with the boys all the time, but it made me want to work harder,” she said. “To hit the ball as far as them, so they respected me.” With a strong Catholic upbringing, Ochoa – who, some reports suggested, had been seen praying with her family on the Swilcan Bridge on Saturday night – has been instilled with strong family values and a desire to do the right thing by her people. She has persuaded the Mexican Government to build public courses in Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey and helped to set up the Ochoa Golf Academy – for which scholarships are given – to get Mexican children involved with the game.

Yet behind the smile and warmth lies a fierce competitor. When you consider that she has taken part in triathlons, half-marathons and ecothons (mountain biking, trekking, swimming and kayaking), then the challenges of the Old Course and the tricky winds would have seemed like a stroll in the park.

Catriona Matthew finished equal seventh and was the leading British player, and Melissa Reid, of England, who is working on her mental approach with Sir Clive Woodward, finished joint sixteenth and was the leading amateur.

Leading final scores

287: L Ochoa (Mex) 67, 73, 73, 74

291: Lee Jee Young (S Kor) 72, 73, 75, 71; M Hjorth (Swe) 75, 73, 72, 71

292: R Rankin 73, 74, 74, 71

293: Ji Eun Hee (S Kor) 73, 71, 77, 72; Pak Se Ri (S Kor) 73, 73, 75, 72

294: M Saiki (Japan) 76, 70, 81, 67; P Creamer 73, 75, 74, 72; C Matthew (GB) 73, 68, 80, 73; L Wessberg (Swe) 74, 73, 72, 75

295: M McKay (GB) 75, 74, 79, 67; Park In Bee (S Kor) 69, 79, 76, 71; Y Fudoh (Japan) 74, 69, 81, 71; Min Na On (S Kor) 72, 75, 75, 73; B Lincicome 71, 76, 75, 73

296: Gloria Park (S Kor) 74, 75, 76, 71; *M Reid (GB) 73, 75, 76, 72; V Lagoutte-Clement (Fr) 72, 73, 78, 73; B Brewerton (GB) 74, 75, 74, 73; S Prammanasudh 74, 76, 72, 74; K Icher (Fr) 72, 71, 77, 76; A Sorenstam (Swe) 72, 71, 77, 76

297: A Sharp (Can) 77, 70, 79, 71; B Bader 73, 77, 75, 72; N Gulbis 73, 76, 76, 72; S Steinhauer 72, 71, 80, 74; W Ward 71, 70, 80, 76

299: S Pettersen (Nor) 75, 76, 78, 71; S Lee (S Kor) 72, 76, 79, 72; Shin Ji Yai (S Kor) 76, 74, 77, 72; Kang Ji Min (S Kor) 77, 72, 75, 75; K Webb (Aus) 77, 73, 74, 75 *denotes amateur