Round 3 - Brittany Lincicome wins second Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic

January 28, 2018

Brittany Lincicome used every minute of daylight – and more than a few of moonlight – in taking a hard-fought victory at the 2018 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic at the Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. As the sun set on her two-stroke lead over Wei-Ling Hsu, Lincicome striped her tee shot down the fairway of the par-5 18th hole and jogged her way in, joined by playing partners Shanshan Feng and Amy Yang.

“When I birdied 17 it was free reign, there was no way we weren’t playing 18,” said Lincicome. “When we had a little bit of daylight, you saw us running, which I don’t run. I was trying to run off the tee to get to the fairway as quickly as possible to hit the shots as quickly as possible.”

Ahead on the green, Hsu, who held the lead for much of the inward nine before making a costly bogey on No. 17, made a birdie to cut Lincicome’s lead to one. With the moon overhead, and several light banks brought in to further illuminate the green, Lincicome had two putts for par and the victory. She only needed one, draining a birdie for a two-stroke victory and a successful defense of her 2017 title.

This win was even more special for Lincicome thanks to the impact Pure Silk has had on her career. In 2009, Lincicome became the first player that signed an endorsement deal with Perio Inc., which owns the Pure Silk and Barbasol brands. Nearly 10 years later, some 30 professional golfers on the PGA and LPGA Tours represent the two brands, and Pure Silk, led by CEO Tom Murray, has been an LPGA title sponsor since the inaugural Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic in 2013.

“I teared up on the green when I talked about Tom Murray and his family,” said Lincicome, who also burst into tears when handed a celebratory phone call from her husband, Dewald Gouws. “They’re just incredible people, and we are so honored to have them on the LPGA Tour and to be sponsors of mine.”

Hsu breaks through for career-best finish

Wei-Ling Hsu kicked off the 2018 season in the Bahamas with a career-best second-place finish, two strokes behind champion Brittany Lincicome. Hsu posted a 10-under 203 and played the final round with Lexi Thompson (-7, T6) and Spanish rookie Luna Sobron Galmes (+1, T41).

“I was very happy by my performance this week because my low ball wasn’t playing that great all the time,” said Hsu, whose previous best finish was eighth at the 2015 Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic, during her rookie year. “It looks like I did pretty well this week. I got to play a lot of low shots playing into the wind.”

Despite that career-best showing, Hsu feels as though she still has work to do. “My putt[ing] today was so great but still had three short misses,” said Hsu, who will next tee it up at the 2018 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open. “I thought it was in, but it circled around and jumped out. Probably not my time.”

Race to the CME Globe Standings

With her win, Lincicome begins the 2018 LPGA season atop the Race to the CME Globe standings with 500 points.

CME Group Cares Weekends Eagles final update following the CME Group Tour Championship

CME Group Cares Weekend is a season-long charitable giving program that turns eagles into donations. For each eagle recorded during weekend play (Saturday and Sunday) throughout the 2018 LPGA Tour season, CME Group donates $1,000 to the program’s total donation count. At the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, the stakes are even higher, as the donation has been raised to a generous $5,000 per eagle. The money raised will go towards a charitable pool and be split evenly between Wounded Warrior Project® and Bright Pink®.

The weekend at the Pure-Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic saw two eagles, one apiece from Nicole Broch Larsen and Carlota Ciganda. That translates to $2,000 raised on the year.

Of note

With her win at the 2018 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, Brittany Lincicome has now won an LPGA event in seven different seasons since her rookie year in 2005.

Lincicome has played in this event every year since 2013 and has four top-10 finishes, including her two wins.

An American player has won the season-opening event on the LPGA in three of the last five seasons (2014, 2017, 2018), with Korean players capturing the first event of the year in 2015 and 2016.

Click here for full scores & prize money.

Round 2 - Henderson leading in windy Bahamas as play suspended

January 27, 2018

Canada's Brooke Henderson completed a level par 73 Saturday to seize a one-stroke lead over China's top-ranked Feng Shanshan when darkness halted the second round of the Bahamas LPGA Classic.

The season-opening event, shortened to 54 holes after brisk winds played havoc Friday, will attempt for a third day to finish the second round and make the cut Sunday before trying to complete round three also.

Henderson, who began round two with a bogey on Friday before high winds stopped play, made three bogeys and four birdies on Saturday. She birdied all three par-5 holes on the back nine, following with bogeys on two of them before making the last at 18.

That was enough to leave her on five-under 141 for 36 holes and one stroke ahead of Feng, who finished nine holes of her second round Saturday after the planned resumption was delayed almost four hours by high winds.

"Coming out today I wanted to make that par putt I had left on two and try to get my round turned around a little bit," said Henderson. "There were a couple of bogeys I would like to take back but having four birdies is really good."

Feng began off the 10th tee, made a bogey at the par-5 11th but answered with a birdie at the par-3 12th and another at 18 to claim second place alone with the front nine yet to finish.

A pack of five players were two strokes off the pace at three-under, including Americans Ryann O'Toole and Danielle Kang in the clubhouse on 143, compatriot Lexi Thompson with 10 holes to complete, Spanish rookie Luna Sobron Galmes also with 10 holes remaining and Taiwan's Hsu Wei-Ling with the back nine still ahead of her.

Kang, last year's Women's PGA Championship winner, also posted a 73 Saturday.

"It's definitely playing tougher," Kang said. "Those little mistakes come into play when it's those type of conditions. It was fun, though. I like this kind of weather."

Notable and Quotable

“It was windy today, and I feel like overall (caddie Brittany Henderson) and I did a really good job again just calculating numbers and negotiate the wind as best we could. There was a couple of bogeys I would like to take back, but having four birdies is really good.”
-Brooke Henderson (68-73, -5)

“It was an adjustment period of reading the greens again and figuring out how much you factor in and how much you don’t. So today I just stayed really patient and capitalized on a couple more birdies. But I’ve been striking it well all week and so it’s showing and just try to continue it tomorrow.”
-Ryann O’Toole (74-69, -3)

“I think it’s definitely playing tougher. I just feel like those little mistakes come into play when it’s those type of conditions. It was fun, though. I like this kind of weather.”
-Danielle Kang (70-73, -3)

Players have different ways of spending time off

Faced with a delay of 26 hours and 35 minutes from Friday to Saturday morning, players were given a rare opportunity to spend an entire day off mid-week, relax and enjoy Paradise Island.

With so many personalities on the LPGA Tour, it’s no surprise they each had a unique way of using their extra time:

Danielle Kang: “I went back, went and worked out, took a nap, for like three hours, ate early dinner, had Ben and Jerry’s with Michelle (Wie), went to sleep, woke up, read a book.” (Kang is currently reading “Go Set a Watchman” by Harper Lee, one of her favorite authors)

Ryann O’Toole: “Took down the house at the casino. Yeah, quite a few grand.” No way? Playing what? “Baccarat. My fiancee and I are quite ahead. I’m sure that’s what I’ll go do again now and relax a little bit and get some dinner somewhere. Just fun, kind of keeps the competitive edge inside you and kind of also distracts you so you’re not just sitting there twiddling your thumbs. Tried going to the pool but it was cold and kind of overcast for a while and windy, so let’s just go gamble so it turned out to be successful.”

Lizette Salas: (Salas said she shopped around for condos in Las Vegas and did her taxes) “All the adult stuff.” They must not have been very complicated taxes. “Well, it gets a little complicated with California, but, you know, we gotta do it. Just kind of, you know, big girl decisions and, you know, pushing close to 30 and not this year but next year. Just making things easier on myself.”

Shanshan Feng: “Nothing, just kept sleeping and eating, stay in my room. There was really nothing to do. Outdoor, the wind was crazy so I didn’t do much.”

Brooke Henderson: “Didn’t really do too much, just tried to stay, you know, mentally sharp but tried to rest, because I’ve been up really early both mornings. Yesterday I didn’t really play at all, only a couple holes, and then today, you know, I was prepared to play all the holes, but also expecting that there was going to be delays again, so I felt like I prepared myself well for that. Yeah, just rested and tried to get mentally prepped.”

Hard work and new clubs pay off for O'Toole

Ryann O’Toole completed her second round at 4-under 69, which she largely credited to a lot of offseason work – and the new PXG clubs in her bag.

“I’ve gained three to five yards with every club. Last year my 7-iron was 155, now my 7-iron goes 163,” said O’Toole, one of nine LPGA Tour players who represent the brand on Tour. “And the new driver that I’m hitting, too, it’s been awesome. I can hit a choke down low ball here so it’s perfect for the wind but I feel like I’ve got control and I really like where my stuff’s at, so I’m happy about it.”

The PXG revamp went through O’Toole’s entire bag, and she pointed to her new wedges and putter as the keys to an improved short game. “I tweaked a couple of my wedges just to fine tune a little bit more,” she said. “I did a ton of work this offseason because I felt like that’s where I kind of got tentative. I want to be able to feel like if I miss a green, I can get it up and down.”

While the second round was not completed on Saturday, at 3-under 143, O’Toole sits in a tie for third, and her 69 is so far the lowest showing of the second round. This is shaping up to be O’Toole’s best Pure Silk-Bahamas showing, as she has only made the cut once in five trips to Nassau, finishing T31 in 2016.

One eye on the Bahamas, the other on Torrey Pines

Heading into her fourth season on the LPGA Tour, Cheyenne Woods is still looking for her breakout moment on the golf course. The graduate of Wake Forest University, who has two career top-10 finishes to her name, got off to a sparkling start on Saturday at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, carding birdie on four of her first seven holes to make the turn at 4-under 32. But three bogeys on her inward nine dropped her back to -1 on the day and +5 for the tournament, hovering just above the cut line with 54 players left to finish their second rounds on Sunday morning.

“I had to stay patient,” said Woods. “It’s been really windy all week. So patience is key and stick to my plan. I knew if I could ride it, out I would at least have a shot. Hopefully it stays there, and I can do well tomorrow.”

With her day complete, Woods was off to catch a familiar face making his way around a golf course nearly 3,000 miles away. Woods is the niece of PGA Tour star Tiger Woods, and points to her famous uncle, who is making his long-awaited return this week at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course, as the reason she took up the game as a child.

“I grew up watching Tiger play,” said Woods, who last spoke with her uncle in December following his Hero World Challenge, also held here in the Bahamas. “He’s the reason why I play golf, so it’s really good to see him healthy, playing well, feeling good. I love watching him play. I’m excited to go in and catch hopefully part of his round.”

“It's a Korda thing”

On Friday night (Saturday morning in Australia), Sebastian Korda, the younger brother of LPGA sisters Jessica and Nelly Korda, captured the Australian Open junior boys’ tennis title on the same court where their father, Petr, won the Australian Open 20 years ago.

Nelly, the lone Korda sister playing in the Bahamas this week, stayed up late to watch her brother become the third member of the family capture a title in Australia, joining Petr and Jessica, who won the 2012 Women’s Australian Open for her first LPGA victory. It was also extra special for Petr, who celebrated his 50th birthday on Jan. 23, and their mother, Regina, who will celebrate the same milestone on Feb. 5.

“Stayed up, I think, till midnight because I was still, like, so nervous, and my heart was still racing,” said Nelly of cheering on her little brother. “It was exciting watching him win, and it was a huge goal of his to come back with the trophy from Australia because he’s been there since the 24th of December. Winning the Australian Open and it being the 20th anniversary since my dad won was really special and then also my parents’ 50th birthdays. It was amazing.”

Of note

• Brooke Henderson is one of just three players to post multiple wins in each of the last two seasons (two in 2016, two in 2017), alongside World No. 1 Shanshan Feng (two in 2016, two in 2017) and 2016 Rolex Player of the Year Ariya Jutanugarn (five in 2016, two in 2017).
• The earliest Henderson has captured a win in a full season on the LPGA came in her 15th start of the year, in both 2016 (KPMG Women’s PGA Championship) and 2017 (Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give).
• Shanshan Feng has two wins in her last three LPGA starts.
• Danielle Kang is seeking her second career LPGA title and first since the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Round 2 - Play suspended due to high winds

January 26, 2018

High winds halted Friday's second round of the season-opening Bahamas LPGA Classic with Canada's Brooke Henderson, Spain's Luna Sobron Galmes and Australian Sarah Jane Smith tied atop the leaderboard.

Brisk breezes and windy forecasts forced officials to halt play for the day before most golfers could begin their second round, prompting officials to scrap the 72-hole plan and try to finish 54 by Sunday night.

While they hope to complete the second round Saturday and final round Sunday, the tour said it might take until Monday to crown a champion.

Henderson led by one after the first round with a five-under par 68 at the Ocean Club Golf Course.

Henderson bogeyed the first hole of her second round to fall back to four-under, falling level with Smith and Spanish rookie Galmes who had yet to tee off, when gusting winds forced organizers to suspend play until Saturday morning.

"We got to a point on 13th (hole) where we could not get a ball to stay at rest on the green," LPGA vice president of rules and competition Sue Witters said.

The opening round had been suspended by darkness on Thursday with 12 players on the course. They returned to complete their rounds Friday morning as the second round got underway.

Feng Shanshan, who won twice in the final five weeks of 2017 to become the first golfer from China to reach number one in the world, was in a group of five players at three-under par after a first round that included four birdies and a bogey. She is yet to tee off in the second round.

Round 1 - Henderson takes lead in windy Bahamas

January 25, 2018

Brooke Henderson shot a bogey-free 5-under 68 in windy conditions Thursday to take the first-round lead in the season-opening Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.

''We did a really good job of hitting balls pin-high, and I don't know how we did it,'' Henderson said about caddie and sister, Brittany. ''It's hard to judge wind sometimes, but I feel like we calculated everything really well.''

The 20-year-old Canadian had four birdies in a seven-hole stretch and closed with three pars on the gusty Ocean Club layout.

''On 8 and 9, my 17th and 18th hole, putting was extremely difficult,'' Henderson said. ''My hat felt like it was falling off all the time. It was just hard to have good balance and kind of be over the putt for that long and have a good stroke on it.''

She has five LPGA Tour victories, winning last year in Michigan and in high wind New Zealand.

''I think by Sunday we will all be pretty good wind players,'' Henderson said.

Australia's Sarah Jane Smith finished with a bogey to drop into a tie for second with Spanish rookie Luna Sobron Galmes.

''I like playing in the struggle, I grew up playing in the wind, and I do enjoy playing difficult shots and stuff like that,'' Smith said. ''It's probably better for me (other) people don't like it.''

Sobron Galmes also is comfortable in wind.

''In Majorca, in my town, where I live, the wind is very hard, so it's like this,'' Sobron Galmes said. ''I feel the course really is good. You play well, everything goes well.''

Top-ranked Shanshan Feng birdied her last for a 70.

''This is really windy and my ball-striking is not 100 percent yet,'' Feng said.

Danielle Kang also was at 70 with Lindsey Weaver, Katherine Kirk, Jing Yan and Maria Torres, the tour's first player from Puerto Rico.

Lexi Thompson, a playoff loser to Brittany Lincicome last year, opened with a 72.

''If I'm playing well I know I can play well in the wind,'' Thompson said. ''The key is to hit it solid. The amateurs get out here and they start hitting harder and harder, but that's not the key. You've got to swing a little bit smoother and make sure you get that center contact. ''

Michelle Wie eagled the par-5 11th in a 73, and playing partners Lincicome and third-ranked So Yeon Ryu followed at 74.

Kim and Ariya Jutanugarn shot 76, and Stacy Lewis had two double bogeys in a 78.

Twelve players were unable to finish the round because of darkness.

Feng enjoys "bonus" time at World No.1

This week marks Shanshan Feng’s maiden trip to Paradise, opening her season at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic for the first time in the tournament’s six-year history. After starting her round with bogey at the par-4 first, the 28-year-old from the Republic of China fairly cruised around the golf course, carding four birdies for a 3-under 70.

Feng appeared unfazed, though surprised, by the gusty winds that buffeted the Ocean Course Golf Club on Thursday after picture-perfect conditions earlier in the week.

“Yesterday was totally calm and no wind at all, and I was expecting like, you know, the scores would be, like, real low today, and the cut would be, like, real low,” said Feng. “But this morning I asked the girls I was like, is it normal here, the wind blowing like this? And they’re like, well, they’re not surprised. And I’m like, okay, this is an island, so I understand.”

Feng ascended to the top of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings on Nov. 13, 2017, after taking back-to-back victories at the TOTO Japan Classic and Blue Bay LPGA. That led to quite a decorated offseason, as she received the Breakthrough of the Year award at the China Top Ten Laureus Awards, the Chinese equivalent of the ESPY Awards.

However, Feng pointed to something other than her big award as one of her favorite World No. 1 perks. Since she went to the top just as the LPGA Tour season ended, she has held that mark, uncontested, for 11 consecutive weeks.

“I think I claimed the No. 1 at the right timing, because it was like nine, or eight weeks for me? I didn’t do anything!” said Feng with her trademark giant laugh. “But I chose the right timing to become No. 1, so, I mean, that was a bonus, such a bonus.”

Torres keeping it calm

Battling gusts of wind up to 35 mph, Maria Torres completed her very first professional round at 3-under 70 at the 2018 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic. Torres, a recent graduate of the University of Florida, said dealing with nerves and completely different weather conditions than her practice round was like “waking up and having all this rain and wind you’re like, oh my god, it’s the first day.” She ultimately said to herself, “You can play in the wind and the rain, so just keep it calm.”

Torres is no stranger to extreme conditions, as she grappled with the challenges of finishing LPGA Q School amid Hurricane Maria wreaking devastation throughout her hometown of San Juan, Puerto Rico. She then secured the 20th and final card after a three-hole playoff, becoming the first LPGA player to play under the Puerto Rican flag. “I love the course and like being near Puerto Rico,” she said, “so starting in the Caribbean this season is kind of nice.”

‘Simple’ was the key word for Torres’ first round of play. “We tried to keep it simple and tried to just take it shot by shot,” Torres said of her game plan with her caddie, Nicolas Pereira. Should she win on Sunday, Torres would join Beverly Hanson at the 1951 Eastern Open as the only players in LPGA history to win their first tournament in their first appearance as a member.

Of note

• Brooke Henderson is playing in her fourth Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, with a best finish of T21 in both 2016 and 2017
• Henderson has five career LPGA wins, with her most recent coming at the 2017 MCKAYSON New Zealand Women’s Open.
• This is the third time in Henderson’s career that she has held the lead after the first round, joining the 2017 MCKAYSON New Zealand Women’s Open and 2017 Meijer LPGA Classic; she went on to win both events
• Sarah Jane Smith is playing in her sixth Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, with a best finish of T33 in 2014.
• Smith is looking for her first LPGA Tour victory; she was runner-up at the 2016 Citibanamex Lorena Ochoa Invitational and 2014 Kingsmill Championship.
• Luna Sobron Galmes, a 2018 LPGA rookie, is playing in her first Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.
• Sobron Galmes has played in two Ricoh Women’s British Opens, finishing tied for 13th in 2015, where she won the Smyth Salver as the low amateur, and missing the cut in 2016.

Scores

Preview

Lincicome looking for consistency in 2018

A year removed from a shaving cream shower on the 18th green at Ocean Club Golf Course, 2017 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic winner and Pure Silk ambassador Brittany Lincicome is back to defend this week at the site of her seventh career LPGA win.

“It’s very exciting obviously being one of my sponsors this week, to come back to the Bahamas and be our first start to the season,” Lincicome said on Wednesday. “What better place than to be here in the Bahamas?”

In 2017, the Florida native led a field that blitzed the par-73 Tom Weiskopf design and broke tournament scoring records for 18, 36, 54 and 72 holes. The 26-under par total shot by Lincicome and Lexi Thompson was just one shot shy of the LPGA record for a 72-hole score in relation to par set by Annika Sorenstam (2001 Standard Register PING) and Sei Young Kim (2016 JTBC Founders Cup). The 31-year-old Lincicome would go on to defeat Thompson, the top-ranked American, with a birdie on the first playoff hole for her first win since the 2015 ANA Inspiration.

Tournament Scoring Records

18 holes: 61 (-12), Lexi Thompson, second round, 2017
36 holes: 129 (-17), Brittany Lincicome, 2017
54 holes: 196 (-23), Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis, 2017
72 holes: 266 (-26), Brittany Lincicome*, Lexi Thompson, 2017

*won on the first playoff hole

“I didn’t even think I had that many birdies in my game,” said Lincicome. “It obviously showed me a lot last year that when I’ve seen the leaderboards before and these high 20s are winning the tournaments under par, I never thought that was even possible.”

Lincicome listed consistency as her main goal of 2018, with the aim of playing well in the major championships and making the Team USA roster at the 2018 UL International Crown.

Thompson in the zone in Bahamas

What does it feel like to be in the zone for Lexi Thompson?

“I would say it’s when you’re so focused and just so confident within yourself that you just free up and you let yourself go,” said Thompson, who will tee off at 8:16 a.m. with Shanshan Feng and Nelly Korda in the first round at the 2018 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.

Her sights are set to top last season’s success but with “the same attitude, same preparation and same positive attitude going into every one.”

The Bahamas provides a comfortable season-opening event for Thompson, who is coming off a golf-free off season while recovering from a hand injury.

“It was definitely needed, but as you know I had trouble with my hand,” she said. “I had to rest it and got some MRIs done and everything. Just overuse. But it was a lot needed time off.”

At last year’s event, Thompson lost in a playoff to Brittany Lincicome despite having shot a 12-under par, 61, in the second round, the second lowest score in relation to par in LPGA history behind Annika Sorenstam’s 13-under 59 at the 2001 Standard Register PING. Thompson remembered, “I hit it over the green and I chipped in, then I made eagle on the next hole, then I went birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie … I got on quite the roll.”

Playing with a new driver (the Cobra F8) and a new putter (the Happy Putter) this week, Thompson looks forward to getting back into the swing of things. “It’s hard to focus on the golf with the amazing views that we got on the golf course here,” she said, “but glad to be starting up and looking forward to the week.”

Of Note

• The 2017 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic was the first time Americans finished first through fifth on the LPGA Tour since the 2011 Canadian Women’s Open.
• Lincicome was one of five American winners in 2017 (Danielle Kang; Cristie Kerr, 2; Stacy Lewis; Lincicome; Lexi Thompson, 2)
• Thompson’s second-round 12-under 61 last year was the second-lowest score in relation to par in LPGA history, behind Annika Sorenstam’s 13-under 59 at the 2001 Standard Register PING.
• Lincicome and Thompson finished at -26, one shy of the LPGA scoring record of -27, also set by Sorenstam at the 2001 Standard Register PING and matched by Sei Young Kim at the 2016 JTBC Founders Cup.
• Thompson has won at least one LPGA event in each of the past five seasons, the longest current streak on the LPGA.