Jan 27, 2017: Brittany Lincicome shot a tournament-record 64 to take a two-shot lead after the first-round of the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.
“I was making everything, 30 footers, 10 footers, five footers. It was a pretty easy day,” Lincicome said with a smile. “I didn’t really have to make too many par saves, which was nice. And would have loved to have had a 4 on that last hole to have no 5s on the scorecard.”
Lincicome started her day by making a 30-foot putt for par to set the scene for a day where she only needed 24 putts en route to her 9-under round.
“Putting, I have no idea,” Lincicome admitted. “We play, we play little games with my husband or friends or whoever, but it’s not like I go to the putting green and work on it for hours. Like it’s just one of those things, hit or miss. Like I had a par save on 16, I did it cross handed. I putted the last little two footer in cross handed. Just whatever I kind of feel, I just do it.”
The six time LPGA winner got an early jump on the 2017 season by competing in the Diamond Resorts Invitational where she competed against PGA TOUR Champions players and celebrities.
“I don’t really like to beat balls on the driving range or practice that much for that matter,” Lincicome said. “So playing in an event, obviously there’s a little pressure. Obviously it’s fun but there was still a little pressure because obviously the girls, we wanted to do really well. It was just nice to kind of get back out there and be in competition again, obviously getting ready for this week.”
While getting back into the winner’s circle for the first time since the 2015 ANA Inspiration would be nice, Lincicome has a more specific goal for 2017.
“I think it’s more like making Solheim and being like really far down on the ranking there,” Lincicome said of her 2017 goal. “Obviously a win helps that, so they kind of go hand in hand. But definitely Solheim is my focus, which I’m trying not to obviously think about because then you put more stress on yourself, but it’s hard not to think about.”
Siting two shots back of Lincicome are Stacy Lewis, Megan Khang and P.K. Kongkraphan who each carded 66s to open their 2017 seasons.
“We were going down at like 5:30. We were just going to play for a few minutes because none of the restaurants open until like 6:00,6:30 and the next thing I know we were there until 9:30. I was like (John) Daly is my hero apparently. Long hitter, works for him. I’m not trying it again tonight.”
-Said, Brittany LIncicome on spending over four hours at the blackjack table the night before her first round
NUMBERS TO KNOW
64 – Brittany Lincicome’s 64 ties the second lowest score of her career; her low round was a 61 at the 2010 CVS/Pharmacy LPGA Challenge in 2010
65 – Stacy Lewis has gone 65 events without a win, he last victory came at the 2014 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
69.33 – Lewis’ scoring average at the last three Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classics is 69.33
4 – Four Americans are in the top-7 on the leaderboard after the opening round
LPGA Tour Release
