‘Girl power!’ 12 questions after Lexi Thompson’s day on the PGA Tour
Lexi Thompson hits a tee shot on Thursday at TPC Summerlin.
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“Girl power!”
Around quarter-after 1 local time, from a spot close to the first tee at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, someone shouted two words of encouragement, and Lexi Thompson smiled. She’d just said a short prayer. She’d been staring ahead. On her walk up to the tee box, she signed a quick autograph. Thompson always has time for her fans, even on this stage. And what a day it was. Thursday, during the first round of the Shriners Children’s Open, Thompson became the seventh woman ever to play a round on the PGA Tour, but the “girl” appeared calm. The mood of the “girl” appeared serene.
And then the “girl” powered.
Thompson’s first shot with the ‘boys’ was a bomb, a 302-yard poke into the right fairway bunker.
And away she went. Ahead of Thursday, much had been made of this all — most of it was supportive, though one player called it a “gimmick” — but Thompson herself was thrilled. And ready. In women’s golf, she’s a star, with 11 wins over her 13-year pro career, including a major. She’s a bomber, too. Some of this week wasn’t new, either. The 28-year-old from Florida has been playing pro events since she was 12. She regularly plays with her brothers, Curtis and Nicholas, who both made Tour appearances. Now there are three Thompsons with that distinction. Lexi spoke of her turn hopefully being an inspiration.
And then, five-plus hours after she started, Thompson marked her ball on the 17th green and picked it up, as darkness suspended play until Friday morning. She was done. She was one-over par for her first round with a hole-plus to play, and she was tied for 76th in the 131-player field, 10 shots behind leader Beau Hossler.
Noted. But how’d Thompson look? What were the highlights? The lowlights? The numbers? The comments?
What do we make of it all?
Read on.
What were Lexi Thompson’s highlights?
– The drives. On her very first drive on the PGA Tour, Thompson thumped it 302 yards. On the second hole, she sent it 304. On the fourth hole, she pounded it 316 yards. On the 13th hole, she drilled it 310 yards. Those play.
– Reaching the 552-yard, par-5 9th in two. This was great. Thompson, from 262 yards out, found the green, and she two-putted for a four.
– Almost reaching the 598-yard, par-5 13th in two. This was good. Thompson, from 279 yards out, dropped her second shot just in front of the green, and she took shots from there for another four.
– The first birdie. On the 466-yard, par-4 2nd, Thompson was flawless. Drive down the left side of the fairway. Iron, from 164 yards out, to 22 feet. And a birdie.
– The sundown shot. With the sun setting, Thompson dropped her third shot on the 511-yard, par-5 16th to 8 feet. She missed the birdie putt, though.
– Par saves. On the 194-yard, par-3 5th and the 394-yard, par-4 10th, Thompson rolled in 3-footers for par. On the 403-yard, par-4 6th, she rolled in a 10-footer for par. Those helped.
What were Lexi Thompson’s lowlights?
– The ugly putts. This has been a bugaboo of Thompson’s over the years. On the 419-yard, par-4 1st, she missed a 8-footer for birdie badly to the left. On the 371-yard, par-4 7th, she three-putted from 12 feet and double-bogeyed. On the 230-yard, par-3 8th, from 24 feet away, she left a par putt 6 feet short. Golf Channel analyst Curt Byrum said he was confused at what happened on that one.
2023 Shriners Children’s Open: How to watch, TV schedule, streaming, tee times
– The double bogey. On the 7th, after a drive into the left rough, Thompson worked her ball to just in front of the green and 65 feet away. She took four shots from there.
– The 8th hole. Thompson’s tee shot on the lengthy par-3 came up about 30 yards short.
– On the 195-year, par-3 17th, the darkness horn sounded, but Thompson questionably elected to play — and she hit into a right greenside bunker and then hit out. She could have chosen to play the hole on Friday.
What did the commentators say?
This was most notable, from swing coach Shauheen Nakhjavani:
“Lexi is 91st on the money list on the LPGA Tour this year and yet she’s still just 1 shot off the cut line on the PGA TOUR,” he wrote on Twitter on Thursday. “I hope this is a wake up call to the 3 handicaps that they stand no chance against these women. As someone who’s had the pleasure to work with a few of them, they would literally smoke you”
What did Lexi Thompson’s scorecard look like?
Here is the complete breakdown:
Hole 1 419-yard par-4 (par):
Shot 1: 302 yards to the right fairway bunker, 126 yards to the hole
Shot 2: 123 yards to the green, 8 feet, 7 inches to the hole
Shot 3: Putt 9 feet, 1 inches, 2 feet, 7 inches to the hole
Shot 4: In the hole
Hole 2 466-yard par-4 (birdie):
Shot 1: 304 yards to the left fairway, 164 yards to the hole
Shot 2: 162 yards to the green, 22 feet, 8 inches to the hole
Shot 3: In the hole
Hole 3 453-yard par-4 (bogey):
Shot 1: 270 yards to the left fairway, 175 yards to the hole
Shot 2: 179 yards to the left fairway, 37 feet, 9 inches to the hole
Shot 3: 45 feet, 2 inches to the green, 13 feet, 3 inches to the hole
Shot 4: Putt 12 feet, 3 inches, 13 inches to the hole
Shot 5: In the hole
Hole 4 449-yard par-4 (par):
Shot 1: 316 yards to right fairway, 134 yards to the hole
Shot 2: 146 yards to the fringe, 53 feet, 2 inches to the hole
Shot 3: 51 feet, 4 inches to the green, 23 inches to the hole
Shot 4: In the hole
Here is the complete breakdown:
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee: -1.252 (110th)
Strokes Gained: Tee to Green: -1.205 (92nd)
Average driving distance: 284.6 (128th)
Driving accuracy: 7 of 13 (T79th)
SG: Approach the Green: 1.193 (34th)
Greens hit: 11/16
SG: Around the Green: -1.040 (109th)
SG: Putting: -0.176 (73rd)
Number of putts: 29
Feet of putts made: 72 feet, 10 inches.
SG: Total: -1.381 (T94th)
What did Lexi Thompson say after her round?
A sampling of quotes from Thompson after her round:
“Just walk us through kind of your emotions and finally playing in the event. Obviously a lot of lead-up to it. What was going through your mind and how the day went for you today?”
“Yeah, it’s been great so far this whole week,” Thompson said. “Everybody has been so welcoming and just a huge honor just to be able to tee it up here. There’s more to it than just golf. Shriners does amazing things for these kids, so I’m happy to be out here and supporting them in any way I can.”
Two PGA Tour pros played with Lexi Thompson. What’d they think?
“Can you talk about the nerves on the first tee shot. Was it anything like Solheim or any comparison?”
“I had a little bit of nerves, but not too much,” Thompson said. “Kind of similar to Solheim, similar nerves, but that’s kind of what you play for.”
“How did you feel after the first birdie on 2? Did you feel relief, excitement?”
“Yeah, it was a very special feeling,” Thompson said. “I hit a great shot into 1 and probably hit one of my worst putts and then hit an amazing putt on No. 2, so it was nice to kind of have a good stroke there and make birdie on a more difficult hole.”
What did others say about Lexi Thompson’s round?
Said J.T. Poston, who led the morning wave with a 63: “Yeah, I mean, I think it’s great. I think she’s obviously a great player, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she comes out and plays well out here. I know she hits it plenty long. I haven’t played with her. I don’t really know what her game is like other than I know she’s pretty long. Yeah, I’m excited to see how she plays, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she plays well.”
How did Lexi Thompson come to play at the Shriners Children’s Open?
How Lexi Thompson’s surprising PGA Tour invitation came to be
It all came together — about two weeks ago. GOLF’s Alan Bastable reached out to tournament director Patrick Lindsay, and Lindsay also talked about the thought of whether Thompson’s sponsor’s invitation was taking a spot of a pro who may need it.
You can read that story here.
Was Lexi Thompson’s locker room … an RV?
Yes, according to a story written by Golfweek’s Tim Schmitt.
You can read that story here.
Do you have any photos of Lexi Thompson’s round?
You bet. Have a look at the slider below.
What’s your opinion on Lexi Thompson playing on the PGA Tour?
She’s earned the opportunity to play. Her resume speaks to that. As does her popularity.
And she played well. She could make the cut. A run is not out of the question.
Let’s move on.
What’s next for Lexi Thompson?
She’ll finish her first round Friday morning, and then she’s scheduled to start her second round at 11:29 a.m. ET off of hole 10.
Thompson will have to go under par to make the cut, but that’s doable.
“Yeah, I played decent,” she said after her round. “I had one bad hole and a few iffy shots. But it’s golf; it was kind of expected.”
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