Lexi Thompson hits a tee shot on Thursday at TPC Summerlin.
Getty Images
“Girl power!”
Around quarter-after 1 native time, from a spot near the first tee at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, somebody shouted two phrases of encouragement, and Lexi Thompson smiled. She’d simply mentioned a brief prayer. She’d been staring forward. On her stroll as much as the tee field, she signed a fast autograph. Thompson all the time has time for her followers, even on this stage. And what a day it was. Thursday, throughout the first spherical of the Shriners Children’s Open, Thompson turned the seventh lady ever to play a spherical on the PGA Tour, however the “girl” appeared calm. The temper 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 proper fairway bunker.
And away she went. Ahead of Thursday, a lot had been made from this all — most of it was supportive, although one player called it a “gimmick” — however Thompson herself was thrilled. And prepared. In girls’s golf, she’s a star, with 11 wins over her 13-year professional profession, together with a significant. She’s a bomber, too. Some of this week wasn’t new, both. The 28-year-old from Florida has been taking part in professional occasions since she was 12. She often performs along with her brothers, Curtis and Nicholas, who each made Tour appearances. Now there are three Thompsons with that distinction. Lexi spoke of her flip hopefully being an inspiration.
And then, five-plus hours after she began, Thompson marked her ball on the seventeenth inexperienced and picked it up, as darkness suspended play till Friday morning. She was finished. She was one-over par for her first spherical with a hole-plus to play, and she or he was tied for 76th in the 131-player area, 10 pictures behind chief Beau Hossler.
Noted. But how’d Thompson look? What have been the highlights? The lowlights? The numbers? The feedback?
What can we make of all of it?
Read on.
What have been Lexi Thompson’s highlights?
– The drives. On her very first drive on the PGA Tour, Thompson thumped it 302 yards. On the second gap, she despatched it 304. On the fourth gap, she pounded it 316 yards. On the thirteenth gap, she drilled it 310 yards. Those play.
– Reaching the 552-yard, par-5 ninth in two. This was nice. Thompson, from 262 yards out, discovered the inexperienced, and she two-putted for a four.
– Almost reaching the 598-yard, par-5 thirteenth in two. This was good. Thompson, from 279 yards out, dropped her second shot simply in entrance of the inexperienced, and she or he took pictures from there for another four.
– The first birdie. On the 466-yard, par-4 2nd, Thompson was flawless. Drive down the left aspect of the fairway. Iron, from 164 yards out, to 22 ft. And a birdie.
– The sunset shot. With the solar setting, Thompson dropped her third shot on the 511-yard, par-5 sixteenth to eight ft. She missed the birdie putt, although.
– Par saves. On the 194-yard, par-3 fifth and the 394-yard, par-4 tenth, Thompson rolled in 3-footers for par. On the 403-yard, par-4 sixth, she rolled in a 10-footer for par. Those helped.
What have been 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 seventh, she three-putted from 12 ft and double-bogeyed. On the 230-yard, par-3 eighth, from 24 ft away, she left a par putt 6 ft brief. Golf Channel analyst Curt Byrum mentioned he was confused at what occurred on that one.
2023 Shriners Children’s Open: How to observe, TV schedule, streaming, tee occasions
Kevin Cunningham
– The double bogey. On the seventh, after a drive into the left tough, Thompson labored her ball to simply in entrance of the inexperienced and 65 ft away. She took 4 pictures from there.
– The eighth gap. Thompson’s tee shot on the prolonged par-3 got here up about 30 yards brief.
– On the 195-year, par-3 seventeenth, the darkness horn sounded, however Thompson questionably elected to play — and she or he hit right into a proper greenside bunker after which hit out. She might have chosen to play the gap on Friday.
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 appear to be?
Here is the full breakdown:
Hole 1 419-yard par-4 (par):
Shot 1: 302 yards to the proper fairway bunker, 126 yards to the gap
Shot 2: 123 yards to the inexperienced, 8 ft, 7 inches to the gap
Shot 3: Putt 9 ft, 1 inches, 2 ft, 7 inches to the gap
Shot 4: In the gap
Hole 2 466-yard par-4 (birdie):
Shot 1: 304 yards to the left fairway, 164 yards to the gap
Shot 2: 162 yards to the inexperienced, 22 ft, 8 inches to the gap
Shot 3: In the gap
Hole 3 453-yard par-4 (bogey):
Shot 1: 270 yards to the left fairway, 175 yards to the gap
Shot 2: 179 yards to the left fairway, 37 ft, 9 inches to the gap
Shot 3: 45 ft, 2 inches to the inexperienced, 13 ft, 3 inches to the gap
Shot 4: Putt 12 ft, 3 inches, 13 inches to the gap
Shot 5: In the gap
Hole 4 449-yard par-4 (par):
Shot 1: 316 yards to proper fairway, 134 yards to the gap
Shot 2: 146 yards to the fringe, 53 ft, 2 inches to the gap
Shot 3: 51 ft, 4 inches to the inexperienced, 23 inches to the gap
Shot 4: In the gap
Hole 5 194-yard par-3 (par):
Shot 1: 192 yards to the inexperienced, 45 ft, 7 inches to the gap
Shot 2: Putt 42 ft, 6 inches, 3 ft, 1 inches to the gap
Shot 3: In the gap
Hole 6 403-yard par-4 (par):
Shot 1: 286 yards to the proper fairway, 118 yards to the gap
Shot 2: 132 yards to the left fairway, 44 ft, 8 inches to the gap
Shot 3: 55 ft, 0 inches to the inexperienced, 10 ft, 2 inches to the gap
Shot 4: In the gap
Hole 7 371-yard par-4 (double bogey):
Shot 1: 244 yards to the left tough, 115 yards to the gap
Shot 2: 116 yards to the proper fairway, 65 ft, 8 inches to the gap
Shot 3: 54 ft, 9 inches to the inexperienced, 12 ft, 11 inches to the gap
Shot 4: Putt 13 ft, 8 inches, 3 ft, 10 inches to the gap
Shot 5: Putt 5 ft, 1 inch, 16 inches to the gap
Shot 6: In the gap
Hole 8 230-yard par-3 (bogey):
Shot 1: 203 yards to the proper tough, 78 ft, 10 inches to the gap
Shot 2: 34 yards to the inexperienced, 24 ft, 0 inches to the gap
Shot 3: Putt 18 ft, 3 inches, 5 ft, 11 inches to the gap
Shot 4: In the gap
Hole 9 552-yard par-5 (birdie):
Shot 1: 292 yards to the left fairway, 262 yards to the gap
Shot 2: 255 yards to the inexperienced, 27 ft, 5 inches to gap
Shot 3: Putt 27 ft, 3 inches, 13 inches to gap
Shot 4: In the gap
Hole 10 394-yard par-4 (par):
Shot 1: 281 yards to the left tough, 124 yards to the gap
Shot 2: 140 yards to the inexperienced, 50 ft, 1 inch to the gap
Shot 3: Putt 47 ft, 11 inches, 3 ft, 9 inches to the gap
Shot 4: In the gap
Hole 11 445-yard par-4 (par):
Shot 1: 293 yards to the proper fairway, 164 yards to the gap
Shot 2: 152 yards to the inexperienced, 40 ft, 2 inches to the gap
Shot 3: Putt 42 ft, 2 inches, 2 ft, 8 inches to the gap
Shot 4: In the gap
Hole 12 449-yard par-4 (par):
Shot 1: 266 yards to the proper intermediate, 181 yards to the gap
Shot 2: 181 yards to the inexperienced, 8 ft, 4 inches to the gap
Shot 3: Putt 11 ft, 7 inches, 3 ft, 2 inches to the gap
Shot 4: In the gap
Hole 13 598-yard par-5 (birdie):
Shot 1: 310 yards to the left fairway, 279 yards to the gap
Shot 2: 256 yards to the left fairway, 78 ft, 9 inches to the gap
Shot 3: 83 ft, 0 inches to the inexperienced, 7 ft, 3 inches to the gap
Shot 4: In the gap
Hole 14 167-yard par-3 (par):
Shot 1: 174 yards to the inexperienced, 27 ft, 9 inches to the gap
Shot 2: Putt 29 ft, 5 inches, 16 inches to the gap
Shot 3: In the gap
Hole 15 307-yard par-4 (par):
Shot 1: 267 yards to the proper entrance greenside bunker, 48 yards to the gap
Shot 2: 34 yards to the inexperienced, 43 ft, 2 inches to the gap
Shot 3: Putt 38 ft, 9 inches, 4 ft, 5 inches to the gap
Shot 4: In the gap
Hole 16 511-yard par-5 (par):
Shot 1: 270 yards to the proper tough, 229 yards to the gap
Shot 2: 88 yards to the proper fairway, 149 yards to the gap
Shot 3: 150 yards to the inexperienced, 8 ft, 7 inches to the gap
Shot 4: Putt 9 ft, 4 inches, 5 inches to the gap
Shot 5: In the gap
Hole 17 195-yard par-3 (to be continued):
Shot 1: 179 yards to the proper entrance greenside bunker, 82 ft, 7 inches to the gap
Shot 2: 61 ft, 11 inches to the inexperienced, 20 ft, 8 inches to the gap
What have been Lexi Thompson’s stats?
Here is the full breakdown:
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee: -1.252 (a hundred and tenth)
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 (thirty fourth)
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 ft, 10 inches.
SG: Total: -1.381 (T94th)
What did Lexi Thompson say after her spherical?
A sampling of quotes from Thompson after her spherical:
“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 mentioned. “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 execs performed with Lexi Thompson. What’d they suppose?
Dylan Dethier
“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 mentioned. “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 mentioned. “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 spherical?
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 stunning PGA Tour invitation got here to be
Alan Bastable
It all got here collectively — about two weeks in the past. GOLF’s Alan Bastable reached out to match director Patrick Lindsay, and Lindsay additionally talked about the considered whether or not Thompson’s sponsor’s invitation was taking a spot of a professional who may have it.
You can learn that story right here.
Was Lexi Thompson’s locker room … an RV?
Yes, in line with a narrative written by Golfweek’s Tim Schmitt.
You can read that story here.
Do you will have any photographs of Lexi Thompson’s spherical?
You wager. Have a have a look at the slider under.
What’s your opinion on Lexi Thompson taking part in on the PGA Tour?
She’s earned the alternative to play. Her resume speaks to that. As does her reputation.
And she performed nicely. She might make the lower. A run will not be out of the query.
Let’s transfer on.
What’s subsequent for Lexi Thompson?
She’ll end her first spherical Friday morning, after which she’s scheduled to start out her second spherical at 11:29 a.m. ET off of gap 10.
Thompson should go beneath par to make the lower, however that’s doable.
“Yeah, I played decent,” she mentioned after her spherical. “I had one bad hole and a few iffy shots. But it’s golf; it was kind of expected.”
