PNC is proud to partner with the Ladies Professional Golf Association to celebrate family and recognize players for their achievements. The year-long campaigns featuring #PNCCelebrateFamily and #PNCAchiever will also include a series of events bringing female leaders and influencers together with LPGA leadership. PNC and the LPGA share common values that reflect a deep appreciation for family and a continuous pursuit of personal accomplishment.
There’s just something about a wagging tail or a wet nose that can make a day of missed putts disappear in a hurry.
And nobody knows that better than members of the LPGA Tour who now travel with pets. Even when they can’t take their furry friends with them on the road, players often admit the family members they look forward to seeing the most is that special friend waiting at home who could care less what they shot in tournament competition.
Brittany Lincicome, a 13-year LPGA Tour veteran who lives in Florida, has a 140-pound Rottweiler named Major and a six-ounce pet sugar glider named Nibbles. Her pets don’t currently travel with her, although Nibbles -- a tiny marsupial that is native to Australia – sometimes rides around in a zippered pouch while Lincicome is home doing chores around the house.
“Major is more a part of the family since he is 7 years old and has been around a long time,” said Lincicome, who has won seven LPGA tournaments, including two majors at the 2009 Kraft Nabisco Championship and 2015 ANA Inspiration, as well as the 2017 season-opening Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Class“Most days, he lives with my parents since I travel so much and Nibbles stays with my husband at our house in her huge cage,” she added.“Major is more a part of the family since he is 7 years old and has been around a long time,” said Lincicome, who has won seven LPGA tournaments, including two majors at the 2009 Kraft Nabisco Championship and 2015 ANA Inspiration, as well as the 2017 season-opening Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic.
“Most days, he lives with my parents since I travel so much and Nibbles stays with my husband at our house in her huge cage,” she added.
Lincicome says her pet pals “are awesome and super-fun in two very different ways.” Major, for example, is mostly a “couch potato” and enjoys a good game of tug-of-war with his pet toys. Nibbles the marsupial is nocturnal, but Lincicome admits she “wakes her up all the time because I can’t stand not to hold her.”
Danielle Kang, who has posted five top-10 finishes this year, including her career-first LPGA win at the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, has a best-buddy pug named Booda. The sixth-year LPGA Tour member is so crazy about her spunky little dog that she created an Instagram account for him at @boodakang.
“Booda is my baby,” said Kang, who will be a rookie on Team USA’s Solheim Cup team later this month in Iowa with Lincicome, competing in her sixth event.
"Obviously, many people say that about their dog, but you can’t help but just love him,” added Kang. “He is family – one of the Kangs!”
Booda typically travels with his touring-pro mom during the LPGA’s West Coast swing when they can pack into a car and drive to tournaments. When she has to travel abroad or to parts of the country too far away to drive, Booda stays with his neighbor-mom, Rita Morgan, who cares for him until Kang returns home.
It was Kang’s idea to create an Instagram account for Booda, but the player admits sometimes “it’s difficult to keep up” with the account, especially when her travel schedule gets busy. While she’s on the road, Kang’s mother pitches in and tries to help Booda manage his account and respond to his many online admirers.
Pet-loving players often pose with their furry family members in social media and make no bones about how they feel toward their pet pals, who offer unconditional love regardless of tournament outcomes.
Missed putts? No problem when there’s a fuzzy face waiting. Missed cuts? Maybe “Mom” can sneak home early for a day or so to snuggle.
Take a look at some other LPGA players and their pets:
Michelle Wie – winner of four career victories, including the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open Championship, Wie has posted 7 top-10s this year, including a tie for third at the Ricoh Women’s British Open. The apple of her eye is Lolabear ...
Jaye Marie Green – a fourth-year LPGA Tour member, Green’s season-best finish has been a tie for seventh at the 2017 ShopRite LPGA Classic. When she’s away, she misses Bear ...
Sandra Gal – a 10-year LPGA Tour member and an LPGA tournament winner, Gal has posted 24 career top-10 finishes and a season-best tie for ninth at Citibanamex Lorena Ochoa Match Play. Her heart belongs to Emi ...
In-Kyung Kim – a seven-time LPGA Tour winner, including champion of the recent 2017 Ricoh Women’s British Open, Kim loves being reunited with Pooh ...
Minjee Lee – a third-year pro and three-time LPGA Tour winner, Lee has posted seven top-10s this year, including a season-best tie for third at ANA Inspiration. The best part of going home is seeing her dog ...
Gerina Piller – a seventh-year LPGA Tour member with 35 career top-10 finishes and four top-10s in 2017, Piller can’t wait to get home to Texas to take pooch-pal Paisley for a ride in the car ...
Mel Reid – a 2017 LPGA rookie from Great Britain who won five times on the Ladies European Tour, Reid chips in the backyard under the watchful eye of her dog on her weeks away from the Tour ...
Juli Inkster – an LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member, two-time U.S. Team Solheim Cup Captain (including 2017) and winner of 31 tournaments, including seven major championships, Inkster still juggles competing on the LPGA Tour and Legends Tour, working as a Fox Sports golf commentator, and serving as a wife, mom, and dog-mom ...
Austin Ernst – the 2011 individual NCAA Championship winner from Louisiana State University, Ernst is a fifth-year LPGA Tour member and winner of the LPGA’s 2014 Portland Classic. When she’s not on tour, you’ll find Ernst and her pooch taking a spin on a lake ...
Inbee Park – an LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member, Park has been busy winning 18 times on the LPGA Tour, with seven major championships and this year’s HSBC Women’s Champions event. Gold medalist in women’s golf at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the champion from South Korea celebrated her medal with the addition of Rio to her family ...
Cheyenne Woods – a third-year LPGA Tour member, Woods recorded a career-best tie for sixth at the 2016 Cambia Portland Classic. Whenever she goes home, there’s a furry face waiting ...
Caroline Masson – a fifth-year LPGA Tour member from Germany, Masson is the winner of the 2016 Manulife LPGA Classic. She posted a season-best finish tie for third at the 2017 Ricoh Women’s British Open. And whenever she goes home, there’s plenty of catching up to do with her dog ...
Lexi Thompson – a sixth-year Tour member with eight career victories, Thompson has recorded eight top-10 finishes in 2017, including a win at the Kingsmill Championship. On her weeks at home in Florida, you will find her snuggling with a pair of kitty brothers who coach their mom on the fine art of napping ...
Ryann O’Toole – a seventh-year LPGA Tour member with a season-best tie for seventh at the 2017 Kingsmill Championship, Californian O’Toole won twice on the Epson Tour and finished ninth at the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open, but none of that matters when she gets home to her English golden retriever and golden doodle. All they know is, it’s time for biscuits ...
Sung Hyun Park – an LPGA rookie with six top-10 finishes, including her first LPGA win at the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open, Park has had quite a season. She won seven times on the Korean LPGA before heading to the United States, but she will tell you that what she loves more than anything is spending time with her dog, “Da-on,” every chance she gets
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