As long as Brittany Lincicome can catch a lucky break with the weather and her health, she is almost certain to be a factor at this week’s ANA Inspiration on a layout she loved the very first time she saw it.
the 6,671-yard Dinah Shore Course at Mission Hills Country Club sets up well for long hitters and Lincicome, one of the biggest bombers on the LPGA Tour, licks her lips whenever she tees it up for the first major championship of the year.
She tied for second on her debut at the event in 2006 and went on to win the prestigious title twice (in 2009 and 2015) to enhance her status as one of the best players in the game.
"It's a long hitter's course so obviously if I can drive the ball straight, it gives me even more of an advantage,” Lincicome told LPGA.com about her comfort factor at Mission Hills.
“And even if I hit it in the rough, it's not a big deal because I will be further down there and will only have a shorter iron into the green. You can kind of bomb it out there, which I love.
“Last week at the Kia Classic, I only got to hit three drivers a day the whole tournament so that kind of takes me out of it a little bit. When I can hit driver, it's more to my strength.”
Lincicome, a seven-time winner on the LPGA Tour, loves everything about the ANA Inspiration – from the beauty of the venue in the California desert to the tradition of the eventual champion making the leap into Poppie’s Pond beside the 18th green.
"When you drive in the gates, the flowers are always in bloom and the course is always so pretty,” she said. “There is just something about this place and the history of this event, and obviously the jump in Poppie's Pond.
“I always thought that would be really cool to do early in my career when I first came here and I got to see that happening. That got my attention for sure. I had seen it on TV. It's cool to have some extra thing at an event that most tournaments don't have - it makes it a little bit more special.”
MAKING A SPLASH
Lincicome has already made a splash of a different kind on the LPGA Tour this year, winning the season-opening Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, but she could end up being on the wrong side of the draw at the ANA Inspiration.
The 31-year-old American will tee off in the afternoon wave for the opening round when high winds are expected to blow across the Coachella Valley with gusts of up to 60 mph.
“You've just got to out and play, somewhere around even par will be a great score,” Lincicome smiled. “Take it one hole at a time. There's nothing I can do about it … just really bad luck of the draw. Hopefully I will get out of there alive.”
Lincicome is also hoping that she can shrug off troublesome neck pain before she starts the opening round at Mission Hills.
"I've been having some neck issues … I can't really look left,” she said, before adding that she first experienced the neck pain on Tuesday. “I played a practice round and I didn't go to the range, which I do all the time.
“I just didn't want to have to go all the way back over there so I teed up three drives on (hole) one and the third drive that I hit I just felt like something went wrong.
“I literally couldn't look left so the doctor called me in some stuff and I've kind of got tape everywhere. I just hope that it will be fine. I'm sure the medicine will help."
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