NASSAU – It was a record-breaking day at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.
Friday at Ocean Club Golf Course, first round leader Brittany Lincicome posted an eight-under par, 65 to set a new 36-hole Tournament scoring record of 129. It shatters the previous record set by Jessica Korda in 2014 by six-strokes. Lincicome heads into the weekend with a one-stroke lead at 17-under par, ahead of Lexi Thompson who shattered a few records of her own on Friday. Thompson posted a career low 12-under par, 61 - a new course and Tournament scoring record.
“The way it's been going the last two days, the putter has been making everything, which is obviously really fun, so if I can keep that up then it could be good on Sunday,” Lincicome told the media. “I'm just playing well, and still made everything today. Putter is on point right now, and it's exciting to see.”
Lincicome followed her opening round 64 with a 65 on Friday, which included her sixth career hole-in-one. The ace came at the par three, 12th hole where she holed a 7-iron from 161 yards.
“When it went in I was like, do I jump up and down or do I just wave my arms? There are so many thoughts that went through my head, but obviously it's pretty fun,” Lincicome said. “I didn't feel like I hit the greatest shot, but got way with it and pretty impressive.”
Click here to watch Lincicome's hole-in-one.
Click here to watch Lincicome's post-round interview.
Thompson’s 61 was the first 12-under par round on a par 73 in LPGA Tour history. Eight players have carded 11-under par rounds on par 71, 72 and 73 courses. Annika Sorenstam holds the record of 13-under par when she carded a 59 in 2001 at the Standard Register PING on a par 72. The elusive number did cross Thompson’s mind during the round but said she knew it would be tough to accomplish on the par 73 track.
“I thought about it, but I just wanted to keep on playing my own game and see where it goes,” Thompson told the media. “I was just pin seeking the whole day. I was just trying to stay with my routine and have good tempo with my golf swing. That's just all I've been working on.”
Thompson’s previous low round was a 63, which she recorded in the second round of the 2013 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia where she won her second title on the LPGA Tour.
Click here to watch highlights from Thompson’s record round.
Click here to watch Thompson's post-round interview.
A continued growth in confidence propelled Piller up the leaderboard on Friday. The world No.19 followed an opening round 67 with an eight-under par, 65 on day two for her lowest round in this event.
“I've really been focusing on trusting my line and trusting my speed, trusting my stroke,” Piller said. “I feel like in my golf game, the long game tee to green I'm a feel player and it seems like my tendency to get on the greens, I kind of lock down and kind of get very mechanical. So really just focusing on really trusting what I have and trusting the line, speed that I choose.”
The 2010 rookie is in the hunt for her first career win. Piller finished in the top-10 nine times last season. In an effort to improve her wellbeing and her golf, she began hitting the gym during the off-season and changed her diet – and she’s seeing results.
“I've been in the gym and it's paid off and it's nice to see that it has paid off,” Piller told the media. “I came back and did some driver testing before I came out here back in Texas and I didn't feel as rusty as I normally do because I did take the whole month of December off. I didn’t touch a club I don't even look at them. It's a huge change for me, but I feel like it's very positive.”
Click here to watch Piller’s post-round interview.
2016 was a busy season for Lewis who qualified for the Olympics and also got married the same month. With a lighter schedule this season, the major champion is working on simplifying her game in hopes of returning to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2014.
“I think last year a lot was the Olympics of you're constantly looking at the world rankings, you're looking where you finish, you're looking at your score, you're looking at your score compared to everybody else, you're looking at what everybody else is shooting instead of worrying about hitting golf shots,” Lewis told the media. “That's what I've always done good is just got out there and try to get better and not worry about what that final number is and don't look at what anybody else is doing, just go play that golf course. That's what got me to No. 1 and all those wins and I think that's what should get me back on track.”
Several notables failed to make the cut this week in the Bahamas. The cut line fell at two-under par, sending home Paula Creamer and Charley Hull at one-under par, Michelle Wie at one-over par and rookie Madelene Sagstrom at 11-over par.
Click here for complete scores from the second round of the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.
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