Shanshan Feng is making her 247th LPGA career start this week. It’s the first time she’s teeing it up in Oneida, and the savvy veteran carded a 64 in her first 18-hole round at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.
She came up with her approach over two nine-hole practice rounds before tournament play began.
“This is a course where you want to go forward. I think it’s a course where you can get on all the Par 5s in two.”
The former Rolex Women’s World Ranking No. 1 reviewed past scores to have an understanding of the numbers most players shoot out here.
“I looked up the scores last year. 31-under was the winning score, so I knew that it was going to be a birdie, even eagle challenges contest.”
Her focus during her practice rounds was to ensure she chipped and putted at every green. Feng hit 15 greens in regulation and got up and down twice for only one bogey on the day. Her flat stick was consistent, posting 27 putts over her opening 18.
Feng also identified the holes to attack.
She had two eagles on the par 5’s, including holing out at the 13th, totaling six-under on the day over the four par 5s Thornberry Creek presents.
The nine-time LPGA winner reached three of them in two and took the luck the course gave her, holing out on 13 from 40 yards away for eagle.
“After I hit it, I knew the ball landed on top and I thought it was going past the hole. Suddenly it disappeared. It was like oh, it went in. I keep seeing the other girls doing it, and I was glad to join them.”
It all added up the 12th 64 Feng has carded in her career. It's her third this season, and the strong result puts her near the top of the leaderboard at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.
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