United States Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis showed up and showed out on the first day of the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play presented by MGM Rewards, defeating Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh, 2 up, on Wednesday at Shadow Creek. Dryburgh took an early 1-up lead with a birdie on the par-5 fourth and Lewis responded quickly with a birdie on the par-3 fifth to tie the match. A Lewis eagle on No. 7 gave her a 1-up lead, which she held for two holes until Dryburgh parred the 10th to once again pull into a tie. Lewis got back to 1 up with a birdie on hole 12, but Dryburgh flipped the match, winning the next two holes to move to 1 up with four to play.
The par-4 15th proved to be critical for Lewis, who made a “super-fast downhiller” to save par and tie the match with three to play, and she closed out the match with a par on 17 and a birdie on 18 to win, 2 up.
“I just told my caddie I was happy that I got the win because I felt like I played really good today, so would've been disappointing to not get a win. Pulled off a couple really good shots there at the end of the match. It was crazy though. I think I was 4-under at one point and I was only 1 up through nine holes. It was just that kind of match where we were going back and forth,” said Lewis of her victory. “We halved holes with birdies, and Gemma made some really good ups and downs. Fifteen was huge just to get the momentum back. We both unfortunately made a mess of 16. But pulled it out at the end.”
The 38-year-old struggled a bit in 2022, missing eight cuts, but has found some form so far this year. She has recorded four top-25 finishes, including a T7 that came at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain, and has one missed cut at The Chevron Championship. While being Solheim Cup captain and still trying to compete week in and week out on the LPGA Tour has certainly has its challenges, the highlight of Lewis’ 2023 season will certainly be leading the United States team at Finca Cortesin in September. Even though she’s got her own game to worry about, her mind never stops thinking ahead to Spain.
“I'm watching for sure. It's not a live-or-die thing,” said Lewis of keeping an eye on Solheim Cup hopefuls. “If they happen to lose some matches it's not a big deal. I want to see some fight out of them. If they get down, I want to see if they can come back. I'm looking more at that than the result of the match. I think it's great experience to get to play match play. We have our team, the Dow team event, but it's stroke play so it's just very different than the match play. I love that we have a number of Americans playing and it's a great thing.”
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