All the attention leading into this week was on the youngsters – Rolex World Golf Rankings No. 1 Lydia Ko (18) and 17-year-old Brooke Henderson, who just finished in solo third a week ago – but at the conclusion of the first round, everyone was staring up at two veterans – Juli Inkster and Cristie Kerr – who have a combined 48 wins and nine major championships amongst them.

Inkster, Kerr, and Sydnee Michaels all fired 5-under-par 66s on Thursday to take a one-shot lead at the Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout Presented by JTBC.

Inkster, the 2015 United States Solheim Cup Captain, has had a string of impressive first rounds recently. She was just two back after the first round at the ANA

Inspiration after a 3-under 69 and was just one shot back after the first round last week at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic Presented by CTBC. She ultimately finished in a tie for 64th and a tie for 15th, respectively, but has certainly seen her game trending in the right direction.

“I’ve been playing pretty good,” Inkster said. “I’ve been trying to slowly by slowly get a little confidence back in my game, and even last week, I didn’t play too bad on Friday and Saturday, it was just tough conditions.” Kerr, after winning a month ago at the Kia Classic, didn’t arrive feeling the same about her game. Since her win, she’d been frustrated with consecutive finishes of T41, T7 and T18.

“I saw my coach this week,” Kerr said. “I had struggled with my ball-striking the last couple weeks, and it was nice to hit some really pure shots out there today.”

Michaels went out in the last group of the day and posted a bogey-free round with a birdie at the par-3 17th to jump into the group with Inkster and Kerr.

“I just hit a lot of good shots, and I made a few good putts in the beginning,” Michaels said. “I just felt really confident today.”

It’s a crowded leaderboard at the top, though, with 10 players – Lexi Thompson, Karine Icher, Angela Stanford, Sandra Gal, Gerina Piller, Wei-Ling Hsu, Alena Sharp, Maria Hernandez, Ryann O’Toole, and Natalie Gulbis - all just one shot back of the co-leaders. As a result, Inkster’s not getting ahead of herself of thinking she could best Beth Daniel by a little more than eight years as the oldest winner on the LPGA Tour.

“I’m not really looking forward to winning,” Inkster said. “I mean, I’ve played good at first rounds and really haven’t played good my second rounds, so I’m looking forward to going out there. I drove the ball really well today and hit a lot of good iron shots, so that’s what I’m looking forward to doing tomorrow, and add them up and see how I’m doing.”

Tree Climbing Ko-Nonundrum

Lydia Ko hit her second shot into the 14th hole well over the back right of the green and was left with two options for her approach – over or under the large tree protecting the green. She chose the former and her lob shot decided to not only hit the tree but stick around for a while. Her caddie, Jason Hamilton, went to retrieve it, taking a lift from a
fellow caddie to propel himself up the limbs. Despite three to four minutes of shaking of the branch, Ko’s ball never came down and a triple bogey ensued. A double bogey followed at the 15th after Ko dumped it into the water, and suddenly a 2-under-par round was down to 3-over-par and Ko finished with a disappointing 4-over-par 75 after winning a week ago at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic Presented by CTBC.

“Those two holes I was 5-over-par, so what can you do?” Ko said. “I was going to hit it over that tree, I would have never imagined for it to be stuck up there. Yeah, you just get those days where the things that you least expect happens. Can’t do much. On the next hole I didn’t really hit a good tee shot, and then it’s kind of tough when you’re hitting out of the rough trying to get over water, and I put myself in the worst position for there. Just those two holes, it was tough.”

Ko’s streak of 50 consecutive made cuts may now be in serious jeopardy, but Ko did leave impressed with her caddie’s agility.

“I didn’t know he was that good at climbing trees and monkey bars, so he must have done that when he was in elementary school,” Ko said, “but that’s a while ago, too. It’s good to know that my caddie is always there to support me and to do what’s best for me. At the end of the day he didn’t really need to go up the tree.”

Hamilton had a problem, though, when he got up there. The caddie-propelled shove up had left him in a higher spot than he had imagined and with a bit of a conundrum as to how to get down. He looked down for a second and went for it, completing the tree conquest without injury.

“It was a little hairy,” Hamilton said. “Once I was up there, I didn’t think about getting down until I was up there. I just had to figure it out on the fly.”

Only once before had Hamilton had a player hit it in a tree and it not come down. That was in Palm Springs, though, and he said he wasn’t about to go up the spiky palm tree it had nestled in. But he did this time.

“I haven’t got up that high before,” he said with a laugh. “That was probably a new record for me. I’m too old for climbing trees.

“I was hanging on pretty tight. I didn’t want to fall out.”

LPGA EXPLANATION ON LYDIA KO RULING ON NO. 14

The officials involved in the ruling with Lydia Ko today on the 14th hole referenced Decision 27/12 to support their ruling. Due to the fact that it was roughly a 30-yard shot, the spectators were able to see Lydia’s ball from start to finish and therefore provided indisputable evidence that the ball in the tree was indeed Lydia’s ball. Therefore the ball did not need to be identified as it was never lost. The USGA confirmed that in a situation where observers indisputably saw the player’s ball in motion come to rest in a specific location at which the ball remains visible, the ball has been identified as the player’s ball. Thus, since the ball in the tree was deemed as Lydia’s ball, she was then able to proceed under Rule 28 – Ball Unplayable.

Decision 27/12: Identification of Ball Through Testimony of Spectator

Q. A’s ball and B’s ball came to rest close together. Neither A nor B could identify one of the balls as his ball because they were using balls with identical markings. A spectator who saw both shots land was able to state which ball belonged to A and which one belonged to B. May his testimony be accepted, or should both balls be deemed lost because they could not be identified by A and B?

A. If the Committee determined that, based on information given by the spectator, A and B were able to identify their balls, the balls should not be deemed lost. Otherwise, they would have to proceed under Rule 27-1.

Gulbis Back But Not For Long

A familiar face headed into the clubhouse Thursday towards the top of the leaderboard at 4-under-par. Tour veteran, Natalie Gulbis, has been in and out of competition battling a hip injury, but is finally back in action this year.

“I feel great,” Gulbis said. “I spend a lot of time in physical therapy, and – almost still, all the time, but I feel good now.”

Gulbis shot a 67 and just missed a birdie on her 18th that would have left her tied for the lead with Cristie Kerr and Juli Inkster. Although Gulbis is back to being a strong competitor on Tour, she is not sure how long she will be out here.

“Until I have kids,” Gulbis said. “So hopefully I have kids sooner than later, but at least through this year.”

Co-leaders Inkster and Kerr have continued to play on Tour after having children and when asked if it provides motivation for Gulbis to start a family while on Tour she didn’t hesitate to admire them.

“Juli is awesome,” Gulbis said. “She’s an anomaly though…but I think that’s what’s cool about golf is you can have so many different generations competing and can play.”

Inkster’s ability to balance family and the Tour’s season didn’t seem to sway Gulbis’ view on whether she will be out on Tour after having kids in the future.

“No, I don’t think so,” Gulbis said. “Maybe coming back out to cheer for the younger players.”

Inkster - Playing Captain?

When Juli Inkster heads towards the scorer’s tent, she typically shoots a glance towards the leaderboard by the green. She’s not looking to see where she stands. Instead, the 2015 United States Solheim Cup Captain is looking to see where her girls are at. What she saw Thursday was a leaderboard to her liking with seven American flags besides her own within a shot of the lead.

“I look at the American flags and see who’s up there and see who’s playing well,” Inkster said. “The last four or five weeks, a lot of people have made a big move and have been playing some really good golf, so that’s fun to watch. Those last four spots are pretty wide open. Every round, every shot really means a lot.”

It’s got her thinking that maybe she should take former President Bush and the former First Lady Laura Bush with her to Germany after members fighting to be on the team had dinner with them on Monday night – a trip Inkster called “probably one of the top three things I’ve ever done.”

“Everybody got on the bus when we were going home, and I could see it in their eyes that they also felt that it was a really special occasion,” Inkster said. “Something that you maybe only get to do once in your lifetime.”

While the red, white and blue themed leaderboard Thursday has Inkster with grand visions of who she might be able to talk into coming to Germany, her 5-under-66 on Thursday doesn’t have her thinking that playing captain at the Solheim Cup is in the cards.

“No, I look at my cards,” Inkster said when asked. I’ve got a lot of great American flags up on that leaderboard, so I think they’ll be able to do a job for me.”

GET YOUR MIND RIGHT!

Rolex World Rankings No. 11 Lexi Thompson came out strong for the first round of the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout Presented by JTBC. The 20-year-old shot 4-under-par (67) Thursday to join the group of players tied for
second.

The course at Las Colinas Country Club is suited for the long-driver and Thompson’s game matches up well with the course. But it was not her driving distance that Thompson credits her 4-under-par round to, she credits her mindset.

“Overall just a very steady round,” Thompson said. “Very happy with the way I stayed positive.”

Having a strong mental game is just as important as your distance out on the course and Thompson knew that she needed to make a few tweaks in order to get back on towards the top of the leaderboard. The 2014 ANA Inspiration Champion has been focusing on her mindset on the course and looks to see how it will pan out.

“Not getting ahead of myself,” Thompson said. “Focusing on doing my routine, I’ve been working on the mental side of the game with John Denney there in South Florida, so we’ll see where it goes.”

Feeling at Home on the Greens

All week long the players have been talking about the great conditions of the greens at Las Colinas Country Club and players were able to take advantage of the greens Thursday to jump towards the top of the leaderboard.

Co-leader and Fort Worth resident, Gerina Piller, was able to drop a few more putts and credited her short game for her positive momentum.

“I’ve been working hard on my putting,” Piller said. “You know how it is with putting, you get that rock rolling, and that’s kind of where it all starts.”

Another Texas native and Tour veteran, Angela Stanford, was able to use her putting to propel her first round, finishing with a birdie on 18 and tallying up only 26 putts for the day.

“My putter was hot today for some reason,” Stanford said. “so that was fun. It’s always fun to watch the ball go in the hole…it’s nice to have days like that to make you believe in what you’re doing.”

The short game seemed to be the difference Thursday as players made their way to the clubhouse. Defending Champ, Stacy Lewis, sits three shots back from the lead and after a brief struggle with her putting on the front nine, Lewis was able to get back on track.

“The greens have been rolling great all week,” Lewis said. “That hasn’t been an issue, so you have no excuse for not making putts.”

Numbers to Know

8 - Eight Americans among the top 13 of the leaderboard

10 - Number of players one shot back of the lead

48 - Combined wins of Juli Inkster and Cristie Kerr, two of the three co-leaders.

50 - Lydia Ko has made 50 consecutive cuts on the LPGA Tour

68 - Michelle Wie’s 3-under 68 is her best opening round score of the year

2011 - The last time Juli Inkster held a share of the first round lead came at the 2011 Lorena Ochoa Invitational

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Cristie Kerr, Juli Inkster, and Sydnee Michaels Lead the Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout Presented by JTBC

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