BIRMINGHAM, Ala – Brittany Lincicome will soon be teeing it up on the PGA Tour.
Friday, Golf World was the first to report that Lincicome will receive a sponsor’s exemption into the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship July 19-22. The news broke while Lincicome was in the midst of her second round at Shoal Creek, which was a surprise to her when after the round she checked her cell phone and discovered the news had leaked. She was happy to confirm the news and her intention to join the field at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholsville, Ky.
“I think we'll go into it having fun and try not to put too much pressure on myself,” said Lincicome. “Obviously it's a whole different ball game. I'm not trying to compete with the guys or prove anything. I've always thought it would be cool to go try.”
The two-time major champion joins a short list of players to compete on the PGA Tour, which includes Michelle Wie, Annika Sorenstam, Babe Zaharias and Suzy Whaley. Wie was the last to compete on the PGA Tour in 2008. Like Sorenstam, who spoke openly about the nerves she felt on the first tee at Colonial in 2003, Lincicome is already feeling anxious about the experience.
“I'm already nervous,” said Lincicome “I feel like every time I walk by one of those guys they are going to look at me like, ‘Why the heck are you here?’ What are you doing here kind of a look. Hopefully they are really nice.”
Two weeks ago, Tom Murray, CEO of Perio, the parent company of Barbasol and Pure-Silk, who is a long-time sponsor of Lincicome’s, approached her with the idea.
“I was like, 'I've actually never thought about it that intensively.' My agent came to me, we talked about it. I said, ‘If the Tours think it's okay and there is really no negative side to it, I guess the worse I could do is miss the cut.’”
This won’t be the first time Lincicome will compete amongst the men. During the last two years, the eight-time LPGA Tour winner competed on the PGA Tour Champions at the Diamond Resorts Invitational.
The Barbasol Championship is an opposite field event on the PGA Tour, with many of the top-ranked players competing that same weekend at the Open Championship. The LPGA Tour is off that week.
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