Regardless of what happened on the course at the Shriners Children’s Open, Lexi Thompson made history just by teeing it up on Thursday morning. She was only the seventh woman to ever play in a PGA Tour event, adding her name to a list that includes prominent players such as Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie.
However, Thompson appeared to be on the verge of joining a much smaller list of women who made the cut with only five holes left on Friday. The legendary multi-sport athlete Babe Didrikson Zaharias, who made two cuts in 1945, was the only golfer listed in the ledger. But Thompson was going to fall short after making bogeys on her 14th and 17th holes, both par 3, on Friday afternoon at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.
The projected cut line remained at one under when Thompson, 28, tapped in for par on hole 18 after shooting a final round of two under par. This followed an opening round of 73. A little over an hour later, it changed to
Thompson’s parents greeted her on the 18th green and minutes later she was proud of the whole situation.
“It’s an amazing feeling… just being able to come here and make my dream come true,” she said. “That’s what I wanted to do, to play against my brothers growing up, all the guys were very friendly, so I’m very grateful for that. But the most important thing was to be there, meet the kids and meet some of the players.” So do the Shriners. That’s the whole story.”
If she doesn’t achieve her goals in the course, it’s not because of a lack of trying. Thompson started the second round on the back nine, making bogey on 10, but quickly recovered with a great approach shot on 11 from 152 yards, making for an easy birdie.
At the par-5 13th, she continued her 314-yard drive with her second shot stopping on the fringe, resulting in a two-putt birdie. Two holes later, on the 296-yard par-4 15th, she exerted power that had her nearly ahead of the rest of the field off the tee in Friday’s first wave and into lawn side.
Another two-putt birdie moved her into second place on the day and she completed her front nine with a trio of stress-free pars. The highlight of Thompson’s round came when she made the turn, when she hit the longest putt of the day to that point at No. 1, a 23-footer that put her down. location below.
One hole later, the putter was still hot and she knocked in a 28-foot birdie that, when it fell, tied Thompson into second place and gave her a legitimate chance to play par golf all the way road and pass through the cutting circle. However, after two more pars, Thompson pushed his tee shot on the long par-3 fifth hole to the right and forced a penalty shot. She recovered impressively, hitting her third after falling 5 feet and saving bogey. But on the next par-3 eighth hole, her tee shot sailed over the green and she left her chip 11 feet short. (It’s possible she could have pitched without sprinklers getting in her way.) Thompson missed the par putt to tie the tournament, and while she gave herself a chance to get one under in the The par-5 ninth, she couldn’t convert her 6-foot birdie attempt.
“I knew this golf course could play very firm and the greens could be very bouncy, so I was expecting that,” Thompson said. “But I have to play – even with wedges – with about 5 to 7 feet of bounce, and that’s unusual for a golfer from Florida. That’s something you have to get used to.”
“It was fun to watch,” said co-star Trevor Werbylo. “We were cheering her on the last holes to maybe make a birdie or two to qualify, but it was fun. She was great, her game was great and the crowd also great.”
A chorus of other players praised Thompson’s efforts Friday, including Cameron Champ, who led at minus-12 when Thompson finished.
It’s a lot longer, maybe the conditions are a little different than what they play,” Champ said. “And yeah, I just think for women’s soccer, it’s just inspiring to other young girls who are watching it’s just to help develop the game. . I really think it’s huge. “
Thompson admits she sometimes feels moved by the gallery’s enthusiastic support.
It was the best feeling to see so many kids screaming, “Lexi, Lexi, come on Lexi!” “, she speaks. “Sometimes it makes me cry, because that’s why I play, to inspire little kids, boys or girls, to pick up a stick and follow their dreams, for whether it’s golf or anything in life.
“I’m tired,” Thompson added, summing up his physical condition. “My body definitely feels it, but knowing me, I’ll probably go to the gym this afternoon.”