Thitikul Dominates KPMG Women’s PGA: Thompson on the Hunt

Lexi Thompson Seeks to Revive Her Glory at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

FRISCO, Texas – Semi-retired golfer Lexi Thompson is in contention for her first major title in over a decade at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Meanwhile, Jeeno Thitikul extended her lead on Friday. Thitikul, the world’s number 2 player, finished a six-hour round on Friday with consecutive birdies for a 70 (-2), reaching a total of 138 (-6). She leads by three strokes over Rio Takeda (71) and Minjee Lee (72), and by four over Thompson (70) after another hot day at the Fields Ranch East course in PGA Frisco.

“To be honest, I didn’t think it was going to be such a good result,” said Thitikul, 22, who is seeking her first major victory. “Especially today I told my coach, ‘If anyone can play under par today, that player will be really great.’ I’m playing 2 under par and I thought, ‘Wow!'”

Jeeno Thitikul

With temperatures exceeding 100 degrees and the constant Texas wind, only seven of the 156 players who started the third major of the season were under par after two rounds. There have been no bogey-free rounds this week. After the first round, when Thitikul’s 68 put her one stroke ahead of Lee, there were 15 players under par. Thitikul, with five victories, shared a group with Nelly Korda, whose only birdie of the Friday came in the last three holes. Korda had a 74 and is 2 over par for the week. Although Thompson no longer plays full-time, he continues to practice and work on his game when he is at home.

“Every time I play, I want to compete and win. I just want to make sure I’m fully ready every time I play,” Thompson said. “It gives me more peace of mind knowing that I’m not playing full-time, competing week in and week out, and looking forward to the weeks off.”

Lexi Thompson

After a par round on Thursday, Thompson had no bogeys in the second round until his approach on the 18th hole ended up in the bunker. Thompson, 30, who said last year that this would be his last full-time season, is in his seventh tournament this season, including the three majors so far. He indicated that he will play next week at the Dow Championship in Michigan before “a long period of rest”.

Her only major victory was at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2014, although her 13 top-5 finishes in majors since 2013 are the most by any player and are among her 20 top-10 finishes in those events. Thompson, whose last victory in any tournament was in 2019, said she still doesn’t allow herself to think about what winning another major would mean. She missed the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open three weeks ago, but last week she was in contention in the final round before tying for fourth place at the Meijer LPGA Classic.

“It’s something I’m going to take one shot at a time. When you start thinking too much about the future, it affects you, so I’m really going to embrace the moment,” she said. “I’ll go out there this weekend and just hope for the best, that’s all I can do.”

Lexi Thompson

His Friday par-savers were better than the three birdies, the longest of 11 feet, with one of 6.5 feet and another of almost 4 feet. Thompson was only 70 yards from the hole after his tee shot on the 10th hole, but he hit his approach into the bunker and was still 43 feet away after getting out, before a putt that turned from right to left. On the 14th hole, a par 5, his 5-foot putt rolled 360 degrees around the edge before dropping into the cup.

“I made the 10th hole much more difficult from my drive,” she said. “I hit a great drive and left it pretty close to the green, but they put the pin right there, so I got a little greedy instead of just hitting it left and ended up in the bunker.

Lexi Thompson

“Saving pairs out there is huge.”