Annika Sorenstam chips a shot to the ninth green during the first round of the Gainbridge LPGA golf tournament Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)ORLANDO, Fla. – Annika Sorenstam doesn't remember golf being this difficult. With one birdie and one bad hole, Sorenstam had a 3-over 75 in the LPGA Gainbridge on her home course at Lake Nona. Sorenstam was 10 shots behind another Lake Nona member, Lydia Ko, who opened with a 7-under 65 for a two-shot lead. But then, this week isn't about Sorenstam adding to her 72 career victories or even starting a comeback at age 50. After a penalty drop, she hit it back toward the fairway to about 70 yards, hit an ordinary wedge and three-putted from about 18 feet for a triple bogey.
A 10-time LPGA Tour winner, the 27-year-old South Korean has the unwanted title of winningest active player without a major championship. Kim was runner-up at the 2015 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and tied for second at the Evian Championship in 2018. Henderson, who won the 2016 Women’s PGA Championship, tied her career-best 18-hole score at a major championship with a 65 to stay within striking distance. Park is a three-time winner of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and would tie Mickey Wright for the most in a career with a win. “If I knew the answer to how to make clutch putts, I would have won so many more times,” Kim said.
Kim birdied five of the final six holes as darkness fell Friday at Aronimink for a 5-under 65 and the second-round lead in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She tied Karrie Webb (2001) and Sarah Kemp (2011) for the lowest nine-hole score in the Women’s PGA Championship. “The birdie on 14 was pretty good because it was a long birdie putt, and that’s when I started the four-birdie streak,” Kim said. A 10-time LPGA Tour winner, Kim is looking for her first major victory. She was runner-up at the 2015 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and tied for second at the Evian Championship in 2018.
Lincicome and Kelly Tan each shot 3-under 67 on Thursday in windy conditions at challenging Aronimink to share the lead in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Lincicome was sensational after missing the cut by one shot this past weekend at the ShopRite LPGA Classic. Lincicome, a two-time winner of the major ANA Inspiration eight LPGA Tour victories, played bogey-free to stay even with Tan and keep her first Women’s PGA title in sight. Tan’s previous best finish in a major came in 2016 when she tied for 30th at the Women’s PGA. The 2009 champion, Nordqvist is one of eight Women’s PGA Championship winners in the field that also includes all 11 winners this year on the LPGA tour.
