Lexi Thompson told everyone earlier in the week that she wanted to move on from the travesty of last year’s ANA Inspiration.
She said everyone else should as well.
Thompson moved on and it showed during the first round Thursday at Rancho Mirage. Thompson put on a driving exhibition and played mistake-free golf for most of her opening round. Playing with Michelle Wie, Thompson often drove it 30-40 yards past Wie, who is one of the longer players on the LPGA Tour.
Thompson found herself five-under par through 16 holes and was looking at a short, six-foot putt for birdie at the par three eighth, her 17th of the day. She had a chance to go six-under but saw that putt slide by the hole. Her only mistakes of the day came at the par five ninth, a hole she easily reaches in two most often. Her tee shot moved too far left and caught a large tree, leaving her no choice but to pitch out. Her third found a greenside bunker and she failed to get up-and-down and finished her round with that single bogey and a 68.
“I take a lot of positives out of today,” Thompson said. “I hit some really solid iron shots. And I’m just working on my game, trying to get the nice solid contact back, trying to get comfortable out there.”
Unlike Thompson, Wie had a really tough first nine holes. She suffered a pair of double-bogeys and later said she suffered from some dizzy spells out there.
“I had the mad spins out there,” Wie said. “I just got really dizzy. I don’t know why or how. But it was interesting. I just sometimes get it from time to time.”
While Thompson was going low over the first nine in the feature pairing of the day, Wie shot a disastrous 40, rallied with 35 on the front nine but still found herself with an opening 75 and in danger of missing the cut.
As for Thompson, it was her best opening round at Mission Hills where she’s gone first-seventh-fifth-second over the past four years at this first major of the LPGA season.
Her 68 left Lexi just three back of Pernilla Lindberg, who carded a bogey-free, 7-under par, 65 to take a one-stroke lead.
“I just set a number for myself in my head every day,” Lindberg said. “Today, I kind of kept adjusting that all day when I kept making birdies, and I even kind of upped my own number. That’s what I’m going to do every day.”
This is the first time in her career that Lindberg has led a major.
