logo
Lexi Thompson holds clubhouse lead at KPMG Women's PGA, where the wind is whipping in Texas

Lexi Thompson holds clubhouse lead at KPMG Women's PGA, where the wind is whipping in Texas

USA Today16 hours ago

FRISCO, Texas – In what must feel like another lifetime, Allie White roomed with Lexi Thompson at an AJGA team event, and they said hello to each other on the range Friday morning at the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship.
As White finished up her round on the par-5 ninth, Thompson was closing out hers nearby on the 18th.
'Don't blame the bogey on me,' White joked while sitting with Judy Rankin and Grant Boone on Peacock's Featured Group coverage. While White has moved on from tour life, Thompson is now semi-retired and contending at another LPGA major.
Thompson's lone bogey of the day came on the difficult par-4 18th, denying her first bogey-free major championship round in three years. Even so, 2-under 70 on the Fields Ranch East course puts her in fine position as the course bakes out even more in the afternoon. Thompson, who's 2-under for the tournament, might even hold the lead at day's end as winds gust up to 30 mph with temperatures north of 90.
'It's a difficult golf course, so it's a matter of just really trusting your lines and knowing that the wind is going to bring it back,' said Thompson, who is making her seventh start of the season. 'And just being happy with pars. This is a good par golf course.'
White, 35, made her second consecutive KPMG Women's PGA appearance after back-to-back victories at the LPGA Professionals Championship in 2023 and 2024. A second-round 80 won't have the Lancaster Golf Club (Ohio) director of golf playing the weekend, but she was all smiles in the booth after the round as she talked about her experience.
Thompson's group was warned and then put on the clock for several holes in the second round. On Thursday, her group waited more than 25 minutes on the tee down the stretch in a round that took six hours.
'We fell maybe a hole behind,' said Thompson of Friday's round. 'I didn't think that we were playing – I mean, we were playing slow. It took three hours to play the front nine. But it's a difficult golf course. Pins are tough, and some holes are just really par holes that you can't really hold greens on too, and some holes you have to pitch out.
'So it's difficult golf course to play quickly, safe to say.'
Auston Kim also bogeyed her last hole, the par-5 ninth, but still finished with a 72 to sit at 1 under for the championship. Like Thompson, Kim said the turnaround from the late finish on Thursday was especially tough. She got to bed around 10 p.m., and her alarm went off at 4:30 a.m.
'I think just not getting enough sleep unfortunately, and then the heat, waking up super early and dealing with twice as much wind and firmer greens and longer rough was just a really big challenge today,' said the former Vanderbilt standout.
Kim planned to get a cold shower and a cold plunge after the round to bring down her body temperature, followed by a nap.
'I think I'll be a little bit later tomorrow so that will definitely help,' said Kim. 'Just trying to be horizontal for as long as I possibly can.'
Yealimi Noh began the day two shots back but bogeyed three of her last five holes to shoot 74 and fall to even par for the championship.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Jeeno Thitikul extends Women's PGA lead and semi-retired Lexi Thompson contending for another major
Jeeno Thitikul extends Women's PGA lead and semi-retired Lexi Thompson contending for another major

Fox Sports

time5 hours ago

  • Fox Sports

Jeeno Thitikul extends Women's PGA lead and semi-retired Lexi Thompson contending for another major

Associated Press FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Semi-retired Lexi Thompson is going into the weekend contending for her first major title in more than a decade, and in a dwindling group of players under par at the KMPG Women's PGA Championship while Jeeno Thitikul extended her lead. Thitikul, the No. 2-ranked player in the world, finished a six-hour round Friday not long before sunset with consecutive birdies for a 2-under 70 to get to 6-under 138. She had a three-stroke lead over Rio Takeda (71) and Minjee Lee (72), and was four ahead of Thompson (70) after another steamy day on the Fields Ranch East course at PGA Frisco. 'To be honest, didn't (think) it's going to be that good result out there,' said Thitikul, the 22-year-old seeking her first major win. 'Especially today just said to my coach, `Like if anybody can shoot under par today, that player will be really, really great.' I'm shooting 2-under par and I was like, `Wow!' With the feel-like temperatures going over 100 degrees and the ever-present Texas wind, only seven of the 156 players who started the season's third major were under par through two rounds. There have been no bogey-free rounds this week. There were 15 players under par after the first round, when Thitikul's opening 68 put her a stroke ahead of fellow North Texas resident Lee. Thitikul, a five-time winner from Thailand, was in the same group the first two rounds with top-ranked Nelly Korda, whose only two birdies Friday came over the final three holes. Korda had a 74 and is 2 over for the week. Even though Thompson is no longer playing a full schedule, she still practices and works on her game pretty much all the time when at home. 'Any time I tee it up I want to come out here and compete and win. I just want to make sure that I'm fully ready every time I tee it up,' Thompson said. 'Yeah, I mean, it put my mind more at ease coming out here knowing that I'm not playing a full schedule, grinding week in, week out, and looking forward to the weeks off.' After an even-par round Thursday, Thompson was bogey-free in the second round until hitting her approach at the 18th into the bunker and being unable come up with yet another par-saver. The 30-year-old Thompson, who has said last year was her final one playing a full schedule, is in her seventh tournament this season, including all three majors so far, and indicated that she will play again next week at the Dow Championship in Michigan before 'a long time off.' Her only major victory was at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2014, though her 13 top-five finishes in majors since 2013 are the most by any player and among her 20 top-10 finishes in those events. Thompson, whose last win in any tournament was in 2019, said she is not yet allowing herself to think about what it would mean to win another major. She missed the cut at the U.S. Women's Open three weeks ago, but last week was in contention in the final round before tying for fourth at the Meijer LPGA Classic. "It's just something that I'm going to take one shot at a time. When you get to thinking too far ahead of time it just gets to you, so I'm just really going to embrace the moment,' she said. 'Come out on the weekend and just hope for the best, that's all I can do.' Her shots to save par Friday were really better the three birdies — the longest an 11-footer, with a 6 1/2-footer and nearly 4-footer as well. Thompson was only 70 yards from the pin after her tee shot at the 10th, but hit her approach into the bunker and was still 43 feet away after knocking it out of there before a curling right-to-left putt. At the par-5 14th, her 5-foot putt did a 360-degree roll around the lip before falling into the cup. 'Made No. 10 a lot more difficult from my drive. Hit a great drive and I got it pretty close to the green, but they tucked the pin back right over there, so got a little greedy instead of just hitting it out to the left and ended up plugging it in the bunker,' Thompson said. 'Saving pars out there are huge.' ___ AP golf:

Hull cards lowest second round at PGA Championship
Hull cards lowest second round at PGA Championship

Yahoo

time6 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Hull cards lowest second round at PGA Championship

Charley Hull has two career wins on the LPGA Tour [Getty Images] Women's PGA Championship first-round leaderboard: -6 J Thitikul (Tha); -3 M Lee (Aus), R Takeda (Jpn); -2 L Thompson (US); -1 C Iwai (Jpn), A Kim (US), S Lee (Kor) Selected others: +2 N Korda (US), L Maguire (Ire); +3 C Hull (Eng); +4 L Ko (NZ) Advertisement Leaderboard England's Charley Hull carded the lowest second-round score at the Women's PGA Championship as Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul extended her lead at the top of the leaderboard. Hull carded a three-under-par 69, which included four birdies and a bogey, in the only round under 70 on a day when only 14 players broke par in hot and windy conditions at the Fields Ranch East course in Texas. The 29-year-old shot 78 in her opening round and is on three over for the tournament, with leader Thitikul on six under. World number two Thitikul has yet to win a major but put herself in a promising position after a two-under par round of 70, which included four birdies and two bogeys. Advertisement Thitikul said the "wind and the rough" provided the toughest challenges during the second round. She added: "I had better tee shots than yesterday and put myself in the positions that I have a chance. "If not, I just tried to make par. I think par, it's a really big key here - no birdies but 18 pars, you take it." Thitikul's nearest challengers are Japan's Rio Takeda, who shot a 71, and Australian Minjee Lee, who went round in 72, with both players on three under par. American Lexi Thompson is on two under following a 70. "[It] got pretty windy even for the morning," said Thompson. "It was blowing more than it did yesterday, so I knew I just had to commit to my lines out there. Advertisement "It's a tough golf course, especially when the wind blows. If you miss the fairways you just have to take your medicine, pitch out, and try to save par any way you can, make the worst score a bogey." World number one Nelly Korda could only manage a 74, which included two birdies and four bogeys, and the American is on two over par, while Ireland's Leona Maguire is on the same score after also carding a 74. South Korea's Amy Yang won the tournament last year but, after rounds of 76 and 77, missed the cut on nine over par.

Notables who missed the cut at KPMG Women's PGA on toughest day of the year on LPGA
Notables who missed the cut at KPMG Women's PGA on toughest day of the year on LPGA

USA Today

time8 hours ago

  • USA Today

Notables who missed the cut at KPMG Women's PGA on toughest day of the year on LPGA

FRISCO, Texas – The toughest day of the year on the LPGA brought more six-hour rounds and a number of notable players heading home before the weekend at the KPMG Women's PGA. Only two holes averaged under par at Fields Ranch East, where the second-round scoring average of 76.012 is the second-highest at an LPGA major in a decade. Jeeno Thitikul, who has a chance to rise to No. 1 in the world with a victory, opened up a three-shot lead over two-time major winner Minjee Lee (72) and Rio Takeda (71) at 6 under after rounds of 68-70. Part-time player Lexi Thompson sits four back, with only a total of seven players finishing under par after two rounds. The cut fell at 7 over, with 78 players making the weekend. Mao Saigo, winner of the 2025 Chevron Championship, and last year's KPMG Women's PGA champion Amy Yang, were among the players to miss the cut. The struggle also continued for former No. 1 Lilia Vu, who shot 77-76 to miss her fourth consecutive cut this season. Another former No. 1, Jin Young Ko, withdrew midway through her second round due to illness on a day when the feels-like temperature hit triple-digits. Ko shot 74 in the opening round and was shown on the broadcast leaving the golf course after making double bogey on No. 12. She was six over in her last four holes, moving to 10 over on the championship. The 29-year-old Ko, a 15-time winner on the LPGA, tied for 14th at the U.S. Women's Open and took a share of sixth at Chevron. Later in the day, fellow South Korean Hyo Joo Kim pulled out of the championship after nine holes with an injury. Kim opened with a 76 in Round 1 and made birdie on her last hole before calling it a day.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store