LPGA Tour: Bahamas LPGA Classic – Brittany Lincicome

A new season but a familiar leaderboard as Brittany Lincicome overcame her compatriot Lexi Thompson with a birdie on the first play-off hole. It was her seventh career win and her first since the 2015 ANA Inspiration.

The scoring in the Bahamas was incredible with the two Americans tying on 26 under, just one short of the Tour’s 72-hole record, with Stacy Lewis one back and a fourth Solheim team-mate, Gerina Piller, two back in fourth.

England’s Mel Reid, making her debut as a full member of the LPGA, had her best round of the week, a 67, to tie for 13th.

Lincicome had six birdies in her first 10 holes but then needed one at the last for a 68 and Thompson came to the par-5 18th needing a four to win but bunkered her approach and could only par.

Lincicome then found the green in extra time and took two putts while her opponent missed from 12 feet.

Lewis was tied for the lead on the 14th but her second shot hit a palm tree, bounced off the path and she then couldn’t escape from the landscaped area and ran up a treble-bogey seven.

What Lincicome said: “Just the leaderboard all week has been amazing, obviously a lot of Americans up at the top, obviously friends of mine, so to come down to the final stretch, I played with Lexi on Saturday, and it was an awesome day. I worked hard this off‑season. My putting hasn’t been as well as it has this week, but hopefully that continues and it’s awesome.”

What Thompson said: “This whole off‑season, I swear I putted two and a half hours each day, it seemed like. I was just doing nonstop putting drills just trying too get my confidence up, and it showed here. It’s paying off. I’m going to keep working extremely hard and stay confident with it.”

Mark Townsend

Been watching and playing golf since the early 80s and generally still stuck in this period. Huge fan of all things Robert Rock, less so white belts. Handicap of 8, fragile mind and short game

Handicap: 8

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