Lexi Thompson shot an even-par 72 on Friday to stay in contention for the win at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
She’s two strokes behind leader Sarah Schmelzel, who shot a five-under 67 to move to six under.
Thompson is four under par after 36 holes and tied for second heading into the afternoon round at Sa-Hali Country Club.
“Honestly, even par is a great score here,” Thompson said after Friday’s round. “It’s just a tough golf course.”
“It’s a good course for par and it’s always important to start a good round, especially starting at four under yesterday. I’m very grateful and I carried that today. The first nine holes were great and then I stumbled a little bit in the last nine, but that happens a lot around here. I also made a lot of good putts so I’ll just try to build on that.”
The 29-year-old started her round on the back nine and finished in 33 with three birdies, but struggled over the final nine holes.
She double-bogeyed the par-5 second hole and lost another stroke on the fourth hole. Thompson got her fourth birdie on the sixth hole, but then bogeyed the par-4 eighth hole to get back to even par.
Thompson described the golf course as one that requires patience when playing.
“There will be some bogeys and I just have to take advantage of the few birdie opportunities I get,” she said.
Despite the tough times, the veteran LPGA player felt she was still playing well.
“You’re going to hit some bad shots and you just have to accept it and know you’re going to have a bogey or two and move on,” Thompson said. “It could have been a lot worse so I just stayed positive and got some birdies on the back nine and made some good putts. I just have to build on the positives and not focus on anything else and take that into the weekend.”
Thompson will likely remain patient heading into the final 36 holes as he seeks his second major victory.
Her first win came at age 19, when she won the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2014.
A decade after that victory, the 11-time LPGA champion is playing her best golf, having missed the cut for the fourth straight time to finish tied for second at last week’s Major LPGA Classic, after four weeks of finishing tied for third at the inaugural Ford Championship.
Of the three events in which she played four rounds, her worst result was a T16 finish at the season-opening LPGA Drive On Championship. Hand and wrist injuries have prevented her from playing at her best, and likely contributed to her consecutive missed cuts.
Thompson is currently looking healthy after another impressive round at Sahalie that put him in contention for the win.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Instagram: @savannah_leigh_sports
