READY OR NOT – LINCICOME HEADING FOR MATERNITY LEAVE
Brittany Lincicome learned two days before Christmas she was expecting her first child, a baby girl, with her husband Dewald Gouws on Sept. 1. This week at the Pure Silk Championship, Lincicome made her last start on the LPGA before taking maternity leave.
Lincicome recorded under-par rounds each day to finish 7-under par and tied for 26th, and after her final round Lincicome said she was thrilled with the way she went out.
“All in all it was so fun,” Lincicome said. “I have so many good memories at this event. It was just so much fun to go out there and play. I tried to play like it's my last one, but obviously like I'm not retiring. I'm just taking some time off. It was kind of a weird feeling. Maybe it'll hit me tomorrow when I'm like, Huh, I'm not teeing it up for a while, you know. Probably eight months. Gosh. What am I going to do? I have to pick up a hobby. Yeah, it was so awesome out there. It was nice. Had a bunch of great groups all week. All the fans and everybody was super supportive, so it was cool.”
Lincicome said she will enjoy some time with her grandmother next week, before she hunkers down to “nest” and get her nursery ready. She also said she’ll enjoy watching some LPGA tournaments from home to cheer on her friends and is especially looking forward to watching the 2019 Solheim Cup.
She did say a good showing this week has tempted her to push the envelope and keep playing a bit longer, she even teased about making a start at the Meijer LPGA Classic in three weeks. “I have felt great,” she said. “Unless I just get super big here sitting home doing nothing then I wouldn't be able to play, but I wouldn't put it past myself. Who knows? Maybe I'll enjoy being home doing nothing.”
Lincicome’s season-best finish came at her first event of the year in the form of a T22 finish at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, which coincidentally is where Lincicome is targeting her return in 2020.
In 2019, there are 11 mothers active on the LPGA Tour: Laura Diaz, Karine Icher, Juli Inkster, Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, Catriona Matthew, Sydnee Michaels, Brooke Pancake, Suzann Pettersen, Gerina Piller and Rachel Rohanna. Additionally, along with Lincicome, Sarah Jane Smith is expecting her first child in July 2019 and Jackie Stoelting is expecting her first child in October 2019.
PLAYER NOTES
Rolex Rankings No. 41 Bronte Law
- Law joins Celine Boutier (ISPS Handa Vic Open) as Rolex First-Time Winners this season
- Law is the 11th different winner of the 2019 LPGA season
- On Sunday, Law hit eight of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation with 29 putts
- Law is the ninth player from England to win in the history of the LPGA Tour and the first since Georgia Hall won the 2018 AIG Women’s British Open
- Law is the 12th different winner in Pure Silk Championship history and the first from England
- Law is eligible for the 2019 European Solheim Cup, but must be one of Captain Catriona Matthew’s picks because Law did not play the minimum number of LET events to qualify through the LET standings or world rankings
- In 2019, Law has played in 10 events, made seven cuts, $417,655, one victory, four additional top-20 finishes including a runner-up finish at the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship
- She represented Team England at the 2018 UL International Crown; the team finished T2 with 11 points
- Law played collegiately at UCLA, where she won seven tournament titles, won the 2016 ANNIKA Award and was the 2016 Pac-12 Player of the Year
- She won the English Women's Amateur Championship in 2014 and 2015
QUICK HITS
The runner-up finish is Madelene Sagstrom’s career-best result on the LPGA; her previous best was a T3 showing at the 2017 Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship
The top five finishers represent five different countries: England, Sweden, Canada, Japan and Chinese Taipei
Three-time Pure Silk Championship winner Cristie Kerr posted the lowest round of the tournament on Sunday with an 8-under par 63 to finish tied for ninth
Defending champion Ariya Jutanugarn finished T43; she will get another shot at a title defense next week at the U.S. Women’s Open
Monday qualifier Katherine Perry finished a career-best T9, her first career top-10 finish
Six players recorded all four rounds in the 60s: Bronte Law, Madelene Sagstrom, Nasa Hataoka, Carlota Ciganda, Caroline Masson, Charley Hull
Five Americans finished inside the top-20 to earn points for the 2019 U.S Solheim Cup Team: Jennifer Song, Cristie Kerr, Katherine Perry, Amy Olson, Jessica Korda
CME GROUP CARES CHALLENGE – SCORE 1 FOR ST. JUDE
The CME Group Cares Challenge is a season-long charitable giving program that turns aces into donations. CME Group will donate $20,000 for each hole-in-one made on the LPGA Tour in 2019, with a minimum guaranteed donation of $500,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
No aces were made at this week’s Pure Silk Championship presented by Visit Williamsburg. The season has seen nine aces, for a total of $180,000 been donated thus far in 2019. This is enough to cover half of the treatment for a pediatric patient battling lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer.
LEADERS TOP 10 COMPETITION
The LEADERS Top 10 competition awards a $100,000 bonus to the LPGA player with the most top-10 finishes through the completion of the event held immediately prior to the CME Group Tour Championship. In the event of a tie in total top-10 finishes, the award will go to the player with the most official wins, followed by most second-place finishes, third-place finishes, etc., until the tie is broken.
With top-10 finishes at the Pure Silk Championship Brooke Henderson (T2) and Azahara Munoz (T6) move up into a tie for first place with Jin Young Ko and Nelly Korda with six top-10 finishes this season.
RACE TO THE CME GLOBE
With her win, Law earns 500 points and is projected to move from 20th to fifth in the Race to CME Globe with 1,055 points.
RESHUFFLE TIME
The first reshuffle of the 2019 LPGA Tour season will happen in the coming days after the Pure Silk Championship presented by Visit Williamsburg.Category 8 on the LPGA Priority List will comprise of members in the Top 80 of the current year’s Money List with priority based on the order of the list. In addition, Members in Categories 14 through 19 who have earned official money will be re-seeded into Category 13 and ranked in order of their position on the current year’s Money List through the Pure Silk Championship.
Pure Silk Championship Monday qualifier Katherine Perry is currently No. 368 on the LPGA Priority List and is primed to make the biggest leap of any player as she finished a career-best T9 to earn $27,736 and is projected to be reshuffled from Category 18 to Category 13.
A link to the current LPGA Priority List: http://bit.ly/19priority
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