BELMONT — As Lexi Thompson’s approach on 18 landed and found the green, Thompson did something she hadn’t for most of her round — she smiled.
It was a moment of triumph and relief for Thompson, who birdied No. 18 and had three birdies in her final four holes to pull within one shot of the lead heading into the weekend at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give at Blythefield Country Club.
Thompson, who birdied the first hole on Friday, June 13, had one bogey and 12 pars in the next 13 holes before finishing strong. She had a 3-under Friday and is at 7-under heading into the weekend, one shot off the lead shared by four golfers.
“I started off well, then kind of fizzled a little bit. I just tried to stay positive. I wanted to get seven birdie looks in the last seven holes, and unfortunately, they were longer looks than I wanted, but ended up with a few birdies coming in,” Thompson said. “My first birdie coming in on 15, I ended up making a put off the collar that I wasn’t really expecting, down the hill right to left. I was just trying to par, but I really just wanted to stay confident over the last couple of holes coming in.
“There were a few par saves that were important to keep me in it. Just staying patient out there because it got really windy. You have to know birdie holes are out there.”
Thompson won this event in 2015 and has been in contention nearly every year at Blythefield. She finished second last year at 16-under.
In the 10 Meijer LPGA Classics she has played in, she has finished second three times, in the top five a total of five times and in the top 10 six times. She finished 20th once (despite shooting 15-under), 41st (her first time at Blythefield) once and missed the cut once.
No one has had that kind of extended success at Blythefield except Thompson, despite two wins for Brooke Henderson and a spectacular three-year stretch for Leona Maguire. Thompson has been in contention eight of 10 times she has played the course.
And after two rounds this year, she is in contention again for the 11th time.
“It is an amazing tournament in general. We always look forward to coming back here. The golf course is always in great shape. The way the community gets behind the tournament and gives back, that is what we really like about it. It is not just a golf tournament,” Thompson said.
Morning an advantage again at Meijer LPGA Classic
The first round saw an 8-under, 7-under and several bunched in the 6-5-4-under range, bunching the leaderboard. Four players in the top 10 registered eagles in the opening round.
It wasn’t eagles, but birdies were difficult to come by in the second round in the afternoon especially.
Those birdies that generally come a little easier at Blythefield Country Club. A few players who teed off early in the morning had a string of birdies, but it was not the same in the afternoon.
Carlota Ciganda had seven birdies in the second round in one of the early groups, but also had a couple of bogeys and finished 6-under for the round and 8-under for the tournament. Celine Boutier had a similar round with seven birdies and three bogies to finish 4-under for the day and 8-under for the tournament.
Hye-Jin Choi was 4-under for the second day in a row to tie Ciganda and Boutier at 8-under.
One afternoon player had a share of the lead as Karis Davidson shot a 2-under, with a birdie on 18, to share the lead at 8-under.
Nanna Koerst Madsen was one shot behind after an up-and-down round that saw her double-bogey the first hole, but then nail eight birdies to finish 6-under for the day and 7-under heading into the weekend.
Contact Holland Sentinel sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Lexi Thompson just one off the lead at Meijer LPGA Classic after stellar finish
Reporting by Dan D’Addona, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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