Ally McDonald - Photo: DR

In Lexi Thompson's world, the caddy who knows best

Lexi Thompson, who is only in her second week after deciding to change caddies, is already praising Benji Thompson. The unrelated duo had collaborated from 2013 to mid-2016, including when they won the ANA Inspiration in 2014, and joined forces again at the Kia Classic in the last week.

As the duo considered Thompson's approach to the 18th green, Benji convinced Lexi that she was probably too aggressive in her club selection. The player adjusted from a 50-degree wedge to her 47-degree wedge and a skillful chip on the final green gave Thompson a closing birdie and ultimately a tie for second after round one.

"I was like, thank you very much, Benji," said Thompson. “That's what a good caddy does. He's there to keep me aggressive and cancel strikes that need to be. "

Thompson is always in his element here at the Dinah Shore Course. The 24-year-old from Florida, known for her explosive power off the tee, racked up three more places in the top-10 with her victory and has never finished less than 48th.

An air of deja vu for the rookie Linnea Ström

This may be LPGA Tour rookie Linnea Ström's first appearance at ANA Inspiration, but it isn't the first time she's performed well at Mission Hills Country Club. Ström scored 69 (-3) in the first round of the ANA Inspiration, and she enjoyed similar success at Mission Hills during Phase I of the LPGA Q School in 2019. She started with a 69 through the Palmer and Player course of the club and had completed with scores of 67 and 66 on the Dinah Shore Course which hosts the ANA Inspiration annually.

"Since I played well at Q-School, I have only good memories from here", said Ström, who won Phase I to advance to Phase II. “I remembered it today. I know it's a tough course, but there are some birdies to do here. Just be patient, let them come to you and don't push yourself too far, and I think that's good. "

Ström made five birdies against two bogeys in the first round and is in an excellent position, just one shot from the leader, Ally McDonald.

"I think I just tried to be relaxed and shoot one ball at a time," said Ström. “I knew the wind was going to pick up a bit more as I went through the lap, so I tried not to go too far. I focused on each shot and tried to make one hole at a time and make a few birdies. I have putts that have passed so yeah, it was a good day. "

Jin Young Ko and Hyo Joo Kim ride a wave of confidence to face

It's always a huge bonus to bring some dream form to a major league and South Koreans Jin Young Ko and Hyo Joo Kim took the opportunity to take the lead in the first round on Thursday to take the lead. compete for the ANA Inspiration title. Rolex Rankings No. 5, Ko, who has won once and finished second twice in his first five starts on the 2019 LPGA Tour, racked up four birdies against a single bogey for an opening score of 69 on the Dinah course Shore. Kim, who tied the 18-hole scoring record at the Kia Classic on Sunday with a spectacular 62 (-10) to claim a share of seventh, tied Ko at Mission Hills with a 69 which included an eagle in second. hole par-5.

"I played very well on the last lap of the Kia Classic"said Kim, who has placed in the top 10 in her last three starts on the LPGA Tour. “It really raised my confidence level, and I wanted to be able to live up to this week of Major. I just wanted to be able to keep it going all week. Over the past three weeks I have had a lot of good results, and I think these low scores are due to my confidence level. When I made mistakes and it happened, that confidence helped me get out of it. "

Ko, who earned her third LPGA Tour victory at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup two weeks ago, has been one of the most prominent players of the season, while adopting a strategy of stay as happy as possible on the course without putting any pressure on yourself.

"He's a Major, but I don't want to put pressure on myself for the first Major of the year"said Ko. “I don't like the pressure on the course. I just like to relax. My goal is happiness, to be a happy golfer on the course. I pray on the course and hope the ball goes straight and I hit the fairway. It makes me happy. I don't like to think about the future. Nobody knows my future or yours so I'm just trying to have a good end on the course. "

Wie is working to make things right.

At the start of her first round, things were not going well for Michelle Wie. The fan favorite, who is only on her fourth start since retiring from the AIG Women's British Open last August, double bogeyed at 14 (her fifth hole) and followed suit bogeys at 16 and 17 to start at 5 above par for 8 holes. But her vast experience was invaluable to this 11-year LPGA veteran.

"I knew that I just had to remove the rust, regain my self-confidence and see what the little white ball can still do", commented Wie.

This patience paid off as Wie had four consecutive birdies at 18, 1, 2 and 3, ending the day at +2 and tied for 56th place. For the past few seasons, Wie has struggled with a hand injury that causes him chronic pain. She started her 2019 program with a tie for 23rd place at the Honda LPGA Thailand but withdrew from the following week's HSBC Women's World Championship in Singapore after 14 holes citing injury.

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