Tournament of Champions is New Start for L.P.G.A. Tour and a Mother

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — No one was entirely sure what to expect from the first L.P.G.A. Tour event of the year — least of all Stacy Lewis.

Nearly three months after Lewis became a mother, and six months after she last played on tour, she opened with seven birdies on Thursday for a five-under 66 that left her one shot behind the leaders, Brooke Henderson and Eun-Hee Ji, at the Tournament of Champions.

“Pleasantly surprised,” Lewis said. “Had pretty low expectations going into the day. Just really made a lot of putts. I had some weird shots, which I knew was going to happen having not played in a while. I don’t know where it came from, but I’m going to take it.”

Henderson overcame a slow start with a bogey on the second hole and a par save on No. 3 at the Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons. She birdied five of her last eight holes for a 65 to tie Ji, who had a bogey-free round.

The tournament — the first season opener in Florida for the tour since 2015 — is only for L.P.G.A. winners in the last two years.

Lydia Ko joined Lewis at 66. Both formerly were No. 1 in the world. Ariya Jutanugarn, coming off a year in which she claimed every major award, opened with a 67, as did Lexi Thompson and Mirim Lee.

The event had the feel of a pro-am because along with the 26-player field from the tour competing for a $1.2 million purse, 49 entertainers are competing for a $500,000 prize fund using the modified Stableford scoring system. The tennis player Mardy Fish led that field with 39 points for a two-point lead over a group that included the retired pitcher Mark Mulder.

“I had to remind myself it wasn’t Wednesday afternoon, it was Thursday, and I had to get a good score together,” Henderson said. “I think that’s when things kicked in on the front nine. I started getting a couple of birdies to recover from that bogey, and then from there, I was ready to go and made a lot of birdies.”

Lewis had not played on the L.P.G.A. Tour since a 66 to tie for 39th on July 12 at the Marathon Classic in Ohio. She gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Chesnee, on Oct. 25.

The biggest difference was her routine. She now has to remember where to find day care, to get out the door a little earlier and make sure she has all the bags for her game and her daughter.

“You’ve got to take three trips to the care to get out the door every morning,” she said. “So it’s a new normal.”

Source: Read Full Article