Lexi Thompson managed to salvage a challenging round and held her own in the Shriners Children"s Open on Thursday, although her round was cut short due to darkness. Beau Hossler set the pace with a remarkable 9-under 62, matching his career low on the PGA Tour, even after finding the water left of the par-3 17th at the TPC Summerlin.
Thompson was the highlight of this FedEx Cup Fall event, being the seventh woman to compete in a PGA Tour event and the first in five years. After 16 holes, she was 1-over par for the round and decided to mark her ball, which was a 20-foot par putt on the 17th, and planned to return to complete her first round in the morning. While still in contention to make the cut, it was indeed a tough battle to keep her score close to par.
Michael S. Kim was notably impressed by Thompson"s performance and took to Twitter to express it. He mentioned that Lexi Thompson"s performance, being tied for 76th at +1 through 16 holes, was genuinely impressive. He also speculated that there were likely many pros out there who didn"t want to lose to Lexi the next day and were determined to give their best effort, including himself. Kim hoped that Thompson would have a chance to make the cut in the upcoming rounds.
Lexi Thompson being t-76 +1 thru 16 holes is seriously impressive. You can bet there’s some pros around there that absolutely don’t want to lose to Lexi tomorrow and will give it their all 😂 (myself included) hope she has a chance to make the cut tomorrow!
— Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) October 13, 2023
Thompson arrived at the tournament with a white golf bag, which she had kids from the Shriners Children"s Hospital inscribed with heartfelt messages. Her sponsor exemption for this event was arranged relatively recently, within the past two weeks. Thompson expressed her aspiration for this week, which was to serve as an inspiration to children, particularly those at the Shriners Children"s Hospital.
