LPGA Tour rookie Jennifer Johnson did her 2010 Curtis Cup teammate Lexi Thompson one better when she fired an opening-round 7-under 65 at the Navistar LPGA Classic on Thursday. Thompson, who’s captured the headlines with her youth and prodigious length off the tee, had the early lead until Johnson added an eagle on the par-4 15th.
“It was pretty windy,” Johnson told reporters about the conditions on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Capitol Hill course in Prattville, Ala. “I was trying to hit like a 150?yard shot. I hit my 6?iron like I was trying to land it on the front….I was like yelling at it to get up, and then it just kind of curved right in the hole and I was happy.”
Johnson, who teamed with Thompson to defeat the squad from Great Britain & Ireland at Massachusetts’ Essex County Club, had more than her personal standing at stake. She will donate half of her winnings this week to the tournament’s primary charitable beneficiary, the Wounded Warrior Project.
The former Arizona State player who made the winning point in the Curtis Cup matches has made six of nine cuts this year and is No. 70 on the LPGA money list. She played a practice round on Tuesday with Dan Nevins and Joe Caley, two Wounded Warriors who suffered brain injuries in Iraq. Nevins lost both of his legs but continues to play golf.
“[Playing for the Wounded Warriors] is some extra motivation this week,” Johnson said. “Hopefully I can keep it up and give a bunch of money to those guys.”
The Wounded Warrior Project provides programs and services to severely injured service members as they transition from active duty to civilian life.
Sweet Home Alabama. As for Thompson, who hit all 18 greens in regulation and could have gone much lower but for the 31 putts she needed on Thursday, Alabama seems to suit her game quite well. The best finish in eight starts for the 16-year-old who is not a member of the LPGA Tour was at the Avnet LPGA Classic in Mobile. Thompson shared the lead heading into the final day but faltered and finished T19 on the RTJ Golf Trail layout.
Putting woes. Speaking of putting, No. 1 Yani Tseng was hot on Thompson’s early first-place tail when her putter let her down. Finishing with two straight bogeys after three-putting both closing holes, Tseng was unhappy with her short game.
“I was very disappointed,” Tseng said. “I had three 3?putts today. I hit lots of greens, but I just couldn’t make that many putts.”
Joh goes viral. Another player in this week’s field has garnered more attention for her musical prowess than her on-course play. Tiffany Joh, whose first-round 68 put her in an opening-round tie for fifth, debuted her first video, “She Beats It,” last week.
Joh premiered her second video “Grip It,” at this week’s event. Several LPGA players — including Beth Bader, Alison Walsh, and Jenny Suh — bust some moves in Joh’s latest musical sensation. For sure, “You put your hands upon the grip, when i chip you chip we chip” will give the PGA Tour’s Golf Boys a reason to step up their game.
(Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. Check her out on the Waggle Room, Boston Golf Examiner, National Golf Examiner, and GottaGoGolf websites. You may also follow Kay on Twitter @golfexaminer.)
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