FRISCO, Texas — Lexi Thompson nearly got blown over to start the third round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, with a top and a shank on the way to a triple bogey on the opening hole in windy conditions Saturday. She finished the day tied for third place.
After hitting her tee shot into the fairway on the 517-yard par-5 first hole, a 207-yard drive into wind gusting to around 30 mph, Thompson topped her second shot that went only 117 yards. She then shanked her third shot to the right into a thick native area and the ball was never found.
Asked after her round of 3-over 75 if the wind had her off balance for that second shot, Thompson said she just `full topped the ball" and doesn't even know what happened on the next shot that resulted in the lost ball.
''It was just compounded,'' she said. "I mean it was windy. Don't get me wrong, it was blowing me. But I don't know if that was the excuse for the top, but we can go with it if you want.''
Thompson also had a bogey on the second hole, but had only one more bogey along with two birdies the rest of the way to put her at 1-over 217, seven strokes behind leader Minjee Lee.
''With the start, I'll definitely take it. It was just a tough day with that wind. Tough and long,'' she said. ''Overall a lot of positives to take from the day with my start being 4 over through two. Happy I stayed strong and put a good round together.''
The semi-retired Thompson, playing for only the seventh time in 16 tournaments this season, won her only major in the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship. After a 2-under 70 on Friday, she went into the third round of the Women's PGA in fourth place in and four strokes behind Jeeno Thitikul, the No. 2-ranked player in the world who shot 76 Saturday and is now trailing Lee by four.
Thompson's 13 top-five finishes in majors since 2013 are the most by any player and among her 20 top-10 finishes in those events.
