LPGA Drive On Championship: Lexi Thompson stalls after making move up leaderboard

Lexi Thompson was keeping Leona Maguire in her sights as she moved up the leaderboard at the LPGA Drive On Championship on Friday.

But Thompson’s putter came to the forefront yet again – and not in a good way. She missed a par putt from a couple feet on No. 16, then parred the last two holes to finish at 8 under, and is five behind Maguire.

Maguire birdied Nos. 13 and 18, while Thompson played the final six holes 1-over after making four straight birdies.

“It was overall a very solid day,” Thompson said. “Hit it well. Made some good putts, especially the beginning of the back nine. Hung in strong, so hopefully take that into (Saturday).”

Lexi Thompson plays in the second round of the 2022 LPGA Drive On Championship at Crown Colony in Fort Myers on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022.

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Thompson, 26, has not won since 2019, but tied for second and placed eighth in the last two events of 2021, and tied for sixth last week.

“I’m quite a few back, but just go out there, play like I have the last two days, stick to my game plan, focus on one shot at a time, doing my routine, and just having a good time out there,” she said. “I feel like I’ve had a good attitude this week and just have a good time and go for those birdies.”

Local instructor on LPGA livestream

Fans who caught the three-hour coverage on LPGA.com Friday may have seen West Bay Club director of instruction Katie Detlefsen Dahl, who did a couple of spots with on-course reporter Jerry Foltz.

She did one on preparation for a round on the driving range, and then another on chipping and pitching and dealing with grain, some of the types of lies players have been facing this week at Crown Colony.

Detlefsen Dahl’s appearance stemmed from Brian Carroll, the LPGA’s senior vice president of global media distribution, reaching out to her.

“I love talking about golf,” said Detlefsen Dahl, who moved from Raptor Bay to West Bay last year, and has a 4-month-old daughter. “I have some experience under my belt with doing some of the TV stuff. I’ve done some tips for the Golf Channel.

“They figured I’m close. It’s not my first time in front of the camera. It’s just kind of a fun opportunity to share some insights.”

Detlefsen Dahl said she grew up playing junior golf with some of the players in the field, including co-leader Marina Alex, Amy Olson, and Maude-Aimee Leblanc among others.

“I just have so much respect for the LPGA Tour,” she said. “They’re just such great players. It’s always humbling. The depth of the talent has only gotten better and better.”

Leona Maguire plays in the second round of the 2022 LPGA Drive On Championship at Crown Colony in Fort Myers on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. She is tied for the lead at -13 under.

Ireland leading on PGA Tour too

Seamus Power, who is also from Ireland, has a five-shot lead in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and LPGA co-leader Maguire knows him fairly well.

“Seamus is probably the most in-form golfer apart from Viktor Hovland on the planet right now,” Maguire said. “It’s incredible to see him doing so well.

“We’ve kind of been going back and forth a little bit last year. He was doing well when I was doing well. He got his first win out there, which was huge for him. I mean, the more Irish people that are doing well the better. It’s great to see him doing well, and hopefully I can sort of keep up with him.”

Power was happy to see Maguire sharing the lead going into the final round.

“I think it’s fantastic,” he said. “She had a great year last year, like an incredible performance in Solheim Cup. And she’s been fun to follow. I met Leona really for the first time properly in the Olympics 2016 and it’s been like fantastic following her progress.

“She came out last year and she’s up in contention and she almost won, it’s not going to surprise me if she wins this week. It’s great, it’s great for Irish golf, it’s great for Irish women’s golf and hopefully she can keep it up.”

Brooke Henderson of Canada hits from the 9th t during the first round of the LPGA Drive On Championship at Crown Colony Golf & Country Club on February 03, 2022, in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

Brooke Henderson rallies up leaderboard

The Miromar Lakes resident continued to come back from an opening-hole double-bogey in Thursday’s first round.

She shot a 5-under 67 on Friday and moved up from 51st to a tie for 16th.

“On my 18th hole I made a birdie on the par-5 so I was like, ‘OK, that’s good vibes,’” she said. “Then I made three in a row I guess 3, 4, 5, and then finished with two on 8 and 9, so it was definitely a great way to finish. Finally felt like I figured out this golf course a little bit.”

Naples resident Sophia Popov won’t be joining Henderson in the final round. She shot her second straight 2-over 74 and missed the cut to the low 70 and ties by five strokes.

Henderson would be happy for a tournament to return to the area, though, and be open to fans. The Drive On was a late addition to the tournament schedule, so there were no fans, pro-ams, or full TV coverage.

“I think it would be really cool if we came back another year and were able to have fans from the outside,” she said. “That would be really cool. I think we would get huge crowds just because the community support has been fantastic right here itself.

“Then I’m sure we would get a lot of fans from the outside, too.”

Greg Hardwig is a sports reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @NDN_Ghardwig, email him at ghardwig@naplesnews.com. Support local journalism with this special subscription offer at https://cm.naplesnews.com/specialoffer/