Lincicome beats Thompson in playoff to notch LPGA season-opener

Brittany Lincicome checked off winning from her to-do list for the 2017 season on Sunday, picking up a playoff win over Lexi Thompson at the Pure Silk Bahamas Classic to cap a week of low scoring.

But Lincicome, who hadn’t won since her the 2015 ANA Inspiration, doesn’t win as often as a two-time major winner probably should — certainly a two-time major winner with the prodigious length and laid-back demeanor Lincicome exhibits week to week. This week was an exercise in convincing herself that she doesn’t have to settle for a good check and no trophy.

“Going into this week we talked about confidence,” said Lincicome. “I wanted to work on my confidence. … I’m a good player. There is no reason why we’re not in contention more, so we had this whole long talk and [caddie Missy Pederson] told me, ‘Get out of your own way.’”

Despite the pep talks, Lincicome, who opened with a 9-under 64, found herself playing conservatively down the stretch. And as she watched Thompson come up the par-5 18th in regulation needing a birdie to win, Lincicome figured the end result would be a good-enough second place. Then Thompson made par, finishing at 26-under total and headed to a playoff with Lincicome.

In the extra frame, Lincicome made birdie to get the win as Thompson parred for the third consecutive time she played the hole.

Thompson walks away without a win, but she does feel encouraged by her off-season work on the greens translating into a lot of made putts throughout the week.

“This whole offseason, I swear I putted two-and-a-half hours each day it seemed like,” said Thompson. “I was just doing nonstop putting drills just trying to get my confidence up and it showed here. It’s paying off.”

Meanwhile, Lincicome was planning to press her luck a little more after the wind-swept win.

“I’m going to the casino tonight,” Lincicome said before she joked, “hopefully try not to lose all of our money that we won today.”

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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