Lexi Thompson rolled in five birdies during a second-round, 2-under 69 at the PGA Tour’s Shriners Children’s Open on Friday in Las Vegas.
Thompson, however, will have to wait and see if the cut line moves in her favor.
Two bogeys in her final five holes dropped Thompson to even par through two rounds. The projected cut line as of 5 p.m. ET was 1 under par.
Thompson is the seventh woman in history to play a PGA Tour event and the first to be invited since 2018.
“There was no added pressure, but of course that’s a goal, making the cut,” Thompson said on the ESPN+ broadcast. “But I knew I had to play my A game. I knew there were difficult holes out there and to take advantage of the few birdie holes like the par 5s. But coming into the week there was more of a message than just playing golf. … To inspire the kids, that’s what I enjoy most.”
She also had to come back to TPC Summerlin early Friday to finish her first round after Thursday’s action was suspended due to darkness.
After opening her second round with a bogey on No. 10, Thompson’s second shot at the par-4 11th landed 4 feet of the hole. That was the first of three birdies over her next five holes, also converting at the par-5 13th and the short par-4 15th.
Thompson then made the turn and sank birdie putts from 24 and 28 feet away at the first and second holes. But a tee shot out of bounds at the par-3 fifth led to a bogey, before she bogeyed the eighth and settled for par at the par-5 ninth.
“I have a few weeks off now — that was my fourth week playing in a row — so just to have that downtime,” Thompson said when asked about the near future. “I know my game is in a really good spot. I know there are some things to really focus in on and get even better and that’s what’s great about the game and kind of drives us nuts. We can never perfect it but there is always something to improve on.”
–Field Level Media