SHOAL CREEK, Ala. – Brittany Lincicome grew up playing against the boys. Whether it was baseball or high school golf, Lincicome never shied away from standing out.
The two-time major winner will take that experience to another level in July when she plays on a sponsor exemption at the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship July 19-22 at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Ky.
Perio President and CEO Tom Murray came to Lincicome with the idea in recent weeks. Lincicome was the first LPGA player Murray signed for a Pure Silk sponsorship. Barbasol and Pure-Silk have the same parent company, Perio Inc., and Lincicome has won the past two editions of the Pure-Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic.
Lincicome, one the longest players on the LPGA, is married to Dewald Gouws, a former long-drive competitor. If both step on a drive, Gouws outdrives Lincicome, one of the longest on the LPGA, by 60 yards. Nothing Lincicome sees in Kentucky will be a shock. She has been known to warm up for the LPGA season by playing in men’s mini-tour events.
Last week marked the 15th anniversary of Sorenstam’s defining moment at the 2003 Colonial. It was an unforgettable week for Sorenstam that catapulted her into another level of fame. Sorenstam became the first woman to compete on the PGA Tour since Babe Zaharias in 1945.
Later that year, Suzy Whaley followed suit at the 2003 Greater Hartford Open. Whaley became the first woman to qualify for a men’s pro tour event by winning the Connecticut PGA Championship.
Michelle Wie has the most experience playing on the PGA Tour. In her eight PGA Tour starts, she missed the cut in seven and withdrew from one. Her best finish came at the 2004 Sony Open, when she missed the weekend by a shot.
