Brittany Lincicome, Jessica Korda spurred by birdie bet at Women’s PGA Championship

Brittany Lincicome and Jessica Korda were scuffling along at 1-over through nine holes in Thursday’s opening round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship when they came up with a way to make things more interesting.

“We both birdied 9 and going to 10 [we] said, ‘Let’s do a $5 birdie game to get us motivated to shoot better,’” Lincicome, runner-up last year in the season’s second major, said after coming in at 4-under 33 at Westchester Country Club. “We weren’t out of it by any means, but obviously being a major, you never know if you’re going to birdie that many holes coming in. If you’re already over par, it’s hard to get it back. It was just fun.”

The gambit worked for both golfers, with Lincicome making two birdies and an eagle and Korda drilling four birdies after they threw down. The duo did not invite the third member of their group, Cristie Kerr, into the side bet “because she was already making too many birdies,” said Lincicome. “She doesn’t need any motivation.”

The threesome ended the first round in a 15-way tie for eighth place at 3-under, four strokes back of 18-hole leader Jenny Shin. Newest teen phenom in women’s golf, Brooke Henderson, 17, was a shot back and in solo second, while 40-year-old Hall of Famer Karrie Webb sat among three players at 68.

While Webb’s motivation this week is to win her eighth major and the first since the 2006 Kraft Nabisco, Henderson hoped that a strong performance at Westchester would convince LPGA commissioner Mike Whan to waive the minimum-age requirement of 18 and grant her tour membership. He denied the request when Henderson petitioned for a waiver last year.

Since then, Henderson, playing this week on the fifth of six allowable sponsor exemptions, turned professional in December and finished third at the Swinging Skirts Classic in April.

Henderson, who will turn 18 on September 10, could apply for membership if she earns as much as the 40th-place player on the LPGA money list. With more than $184,000 in winnings in six events in 2015, she would rank 33rd, is eligible for next month’s U.S. Women’s Open thanks to a top-10 outcome in last year’s event, and expects an invitation to the British Women’s Open at the end of July.

A win this week in her first major as a pro would likely secure her a tour membership since Lydia Ko and Lexi Thompson received memberships after they won tour contests.

“It’s definitely in the back of my mind. I’m thinking about it,” said Henderson, who, but for a three-putt bogey on her last hole (No. 9), would be tied for the lead. “It would be amazing to get a win this year and not have to go through Q-school or have to worry about the money list. So I just have to get there one way or another.”

Henderson’s father, who is caddying for Brooke this week, was more outspoken about his daughter obtaining her tour card.

“Brooke can play. She can go. That’s what we tell Mike Whan every day. Give us a chance. Let us in. Brooke can play. She’s shown that she can and she’ll continue to play well,” Dave Henderson told reporters following the first round.

“What more do you want? Brooke’s good for golf, she’s good for revenue. She brings young people into the game,” he said. “All [Whan] has to do is bring a motion forward to the table and vote on it. That’s what we’re hoping that gives her a chance.”