Lincicome shoots 78 in her PGA Tour debut

The Associated Press

Brittany Lincicome NICHOLASVILLE, has a huge hole to climb out of if she hopes to make golf history.

Lincicome shot a 6-over 78 in the first round of the Barbasol Championship on Thursday, leaving the LPGA Tour pro’s goal of making the cut likely out of reach.

She was hoping to become the second woman to make the cut in a men’s event and the first since Babe Zaharias in 1945. She’s the first woman to get a PGA Tour start since Michelle Wie a decade ago.

Troy Merritt surged to the first-round lead with a 10-under 62, equaling the course record on the Champion Trace course at Keene Trace Golf Club,.

However, much of Thursday’s attention centered on Lincicome, whose eight LPGA Tour wins include two majors.

Although Lincicome expected to struggle with the length of the golf course, her worst holes were two par-3s. She missed her tee shot well right on the 191-yard seventh — her 16th hole of the day — leaving her a difficult pitch from a downhill lie in the rough. That came up short of the green and she ultimately made a triple-bogey 6.

On the 205-yard 18th, her tee shot came up short in the water, leading to double bogey.

She played the other 16 holes in 1-over, making her only birdie on the par-4 third.

Lincicome would likely need a round in the mid-60s on Friday to make the cut.