Ko Ready to Go, Thompson Leads American Charge and More from Phoenix

World No. 1 Lydia Ko is excited to begin the U.S. swing, a stretch last year where she finished as the Founders Cup runner-up and won the next two tournaments, including her second major championship at the ANA Inspiration.

“I think it’s always nice to be back to a place where you’ve played well,” Ko said. “It brings back a lot of good memories. Like I said earlier, this tournament is great because it celebrates us players and the founders who really started the LPGA, and then the generations coming up with the Girls’ Golf.”

Lexi Thompson is the top-ranked American in the field at No. 7 in the world as the LPGA Tour plays on U.S. for the first time in 2017.  Changes in Thompson’s game, specifically her putting, have attributed to a fast start for the 21-year-old who ranks 18th on Tour in putts per GIR (49th in 2016) and 57th in putting average (139th in 2016).

“I’m hitting it a lot more consistent and just trying to have a nice good tempo swing, 70%, 80% . Then I changed a lot in my putting. Moved a lot closer and got my eye more over the line, and it’s been helping me out a lot.”

Thompson has top- 4 finishes in two of her first three start and is looking for her first win since the 2016 Honda LPGA Thailand.

Brittany Lincicome told the media Wednesday her goal for the 2017 season is to make the Solheim Cup. Entering the season she was 15th in Team USA standings, but with a win in the season-opening Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic and a top-15 finish at the Honda LPGA Thailand she’s moved all the way up to sixth (top eight players automatically qualify).

Lincicome’s kept her eye on the standings this year, something she typically doesn’t pay attention to, “Would like to just keep going a little bit further each week,” Lincicome said. “Normally I never would look, but this year I’ve looked. I think it was Angela (Stanford) at one point. I was like, Okay, I just need to pass Angela. Then it was (Jessica) Korda. Just need to keep passing the next person to make sure I make the team. I’ve been a part of five already, and I would hate to miss being on another team.”

LPGA Tour Hall of Famer Inbee Park has already made her presence felt in her return to playing on the LPGA Tour full-time, winning at the HSBC Women’s Champions for her 18th career victory.

Park, who became the only player with multiple wins at the event, wasn’t expecting to get back into the winner’s circle so quickly in just her second start since winning Olympic Gold in Rio.

“That win was a little bit of a surprise to me as well. I thought I might take a little bit longer. I wasn’t pushing myself at all. I was just really happy that I’m playing again, healthy again and playing tournaments.

As Girls Golf continues to ride a remarkably strong surge of growth in the United States, the LPGA launched a “Changing the Face of the Game” campaign ahead of this week’s Bank of Hope Founders Cup. Follow the link to read more about the campaign and the growth of Girls Golf: http://www.lpga.com/news/2017-lpga-launches-changing-the-face-of-the-game-campaign

Over the last 20 years, the growth of girls’ golf in the U.S. has far outpaced that of the boys. In 1995, girls made up only 17% of all junior golfers -- today they total one third, according to the National Golf Foundation.

Brooke Henderson’s fan following continues to grow - on Wednesday, the 19-year-old was supported by fellow Canadian and Arizona Coyotes left wing Brenden Perlini. Perlini gave the Henderson family tickets to see her favorite team, the Ottawa Senators, face off against the Coyotes last Thursday and he managed to score a goal in front of his favorite LPGA golfer.

“I just heard she was at the game other night, and obviously just kind of wanted to come out today and watch her play,” said Perlini. “Obviously being Canadian, she’s obviously huge for the sport in Canada.”

Lydia Ko:

“I actually got meet The King, Mr. Palmer, at the Masters last year. He was always -- I think the name The King is so perfectly suited for him because he was a people’s man. No matter his good day or bad days, he was always there to support the fans that came out, the volunteers, his fellow players. That was what made him him. Even though he was such an incredible, amazing player, he was so approachable, I think. And what he’s done with the hospital to help children, I think it’s great. He’s touched a lot of people all around the world.”

Lexi Thompson:

“Honestly, just the role model that he is to me as well as a lot of other players. He gave so much back to the game. But obviously the amazing player that he was. I got to meet him. He’s just a genuine person, somebody that we all look up to and want to be like when we get older and have people think of us the way they did about him.”

Hollis Stacy and Sandra Post are being honored as LPGA “Pioneers” honoring their exemplary participation in the development and advancement of the LPGA Tour and women’s golf

Post was the first Canadian to play on the LPGA Tour as a rookie season in 1968, she won the LPGA Championship and was also named Rookie of the Year

Post is an eight-time LPGA winner/major champion, and in 1979 she was named Canada’s Female Athlete of the Year, and the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s Outstanding Athlete of the Year

Stacy won four major championships in her 26-year career, including three U.S. Women’s Opens - she’s one of six women to have claimed the title three or more times. In total, she won 18 LPGA titles, six of which came in playoffs.

Stacy is tied with Meg Mallon, Inbee Park and Cristie Kerr with 18 LPGA Tour wins, which ranks 28th all-time for most wins.

Lydia Ko’s last victory came at the 2016 Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning and O-I after a four-hole playoff, where Ko outlasted Ariya Jutanugarn and Mirim Lee for her 14th career LPGA win

Ko has spent 73 consecutive weeks at No. 1, only behind Yani Tseng who held the spot for 109 weeks (2011-2013) and Lorena Ochoa who holds the record with 158 consecutive weeks at No. 1 (2007-2010)

Ko finished tied for eighth at the Honda LPGA Thailand for her first top-10 of the season, and posted her second consecutive top-10 finish with a T9 finish at the HSBC Women’s Champions

With two top-5 finishes in 3 events this season, Lexi Thompson leads the Solheim Cup standings for Team USA

Thompson has won an event in each of the past four season, the second longest streak on the LPGA Tour

The Bank of Hope Founders Cup was created in 2011 to honor the 13 women who started the LPGA. Three of the original LPGA founders will be in attendance at the tournament: Marilynn Smith, Shirley Spork and Marlene Hagge Vossler, while 89-year-old Spork played in Wednesday’s Pro-Am.

Several players talked about how special it is to have the Tour’s Founders follow them this week.

“I just had couple holes with Marilyn Smith on the course today,” said Inbee Park. “Obviously she looked really healthy as well. I know the Founders done a lot of things for us, that we are here because of the founders. I had great time with the founders to thank them. She said she loves my swing and putting stroke. It was great to hear something like that from the founders. I was just proud of myself.”

The Bank of Hope Founders Cup has a strong charitable component that speaks to its roots, helping to raise more than $3 million for the LPGA*USGA Girls Golf Program. Throughout its 20-year history, Girls Golf has empowered a total of more than 300,000 girls through golf — now impacting 60,000 more young women each year through more than 380 Girls Golf programs.