5 things to know about LPGA tourney: Lexi Thompson back after mental break

David Woods
IndyStar
Lexi Thompson watches her drive as it leaves the Yard of Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where she helped unveil the ticket for next month's LPGA Indy Women in Tech Championship at Brickyard Crossing Golf Course in Indianapolis, Monday, July 16, 2018.

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indy Women in Tech Championship comes to Brickyard Crossing for the second time. Last year's event was the LPGA's first stop in Indiana since the 2005 Solheim Cup.

The 72-hole tournament – it was 54 holes in 2017 – runs Thursday through Sunday. Total purse is $2 million, with $300,000 to the champion. Live coverage on the Golf Channel will be noon-2:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 5-7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Full-event general admission is $45, and single day is $20. Those 17 and under are admitted free with a paying adult. Gates open at 7 a.m.

Five things to know:

Champion takes mental break

This tournament’s defending champion, Lexi Thompson, has not won since last year’s IWiT. She withdrew from last month’s British Open “to take some time to work on myself,” she wrote on Instagram.

She has five top-10 finishes this year and tied for 38th in her most recent start.

Without elaborating, she posted “events of the past year and half (on and off the golf course) have taken a tremendous toll on me both mentally and emotionally. I have not truly felt like myself for quite some time.”

Thompson, 23, of Coral Springs, Fla., has a fast-tracked career. At age 12, she became the youngest to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open, then won the U.S. Girls’ Junior title at 13. At 16, she was the youngest to win an LPGA tournament, and at 19 she became second-youngest to win a major (2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship). She represented the United States at the 2016 Rio Olympics and tied for 19th.

After winning here last year, she memorably poured milk over her head and kissed the bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

More:Center Grove's Erica Shepherd looking for repeat junior title, LPGA future

More:Lexi Thompson shows off her driving skills at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Jun 29, 2018; Kildeer, IL, USA; Ariya Jutanugarn hits her tee shot on the 10th hole during the second round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship golf tournament at Kemper Lakes Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The stars are out

Seven of the world’s top 10 are in the field: No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn, No. 2 So Yeon Ryu, No. 4 Sung Hyun Park, No. 5 Thompson, No. 6 Shanshan Feng, No. 7 Minjee Lee and No. 9 Jessica Korda.

Thompson starts at 8:32 a.m. Thursday off the first tee, joined by Ryu and Feng. Jutanugurn's threesome starts at 1:32 p.m. on the 10th tee.

One of the sport’s most recognizable names, Michelle Wei, pulled out of the British Open because of a hand injury and is skipping Indianapolis as well.

Multicultural sport

Asian players are dominating the tour, as they have for years. Out of 22 tournaments in 2018, Americans have won just four (Brittany Lincicome, Jessica Korda, Wie and Annie Park).

There have been seven champions from South Korea and five from Thailand, featuring Jutanugarn’s three. Jutanugarn leads the tour in money standings, $2,161,815, and scoring average, 69.44.

LPGA = parity

The NFL would be envious of the LPGA’s parity.

Out of 22 tournaments, there have been 19 different winners. In other words, the same women are not winning every week.

There are 14 winners in the IWiT field, including six first-timers: Nasa Hataoka, Moriya Jutanugarn, Jin Young Ko, Pernilla Lindberg, Park and Thidapa Suwannapura.

Here are Hoosiers (and Boilers)

Among Indiana players in the field are Terre Haute resident Amy (Anderson) Olson, 26, a native of Oxbow, North Dakota. At North Dakota State, she won a record 20 collegiate events. She is married to Indiana State linebackers coach Grant Olson.

Former Big Ten champions from Purdue include Spain’s Maria Hernandez, the 2009 NCAA champ; Canada’s Maude-Aimee LeBlanc, and South Africa’s Paula Reto, who was third in the 2013 NCAA tournament and played at the 2016 Olympics.

Entered on a sponsor’s exemption is Danah (Ford) Bordner, 37, a Lawrence Central and Indiana University graduate who was the 2004 Big Ten champ. Bordner, 37, is the wife of a golf pro near Rochester, N.Y., and mother of two daughters.

Erica Shepherd, 17, a Center Grove senior, made the field in Monday’s qualifier. She won last year’s U.S. Girls’ championship. Shepherd is in the fifth group of the first round, starting at 7:37 a.m. on the first tee.

Olson, Bordner and Ally McDonald are in a threesome starting at 8:54 off the first tee.

Email IndyStar reporter David Woods at david.woods@indystar.com or call (317) 444-6195. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.