Brittany Lincicome on playing the PGA Tour: 'Girls should play with the boys sometimes'
Babe Zaharias was the last woman to make the cut in the men's event in 1945.
As she prepared to tee off this morning, Brittany Lincicome knew she won't just have the eyes of the officials and the media on her. Girls across the country would also be watching to see whether the 32-year-old golfer would be able to break barriers and make history in what has been historically a man's game.
"We're always trying to get more girls encouraged to join the game of golf, but I guess as a whole, it's probably more of a boy's sport," Lincicome told ABC News. "But that's 100 percent changing over the last couple years. It's kind of cool to be a part of, trying to get more girls involved in the game of golf."
Lincicome is on the course today in Nicholasville, Kentucky, for the PGA Barbasol Championship. She is the sixth woman to compete in a PGA Tour event. Babe Zaharias was the last woman to make the cut in a men's event in 1945.
Now, some 70 years later, Lincicome said she is hoping her strong game -- she's won the LPGA Tour eight times and is one of the longest female hitters -- will help carry her through the weekend.
Lincicome shared her hopes for the tournament, her message for girl golfers and what's on her playlist with ABC News.
I remember back in the day, I had to play on the boys' high school team because we didn't have enough girls to make a girls' team
Tell us a little bit about how you got to this exciting, potentially historic place.
Lincicome: I'm sponsored by PureSilk, which with Barbasol, are one in the same in terms of the owners. And [Tom Murray, the CEO of parent company Perio] called a couple months ago and said, 'Hey, I have a sponsor invite I would love for you to accept.' After thinking about it for a couple of days, I thought, why not? I've always seen Michelle Wie and Annika Sorenstam doing it in years past, so I thought, 'Wow, that would be super cool to try one day.' But never did I think I would actually have the opportunity to try something like this. That is how it came about and I'm super excited to be here in Kentucky and I can't wait to tee it up.
When is the last time that a woman played in this competition? What does it mean to you to be here?
Lincicome: Michelle Wie was the last one to do it and it was probably 10 years ago. I actually played with her recently and trying to get some advice off her, but she just said she couldn't really remember what it was like to play because it was so long ago, unfortunately. But I think it's great for women and women's golf to be invited to play in such a wonderful event, so I'm very excited.
I'm playing with guys instead of girls, and then there's going to be all of the media attention ... I'm just going to have to calm my nerves pretty quickly.
You're one of several high-profile professional female golfers. But on the more local level, is it still too much of a guy's club or a men's sport?
Lincicome: I guess so. There's definitely more women who are coming up in the junior golf ranks.
We're always trying to get more girls encouraged to join the game of golf, but I guess as a whole, it's probably more of a boy's sport. But that's 100 percent changing over the last couple years. It's kind of cool to be a part of, trying to get more girls involved in the game of golf.
I remember back in the day, I had to play on the boys' high school team because we didn't have enough girls to make a girls' team. And nowadays, last week I actually met a girl who said they had 19 girls on their girls' golf team, which is incredible. So it's definitely coming a long way and I think that's great.
What have you been doing to prepare and what has been going through your mind?
Lincicome: I'm super nervous. I'm going to try to get a good night's rest, I'm sure I'll be anxious to get out there and tee it up. The first three or four holes, I'm going to be super nervous. Obviously, this is not my normal week. I'm playing with guys instead of girls, and then there's going to be all of the media attention, there will be a lot of people following me, rooting me on. I'm just going to have to calm my nerves pretty quickly. Hopefully, I can do that. That will be the make-or-break, really. I'm playing really well right now, so that's great. My golf game is good so I just need to kind of calm the nerves quickly.
How do you calm your nerves and stay focused?
Lincicome: That's the million-dollar question. I don't know -- a lot of deep breaths, drinking some water, taking slow steps, not walking too quick, taking my time through shots. So yes, it's going to be very challenging.
That's pretty incredible when you can use your talent and your skills to influence children. I think that's amazing.
Is it tough to focus out there being the only woman playing with men and all the media attention? Does that make it even harder to concentrate?
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Lincicome: Yeah, just a little bit. Luckily, my caddy is a female so it will be her and I out there against the boys, but like I said earlier, I played on the high school boy's team. I play with the head pros at my club at home, so I tend to play with more guys anyway, so it really shouldn't be that big of a deal playing with the guys. It will be more the media and the fans and everyone watching.
Would you like to see the sport get to a place where competitions are open generally to whoever qualifies, men and women?
Lincicome: Yeah, that would be really cool. Even just a mixed team event where a guy and a girl play on a team together for an event would be really cool. We had one way, way back in the day. They canceled it before I turned pro so I wasn't able to be a part of it but that would be fantastic to have a mixed team competition.
As a young woman, are you hoping that you going out there doing this will inspire or send a message to girls who are interested in golf?
Lincicome: Oh my gosh, absolutely, yes. I love helping out the kids, boys and girls, but obviously more girls because I'm a girl and I want to get them encouraged to get into the game of golf. Whether it's a high school level or a college level, there are so many unused girls' college scholarships. It's really sad, girls can go anywhere and it's a free ride. So I'm always trying to encourage the girls. I had a girl and her dad come up to me at the U.S. Open a couple weeks ago, and then she came out this week and is going to support me. So I've already influenced one child. That's pretty incredible when you can use your talent and your skills to influence children. I think that's amazing.
You mentioned you have played with men a lot from the time you were in high school to now. Have you ever had men dismiss you or underestimate you because you're a woman?
Lincicome: No, I think more in junior golf, my high school team loved me because I helped them win. But when we saw other teams, those boys didn't really care for me as much because they knew I was going to beat them [laughs]. Or they knew that they were going to have to play really good that day to beat me. But I loved it. Guys are so talented and they have great game skills -- I think that helped me get where I am today. It helped make my game better by playing with the guys, so I think girls -- and young girls -- should play with the boys sometimes. I think it will help their game. They hit it far, they have great short game -- you can learn a lot from guys. It's great.
And can the guys learn a lot from you?
Lincicome: Yeah, for sure. Our swings are obviously a lot slower but we pretty much do the same things as they do. They just hit it quite a bit farther.
Is there any little ritual that you do before the game to prepare?
Lincicome: Not really. I go to the driving range to start my preparation about an hour before, and I just listen to the music to kind of calm me down and put me in a good place. I literally can't do anything without music, whether it's playing golf, cleaning the house, anything. I love listening to music, it puts me in a good place, so I'll be doing that for sure.
It helped make my game better by playing with the guys, so I think young girls should play with the boys sometimes. I think it will help their game.
What's on your playlist?
Lincicome: Oh my gosh, literally anything and everything. There's country, there's rap, there's hip hop. More country, probably, just to kind of not get me too jazzed up before I play golf.
What's a recurring song you used to get yourself pumped up?
Lincicome: I really like Sugarland, so there's a lot of Sugarland on my playlist. And I love Carrie Underwood.
Editor's note: This interview has been edited for clarity.
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