Sports

BRITTANY’S CRANKING UP FOR MATCH PLAY DEFENSE

Brittany Lincicome is champing at the bit as she counts down the days until she defends her title at next month’s HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship.

Fresh off a tie for sixth at the LPGA Championship, Lincicome came to New Rochelle yesterday to take a sneak peek at Wykagyl Country Club, the new venue of the $2 million tournament that will feature the top 64 players in women’s golf.

“I finally found what I was looking for,” said Lincicome, the tall, 21-year-old blonde from Florida who won her first LPGA tournament last summer when it was played in New Jersey at Hamilton Farm. “This year, everything is rolling together. I’m putting well and I’m driving well.”

One of the LPGA’s “young guns,” Lincicome posted match-play wins over Michelle Wie and Lorena Ochoa en route to a 3-and-2 victory over Juli Inkster in last year’s final. Two months ago, she notched her second win at the Ginn Open.

“Match play is my personal fave; it fits my game so well,” said Lincicome. “I love to be aggressive. I can go for the par 5s in two and make an eagle.”

Currently 12th in the world rankings, Lincicome will face a Wykagyl course that has undergone some extensive renovation by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore. Also, tournament organizers will reroute the venerable 6,209-yard, par-71 layout for the tournament so that four of the finishing holes will be close to the clubhouse.

“The course is in fantastic shape,” said Lincicome. “The greens are rolling at least a 10 [on the Stimpmeter] already, and it’s not even close to tournament time.”

The four-day event tees off July 19 and will be televised by CBS and the Golf Channel.