Lincicome shows heart in major way

Brittany Lincicome’s heart raced and her hands shook as she clutched her club on the 18th fairway. She repeatedly told best friend and playing partner, Kristy McPherson, throughout the fourth round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship at Rancho Mirage that she’s “good to have a heart attack.”

It put the lessons she learned from the Vision 54 program to the ultimate test. All week, Lincicome reverted to the program’s teachings, which emphasized the importance of the mental part of golf, by thinking about her 100-pound Rottweiler named Bunker, fishing and singing country music songs from Sugarland and Kenny Chesney.

She took a deep breath and launched her approach shot.

“Please be good,” said Lincicome, while watching the ball go across the water and onto the upper part of the green.

The ball curled down just above the hole. She then sank what she called “the best shot of my life” -- a six-foot eagle putt to finish with a three-under-par 69 and secure her third career LPGA victory and first major.

Lincicome, who finished at nine-under 279, pumped her fist and hugged McPherson, who tied Cristie Kerr for second at eight-under.

“I don’t even know how to describe the feeling I felt,” Lincicome said. “At one point, that I could get sick at any moment because I was shaking and so nervous. Or I was going to pass out because I was trying to breathe really heavy.”

Lincicome can, instead, breathe a sigh of relief. She became the first American winner in the last six majors. Kerr was the last to do so in the 2007 U.S. Open.

Defending champion Lorena Ochoa shot a 69 and finished in a tie for 12th at one under. Lindsey Wright (70) was fourth, while Suzann Pettersen (66) and Meaghan Francella (69) tied for fifth at five under. Michelle Wie shot a 71 and tied for 67th at 16 over.

Lincicome kept battling her nerves throughout the round. She tries not to look at the leaderboard because it only fuels her anxiety.

But Lincicome still caught a glance and noticed Kerr holding a two-stroke lead thanks to 20- and 25-foot birdies on the second and fourth holes.

That’s when Lincicome said to McPherson, “We need to kick this in gear and get something going.”

The best friends often walked side by side down the fairway, talking about “anything you could possibly think of,” said Lincicome, including asking McPherson to help calm her nerves.

“She wouldn’t shut up,” McPherson said, laughing. “She was pretty funny out there.”

“To have Kristy McPherson there really helped me,” Lincicome said. “For her too probably to relax and to hit some good shots. Not that I didn’t want Cristie Kerr to win, but Kristy McPherson is my best friend. I was looking at her like, ‘One of the two of us has to win.’ ”

McPherson birdied the seventh, ninth and 10th holes while Lincicome birdied the eighth and ninth.

Kerr still had a one-shot edge over McPherson but her drive went out of bounds on the 15th hole. McPherson, meanwhile, nearly holed her tee shot on the 17th hole, but the ball struck the pin and rolled too far away for her to make birdie.

Lincicome took the lead when it mattered the most -- at the end.

“Whoever made the most putts today or the least mistakes would win,” Kerr said. “That’s what it takes to win majors.”

Lincicome earned $300,000 of the $2-million purse.

“It’s nice to get back in there and actually pull it out in the end,” she said. “I know that I can do it. From here on out, if I do get in that situation again, I just know that I have the shot to pull it off.”

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mark.medina@latimes.com