OLYMPIA FIELDS, Illinois (Reuters) - Lexi Thompson spoke for the first time about her mother Judy's recent uterine cancer diagnosis at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Olympia Fields on Thursday.
"It's been rough," Thompson said, speaking after her first round. "I've known for a few weeks. She's my best friend.
"So hearing that, and then just dealing with a lot of things this year, it was kind of like a breakdown moment for me."
The eight-times LPGA Tour winner said her mother had already been through a battle with cancer.
"I remember when she got diagnosed with breast cancer and luckily they caught it pretty early when it was a small size," she said.
"That was a challenging time for me when I was younger. She's about an eight-or-10-year survivor. Just to see how much she's fighting, it's inspirational."
Thompson carded a one-under 70 on Thursday, four strokes behind leaders Amy Yang and Chella Choi.
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
