Lexi Thompson – Syndication Server

As Lexi Thompson nears retirement after CME, she’ll miss this most about life on LPGA

“To see the smile on fan’s faces and the impact, that means more to me than anything.”

NAPLES, Fla. — Lexi Thompson packed all the essentials for her final chapter as a full-time member on the LPGA Tour.

Clubs. Balls. Tees.

And plenty of shoes and gloves.

“I have my usual gloves and shoes to be signed for all the fans,” she said. “I’ll be giving out some shoes. I don’t have that many anymore. I’ve given out so many.”

The tradition started about 15 years ago, when Thompson was a teenage prodigy. Then she started seeing pictures of little girls holding up her shoes. Now, those pictures are on her desk at home.

“To see the smile on fan’s faces and the impact, that means more to me than anything,” Thompson said.

Ready to enjoy and lead a ‘more normal life’

A flood of emotions will come over Thompson on Sunday as she walks down the 18th fairway at Tiburon Golf Club. There will be other Sundays, but not nearly as many as she plans on playing only a few events each year.

But as far as going through the grind of about 20 competitive events and other obligations each year, and traveling around the world to play golf tournaments, those days are over.

Thompson, 29, is retiring from full-time golf. Although she will not be joining the early-bird and pickleball crowd as a full-fledged South Florida retiree, she is looking forward to a much more relaxed schedule. She will be living “more of a normal life,” one that will include spending more time on her business, Lexi Fitness, traveling for pleasure and picking up another hobby or two.

“I am just going to embrace the week,” said Thompson, who made the announcement in May. “After the announcement it was an emotional few weeks not really knowing what to expect with the reaction from everybody, but it’s been incredible.”

And it’s fitting one of the most popular and influential golfers ends her official season at the CME Group Tour Championship (she will be teaming with Rickie Fowler at the Grant Thornton Invitational next month at Tiburon), after not qualifying for the event for the first time last year. She is in the field this week by virtue of finishing 50th on the points list.

Thompson missed four straight cuts during a six-week stretch starting in April but rebounded with three consecutive top 10s, including runner-up at the Meijer LPGA Classic. She has not won on the LPGA in nearly five years, her last victory at the 2019 ShopRite LPGA Classic.

But her favorite memories since deciding golf would no longer be the focus of her life were not about one shot, one hole, one tournament.

But the notes. The signs.

And the smiles.

“Just the amount of love from the fans and everybody that has supported me throughout my career, whether it’s messages through Instagram or notes or signs that people make or give to me at the end of my round,” she said. “It puts me in tears because that’s why I played the game. I wanted to make an impact on the sport.”

She has … beyond breaking glass ceilings along the way.

Lexi Thompson won 11 times on LPGA Tour, 15 times world wide

Thompson is an 11-time LPGA Tour winner, including one major at the 2014 Chevron Championship. She has won 15 times world wide. She is a two-time Olympian, a seven-time U.S. Solheim Cup team member.

In 2007, at the age of 12, Thompson became the youngest ever to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open. At age 16, she won the Navistar LPGA Classic, becoming the youngest champion on the LPGA Tour.

Both records since have been broken.

In October of 2023, Thompson became the seventh woman to compete in a PGA Tour event at the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas. She was the second woman to break 70 in a PGA Tour event, shooting a 69 in the second round. Her 36-hole total of even par missed the cut by three shots.

And with nearly $15 million in prize money, Thompson is ninth on the all-time LPGA money list.

But as much as any golfer, she has connected with and inspired young girls and boys. And she has been open about her mental health struggles.

“Seeing the smiles on their faces,” she said about the kids. “Whatever it is that I was a role model, that’s meant more than anything.”

That’s what she will miss the most. And stopping to greet every smiling little girl and boy, making their days a little more special by handing over a pair of her shoes.

“I love doing it,” she said. “I wanted to leave the game in a better place and have that impact. This week is always great because so many kids come out to watch. I’m really hoping to see a ton over the weekend and give out some shoes and just see the smiles and the happiness that they have to just be out here.”

‘It’s gotten worse’: Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson blast LPGA’s slow play problem

“Just be ready when it’s your turn.”

NAPLES, Fla. — Nelly Korda plays so fast there are times that her caddie, Jason McDede, has to slow her down. There are many things to admire about the No. 1 player in the world, and the speed with which she plays the game hovers near the top of the list.

“I just always say, your first instinct is your best instinct,” said Korda, who’s fresh off her seventh victory of the season. “Just be ready when it’s your turn.”

The topic of slow play is nothing new, of course, but Lexi Thompson thinks the LPGA is only getting slower.

“I don’t really know why it’s gotten worse,” said Thompson, “but it has unfortunately.”

Korda and Charley Hull were part of a third round that finished in the dark on Saturday last week at The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. Two of the fastest players on tour were forced to suffer through a round that took five hours and 38 minutes. The tour went 51 minutes over its allotted TV window. In this case, Golf Channel extended coverage.

Nichols: Slow play continues to be a black eye for the LPGA. It’s time to shrink the field at The Annika

“I personally think it’s a pretty big issue,” said Korda. “I think it’s not good for the fans that come out and watch us. If it was me personally, I would be very, very annoyed watching for five hours, over five hours, five hours and 40 minutes, close to six. I just think it really drags the game down.

“I think that it really, really needs to change.”

When asked about slow play after The Annika, Hull offered a rather extreme answer to the problem, calling for repeat offenders to lose their tour cards. Korda shared a video of Hull’s comments on social media, as did PGA Tour player Max Homa.

“I’m quite ruthless,” said Hull, “but I said, listen, if you get three bad timings, every time it’s a two-shot penalty, if you have three of them you lose your tour card instantly. I’m sure that would hurry a lot of people up and they won’t want to lose their tour card.

“That would kill the slow play, but they would never do that.”

2024 The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican — Charley Hull of England and Nelly Korda of the United States prepare to play the first hole during the final round of The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican 2024 at Pelican Golf Club on November 17, 2024 in Belleair, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

After playing the weekend together at Pelican, Korda and Hull played a practice round on Tuesday at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples. Not surprisingly, the topic of slow play came up again, likely during a long wait.

“She was talking and it’s like either a 5 or a 6, like you got two options,” said Korda. “It’s either wind is off your right or wind is off your left, wind is into, wind is down. You can’t – it’s just people just try to overcomplicate it.”

Korda echoes the thoughts of many when she says that the tour needs more rules officials. She’d like to see officials out with the first group, ready to prod. She’d also like to see more penalties given out.

“To be standing over a putt for two to three minutes, that’s ridiculous,” said Korda. “When a group in front of me is on the green and I’m in the fairway, I’m already getting ready. I’m getting my numbers ready, talking about the shot, so by the time it’s my turn, I already have my game plan. … People start their process a little too late and they stand over it too long.”

Thompson called Hull’s slow-play solution “aggressive” but said she didn’t disagree, noting rounds should never take more than four and a half hours.

“Something has to be done to quicken up the play out there,” said Thompson.

The tour’s most popular players have had enough.

Solheim Cup champs Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson, Rose Zhang headline field at Kroger Queen City Championship as LPGA returns

Fresh off the 2024 Solheim Cup, the LPGA is right back at it this week.

There will be 11 players competing in the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G in Maineville, Ohio, outside Cincinnati.

Three of those – Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang – are from the winning American side, set to play just five days after hoisting the trophy.

“Gosh, it was such an unbelievable and crazy week,” Korda said. “It was just overall so much fun with our caddies, with the assistants, Stacy, the helpers, with the girls, too. That was my fourth Solheim Cup, and obviously it was sweeter to get the victory at the end of the week, but also such an amazing week with the girls.”

But now it’s back to LPGA competition where she’ll be battling her American teammates.

“Just hate all the girls again,” she quipped, which brought laughs to media center. “Coming out here and competing, doing what I love just gives me a little bit more energy boost.”

The eight Europeans in the field are Linn Grant, Georgia Hall, Esther Henseleit, Charley Hull, Leona Maguire, Anna Nordqvist, Madelene Sagstrom and Albane Valenzuela.

This is the third playing of the event but the first time that the Arnold Palmer-designed TPC River’s Bend is the host course following two years at Kenwood Country Club. It’s just the third time the LPGA has played a tournament at a TPC venue. Just last month, the inaugural FM Championship was at TPC Boston. The 2023 Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown was at TPC Harding Park.

Minjee Lee is the defending champion this week. She took down Charley Hull on the second playoff hole a year ago.

There are four sponsor exemptions in the event: Amari Avery, Gianna Clemente, Gabrielle Woods (who won the Div. II individual NCAA championship last season playing for Findlay) and Yana Wilson, a former No. 1-ranked player in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.

The Kroger is the first of the remaining nine events on the LPGA’s 2024 schedule.

Players weigh in on Lexi Thompson’s Solheim Cup legacy, and the ‘massive void’ she’ll leave behind

“She’s going to do whatever it takes to win, and I wish I had 12 of them.”

GAINESVILLE, Ga. – Judy Rankin says Lexi Thompson is as patriotic as anybody that’s ever played. Stacy Lewis believes Thompson’s legacy in the game is the Solheim Cup. On the eve of what could be Thompson’s final appearance wearing the red, white and blue, there could be no better place to consider what the 29-year-old has meant to American golf.

“I think we all as players owe her a lot,” said Ireland’s Leona Maguire, who first played against Thompson at the 2009 Junior Solheim Cup. “She carried a lot of the weight for a long time of American hope for the tour, and she shouldered a lot of the media pressure and expectation.”

Thompson announced earlier this season at the U.S. Women’s Open that this would be her final full season on the LPGA. She hasn’t used the word retirement. While no one would be surprised to see her tee it up in select events in 2025, it’s difficult to believe that she’d play enough to merit a spot on the 2026 U.S. Solheim team.

“It’s a massive void,” said Lewis. “Whoever is the next captain, they need to get her on as an assistant, that’s all I can say. Lexi needs to be there in the team room.”

Thompson, who was one of three captain’s picks this year for Lewis, is making her seventh Solheim Cup appearance at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, with her first coming in 2013. She boasts an overall record of 9-7-7. Last year in Spain, Thompson played her way onto Lewis’ team despite playing some of the worst golf of her career. She turned it around in time for the competition, however, and Lewis sent her out in the first match.

Thompson went 3-1-0 for the week.

“She plays better golf here,” Lewis explained.

Lexi Thompson of Team United States signs autographs for fans prior to the Solheim Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on September 12, 2024 in Gainesville, Virginia. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Coming into a Solheim Cup year, playing for Team USA is always Thompson’s No. 1 goal. While she was emotional last month at the Old Course at St. Andrews, where she likely played in her final AIG Women’s British Open and potentially her final major, Thompson hasn’t let herself go there so far this week.

“This is my favorite event that I’ve ever played in my career,” she said, “so enjoying the fans out there, signing the autographs, hearing the slow chants out there right now building up … just enjoying every step along the way.”

Winning, of course, would go a long way toward that enjoyment. Team USA hasn’t won this event since 2017. Thompson is one of only two players on Lewis’ team who know what it feels like to win a Solheim Cup. Alison Lee was also part of that stirring comeback in 2015 in Germany.

“That’s the one thing we have going against us,” said Lewis, “but at some point they’re going to win one, and at some point they’re going to get over the hump, just the odds of it.”

Solheim Cup: Scoreboard, teams | Photos

That’s one of the reasons Lewis brought assistant captains Paula Creamer and Brittany Lincicome into the fold this year, to add more confidence and experience to the team room.

Thompson’s career, at both the Solheim and beyond, has had more controversy and difficulty than most. There have been times, Rankin believes, when Thompson could’ve chosen an easier road for herself.

At last year’s cup, for example, Thompson shanked a shot on the 18th hole late on Friday, which ultimately helped shift the momentum toward Europe heading into the weekend. When asked about the miscue during a press conference, Thompson said curtly, “I don’t need to comment on that.”

The reaction created a stir amongst the media and on social media. Rankin believes that was the wrong approach.

“I just think there’s not a whole lot of reason to laugh at yourself in this game,” said Rankin. “And I think had she laughed at herself when she made some of these mistakes a few times, it would’ve been easier on her.”

Lexi Thompson of Team USA reacts before the Solheim Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on September 11, 2024 in Gainesville, Virginia. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

Few players on the modern tour have the kind of experience Thompson boasts, though she’s not yet 30. A winner on tour at age 16, even older players like Ally Ewing, who has been pegged the team’s “mama bear” this week, look up to the former phenom.

Thompson isn’t a big speechmaker. She leads with good energy and a strong work ethic. Lewis said she could pair the 11-time winner with anyone on the team and she’d be fine.

“She was testing a golf ball the other day that was going like 7 or 8 yards shorter with the wedge,” said Lewis. “She’s like, it’s OK, I’m just going to get my numbers, it’s good. Where anybody else would just be freaking out that a wedge is going that much shorter, she’s like, it’s fine. I’ll just get my numbers.

“She’s that kind of person. She’s going to do whatever it takes to win, and I wish I had 12 of them.”

The Match: Looking back at all nine made-for-TV golf matches

Which version of The Match was your favorite?

It’s been nearly six years since the first edition of The Match, the made-for-TV series of silly season golf events featuring everyone from PGA Tour legends to current NFL and NBA all-stars.

In that time, golf fans have been treated to seven different matches, most recently the first to be played using a mixed-team format.

Even though the first edition of The Match – Woods vs. Phil Mickelson in November 2018 in Las Vegas – didn’t quite live up to the hype, it proved there was a market for the competition. Over the years the matches have grown into charitable causes benefitting COVID-19 relief and HBCU’s while still providing golf fans a unique product outside of 72-hole stroke-play tournaments.

LPGA’s 2024 Dana Open set to celebrate ‘Lexi Thompson Day’ with F-16 flyovers

Friday is going to be fun.

When Lexi Thompson tees off on Friday at 1:02 p.m. local time in Sylvania, Ohio, a pair of F-16s from the Ohio Air National Guard will fly over Highland Meadows Golf Club to celebrate the 29-year-old’s LPGA career. Friday has been designated Lexi Thompson Day at the Dana Open, in honor of her last full-time season on the LPGA.

While Thompson has never won the event, she finished runner-up to Sei Young Kim in 2018.

In addition to the flyovers, the tournament will be handing out a limited number of pink “Lexi” hats as well as “Thank you, Lexi” buttons.

The popular American, an 11-time winner on the LPGA, heads into the event more fresh than most given that she skipped last week’s major in France. She’s also on a run of three top-10 finishes that includes a playoff loss at the Meijer LPGA Classic. She’s put herself in prime position for a place on Stacy Lewis’ Solheim Cup team in September.

Lexi Thompson of the United States looks on while playing the 14th hole during the second round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club on June 21, 2024 in Sammamish, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

The 40th anniversary of the Dana Open kicks off Thursday with a purse of $1,750,000. While Amundi Evian winner Ayaka Furue is not in the field this week, runner-up Stephanie Kyriacou is after a career-best finish on the shores of Lake Geneva.

There are are number of notable names playing out of the tournament winners category, which includes members who won an official tournament while a member within the previous 21 seasons. Those players include LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member Karrie Webb, who is gearing up for the AIG Women’s British Open at St. Andrews next month, Natalie Gulbis, Meaghan Francella and Heather Bowie Young, a former Dana Open winner who now serves as head coach of the women’s team at Florida Atlantic University.

Young is one of four past champions in the field, including 2023 winner Linn Grant, Gaby Lopez (2022) and Jasmine Suwannapura (2018).

Lexi Thompson skipping Amundi Evian Championship, an LPGA major, once again

Thompson hasn’t been back since posting critical comments of the course on Instagram in 2019.

Lexi Thompson won’t be in the field at this year’s Amundi Evian Championship. Given that her last appearance in the event was 2019 (the 2020 Evian was canceled due to the pandemic), her absence isn’t all that surprising.

After announcing at the U.S. Women’s Open that 2024 would be her final full season on tour, she has since posted three top-10 finishes.

At the Meijer LPGA Classic, she lost in a playoff to Lilia Vu. At the recent KPMG Women’s PGA, Thompson trailed by three entering the final round at Sahalee Country Club. A shocking front-nine 43 on Sunday dropped her out of the mix, but she came home in 31 to salvage a top-10 finish that gets her an invitation back to the KPMG next year, should she want it.

“It was just a tale of two nines,” said Thompson, who was still fairly upbeat after the rollercoaster round.

PHOTOS: Lexi Thompson through the years

At the Dow Championship, Thompson teamed up with Brooke Henderson to take a share of eighth. After two weeks off, she’ll tee it up next at the Dana Open in Sylvania, Ohio.

As for the Evian, Thompson has contended several times in the event but hasn’t been back since posting critical comments of the course on Instagram in 2019, essentially saying that good shots weren’t rewarded.

“I’m actually thankful that I don’t have to put myself through that for another two days,” she wrote after missing the cut. “You’re a beautiful place Evian but that’s just too many bad breaks with good shots for me, so bye.”

Thompson removed the original post later in the day, saying that she wanted to clear up any confusion. The new post read, in part:

“My words were only directed at my frustration of not playing well in a major and at the unfortunate bounces we all get while playing this crazy game of golf. I didn’t mean it in a mean way at all. Obviously just hasn’t been the course for me the last few years, but some girls are playing great and I wish them the best of luck this weekend.”

She hasn’t been back since.

Thompson will be in the fifth and final major of the season, the AIG Women’s British Open, held Aug. 22-25 at the Old Course at St. Andrews.

Is it finally Amy Yang’s turn to shine? Not if Lilia Vu or Lexi Thompson have their say at 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA

Perhaps tomorrow, in her 75th major championship start, her turn will come at last.

SAMMAMISH, Wash. – Amy Yang doesn’t have a hat sponsor or a bag sponsor. She’s at a fortunate point in her life where freedom means more than money. There was a time when a corporate sponsor dictated how many events she’d play or how she spent her free time.

Not anymore.

Now there’s a stitched-on smiley face on her bucket hat where a logo used to be, and these days there’s plenty for the 34-year-old to smile about as she leads the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship by two strokes. Chasing that elusive major title is the reason she still competes.

“I grew up watching so many great players in the past,” said Yang, “and I saw them winning all the major championships.

“I dreamed about playing out here because of them. I work hard for this.”

For a long time, Yang was considered among the best players on tour without a major, but as the tour got younger and the victories dried up, she was no longer on the short list, despite a hefty number of top-10 finishes.

It’s different now though for Yang. Last November, in her 16th year on tour, she won for the first time on U.S. soil at the CME Group Tour Championship, birdieing the last two holes to take home a $2 million paycheck. It was her fifth career LPGA title and first victory in four years, made sweeter by the fact that she feared tennis elbow – from too much rock climbing, of all things – would cut her career short.

Now she’s out amongst Sahalee’s towering cedars and firs with her longtime caddie, Jan Meierling, trading jokes and snacks. Yang loads up on protein bars and bananas slathered in peanut butter. Meierling brings the beef jerky and dried sausages.

“She’s by far the most genuine person you can expect,” said Meierling of his boss, who is always quick to offer a smile.

“There’s not a bad bone in her body at all,” he said, “as long as you keep her fed. If the sugar level drops, watch out.”

Amy Yang of South Korea looks over a putt on the 17th hole during the third round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club on June 22, 2024 in Sammamish, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

This marks the third time that Yang has held the lead going into the final round of a major but the first in nine years. She has 21 career top-10 finishes in the majors and a dozen top fives.

After three rounds of testing golf in what’s otherwise a most peaceful setting, Yang leads the way at 7 under, with Kentucky’s Lauren Hartlage and Miyu Yamashita of Japan two strokes back.

Those lurking three back include major champions Jin Young Ko, Lilia Vu, Lexi Thompson, Hinako Shibuno and Washington native Caroline Inglis.

Yang leads the field in scrambling, Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, SG: Around the Green and bogeys or worse, with only three.

Vu, who just came off a sensational playoff victory over Thompson and Grace Kim at the Meijer LPGA Classic, carded the day’s low round, 4-under 68. After taking several months off to heal a back injury, the two-time major winner won in her first start.

“I think it kind of shows how resilient I am,” said Vu, who opened with a 75 at the KPMG and has steadily improved each day.

For Thompson, Sunday could be one of her last chances to win a major championship as she plans to step away from a full-time schedule at the end of this season. The 29-year-old American’s lone major title came a decade ago at the 2014 ANA Inspiration. She put herself in this position time again, with runner-up finishes in four different majors as well as third-place finishes in four different majors.

“I am just going to play within myself,” said Thompson, “that’s all I can do.

“Yeah, might be my last one; might not. Who knows. It’s just day by day. Just going to go out there, embrace the fans, love the walk and see where it goes.”

While Yang won last year’s CME, Hartlage has yet to qualify for one. The 26-year-old’s best finish on the LPGA was a share of sixth at the 2023 Lotte Championship. Though she’s never finished in the top 100 in earnings or the CME Race to the Globe standings, she’s been trending after top-25 finishes in her last two starts.

“I have been back to Q-School the last few years, so haven’t been playing my best, and it’s easy to think that you don’t belong or you’re not able to win a tournament,” said Hartlage, “but I just have people on my team helping me and leading me along the way and keeping my confidence up which has been really, really nice to have.”

Lilia Vu of the United States hits a tee shot on the second hole during the third round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club on June 22, 2024 in Sammamish, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

One of those people is Hartlage’s mom, Kim, who called Saturday the most relaxed she’s been in 20 years of watching her daughter play.

“Today was just very surreal,” said Kim, who played collegiate golf at Western Kentucky and coached Lauren’s high school team.

Kim credits the work Lauren has put in with swing coach Grant Waite, a former PGA Tour winner, with taking her game to the next level. Hartlage posted a bogey-free 69 on Saturday and birdied five of her last seven holes on Friday late in the evening.

She’s eager to take on what’s next.

Lauren Hartlage and her mother Kim have a special bond when it comes to golf. (courtesy photo)

“I’m super excited,” said Hartlage. “Never been in this position before, and this is something that I dreamed about growing up as a kid, so it’s really awesome to be in this position and just kind of see how it goes and learn from every day, every round.”

Hartlage was born in 1998, about six months before Se Ri Pak won the U.S. Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run and inspired a nation. Yang was one of those little girls watching in South Korea.

Perhaps tomorrow, in her 75th major championship start, her turn will come at last.

Playing with a ‘weight lifted off,’ LPGA star Lexi Thompson says Saturday’s round was one of her best ever

“It’s definitely up there. One of my best stretches I think I’ve had on the golf course.”

Lexi Thompson has been playing full-time on the LPGA since 2014, and she’s racked up 15 professional wins including a major; the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship.

But on Saturday at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Michigan, en route to a 65 that got her within striking distance of the leaders, Thompson said golf was as fun as it can be.

Just weeks after announcing this will be her final season on the LPGA, Thompson used an eagle on the eighth hole to pull into a tie for third at 12 under after 54 holes. She’s tied with Anna Nordqvist and Allisen Corpuz, and trailing leaders Grace Kim and Ally Ewing.

Thompson went 7 under in a six-hole stretch right before the turn, marking one of the best grooves of her professional career.

Lexi Thompson of the United States plays a shot on the first hole during the third round of the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give at Blythefield Country Club on June 15, 2024 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Photo by Raj Mehta/Getty Images)

“It’s definitely up there. One of my best stretches I think I’ve had on the golf course,” she said. “Just the golf is one thing, but just how I felt out there, very comfortable and relaxed, just enjoyed being out there. I think that’s what this week really brings, just the atmosphere, and I think we all do enjoy coming back and playing here in Grand Rapids.”

Photos: LPGA star Lexi Thompson, who will retire at 29, through the years

Even though she’s still eight months from her 30th birthday, Thompson was the youngest winner on the LPGA when she captured the Navistar LPGA Classic at just 16 years old in 2011. She admitted she’s playing with less pressure after announcing her upcoming retirement.

“Definitely a weight lifted off because it’s something that’s been on my mind for a bit. There is a lot of golf to be played and the rest of the year and I’m really looking forward to every time I tee it up, especially if we get crowds like this every week,” she said. “There is nothing like it. The fans make the game. That’s why I’ve loved every bit of being out here every single year. So it’s a bit of a relief, but I want to finish this year strong.”

When the golf comes as easy as it did Saturday does it make her want to reconsider? Thompson laughed when asked that question.

“Rounds like this make it harder, that’s for sure,” she said. “But I mean, I love the game. It’s just an up and down sport as everybody knows.”

Emotional Lexi Thompson misses the cut in what’s likely her final U.S. Women’s Open

Her 18th U.S. Women’s Open appearance, at age 29, will likely be her last.

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LANCASTER, Pa. – Lexi Thompson’s U.S. Women’s Open career ended on a Friday on the ninth hole. The 13-over finish at Lancaster Country Club, however, isn’t an accurate reflection of the week.

“Minus the golf, it was amazing,” she told the media after a second-round 75 that ended with a bogey.

The 29-year-old announced earlier in the week that 2024 would be her final full-time season on the LPGA, which means her 18th U.S. Women’s Open appearance will likely be her last. Thompson chose the U.S. Women’s Open to deliver the news because this is where the dream started at Pine Needles in 2007, when Thompson was only 12.

“Yeah, it wasn’t the golf that I wanted to play, obviously,” said Thompson, “but it was a special week, of course, with announcing what I did.

“To see all the fans out there and just to hear their chants and ‘go Lexis’ made me smile every single shot even if I kept on bogeying.”

U.S. Women’s Open: Photos | How to watch | Leaderboard

Well-wishes have been pouring in from current and former players, even some Thompson says she didn’t know that well.

“It means the world to me for them to reach out and say those kind words and to even hear that some of them have dealt with the same things and appreciate me opening up,” said Thompson, “it’s so important.”

Early on during Thompson’s press conference on Friday, she got emotional when asked what it meant to share this week with her family.

Thompson turned to the USGA media official at her side and said, “See this is why I didn’t want to do this.”

She took a few minutes to compose herself, accepting a tissue, before continuing.

After that clip was later shown during the tournament broadcast, Golf Channel analyst Karen Stupples, who was in the booth, said if she could give Thompson a message it would that it’s OK to feel those emotions.

“You don’t have to put on a brave face anymore,” Stupples added.

Thompson said she’ll play in 10 to 12 events for the rest of the season. The Solheim Cup is slated for September 13-15, and Thompson would like nothing more than to be part of one more Team USA victory. It would be her seventh Solheim Cup appearance.

2024 U.S. Women's Open — Lexi Thompson looks on during the second round of the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club. (Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis took to twitter earlier in the week to react to Thompson’s announcement.

“While I wasn’t surprised by the news yesterday,” Lewis wrote, “I have struggled to put into words what Lexi has meant to women’s golf. She made an impact on the course and with her play but made more of an impact off, saying yes to sponsors and fans more than anyone I have seen.”

Earlier in the week, USGA CEO Mike When noted that when he took over as commissioner of the LPGA in 2009, girls represented only 15 percent of junior golf.

Today, that number is 36 percent. Over the last decade, more than 1,000 high school girls golf programs have been added, putting the total number almost as high as girls soccer programs.

No doubt Thompson has played a large role in that – with her play inside the ropes, her dedication to fans and her commitment to those writing the checks. Morgan Pressel noted that Thompson rarely missed a pro-am party and took the time to pen hand-written thank-you notes to pro-am partners and sponsors. Whan called her a model player in that regard.

“Coming into the sport, I just wanted to leave it in a better spot than it was when I first stepped in,” she said. “Having role models like Nancy Lopez and Annika and what they’ve done for the game and the way they’ve given back, that’s always what I wanted to do, whether my accomplishments or not, I always wanted to give back, sign the autographs, take the pictures, grow the game any way I can.”

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