Lexi Thompson speaks out after passport blunder causes chaos at Women’s British Open

The big news around the golf world on Tuesday involved Lexi Thompson. But the LPGA star wasn’t receiving all that attention for a good reason. Instead, it was an epic blunder on the way to the Women’s British Open that put Thompson in the spotlight. Now, Thompson is apologizing for the chaos she unintentionally unleashed on her competitors.

In case you missed it, a caddie trucking 38 LPGA players’ bags to Woburn Golf Club for this week’s Open was forced to stop when Thompson realized she forgot her passport in her golf bag. Since she had to cross the border between France and England to play in the Women’s Open, Thompson desperately needed it.

So the driver, caddie Ian Wright, pulled over and waited for Thompson’s caddie to meet him. The lengthy delay caused Wright to arrive at Woburn several hours late on Monday, forcing nearly 40 clubless players to miss their Monday practice rounds.

On Wednesday morning, Thompson spoke to reporters at Woburn, and apologized profusely for her big mistake.

“I can’t apologize enough,” Thompson said of the incident. “I didn’t realize I was going to cause so much delay with the bags for other players.”

Thompson acknowledged that when she realized her passport was missing, she started “freaking out.”

“My first reaction was hopefully to stop him and get my passport so I could get to the Women’s British Open,” Thompson said, before adding, “I do apologize. I would be upset too if I was the other players.”

Many players were indeed frustrated with the whole ordeal, with some airing their grievances publicly. Fellow [pro Ryan O’Toole told Golf Channel’s Randall Mell, “I don’t know why the driver would agree to accommodate one person knowing it would punish about a third of the field… The driver should have said, ‘Hey, I’ve got to get these clubs to Woburn. If you want the passport, somebody’s going to have to fly there to get it and bring it back.'”

Now that the drama is over and all players have their clubs, they’re ready to kick off the opening round of the Women’s British Open. Thompson tees off Thursday morning at 2:47 a.m. ET. Defending champion Georgia Hall, who had her Open trophy stolen from her car, begins her title defense at 7:16 a.m.

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