LANCASTER, Pa. — Lexi Thompson exited the scoring area in the Lancaster Country Club parking lot and walked over to her Cobra staff bag. She’d just signed for a five-over 75, ensuring her of a missed cut. Her week at the U.S. Women’s Open was over.
USGA media officials approached her and asked if she’d come to the interview area. Thompson hesitated for a moment and then reluctantly agreed.
She walked to the elevated platform at the front of the room and peered out at the assembly of reporters before her. After 17 years of competing in her nation’s national championship, this was a routine with which she’s intimately familiar.
“It wasn’t the golf that I wanted to play, obviously,” she said. “But it was a special week, of course, with announcing what I did.”
Lexi Thompson, 29, announces stunning retirement plans
The “what I did” she referred to was her bombshell announcement on Tuesday that she would retire from a full-time playing schedule at season’s end. Thompson was light on specifics on what might come next, but this much was clear: Lancaster Country Club would (likely) be the site of her final U.S. Women’s Open.
In an ideal world, Thompson — a longtime fan favorite — would have turned back the clock and put on a vintage performance, sending the Amish Country crowd into a frenzy. Storybook endings rarely come to fruition, though, and this was no exception. After 36 holes, her week ended with a missed cut. All that was left to do was reflect on the past.
For you to share this moment with your family this week, what has it meant?
“It’s meant the world to me. I’m so blessed and grateful for the family I have,” she said, choking back tears. “I’m just very blessed for the family I have and for …”
Thompson took a moment to collect herself as a USGA official handed her a box of tissues. After a decade and a half of highs and lows, the emotions were difficult to contain.
Lexi Thompson played in her first U.S. Women’s Open in 2007 at the age of 12. At the time, she was the youngest woman to ever play in the prestigious USGA championship.
“I watch some of the golf tournaments,” Thompson said that week. “Just watching them hit the ball really far. And just getting up-and-down, making so many putts shows me what I have to do in life when coming up.”
Her prediction proved correct. Thompson missed the cut that week, but it wasn’t long before she would become a household name. Three years later, she turned pro at the age of 15. She wasn’t yet eligible for LPGA Tour membership, but she finished inside the top 10 in the U.S. Women’s Open that summer. The next year, she won on both the LPGA and Ladies European Tours.
With so much success at such a young age, it wasn’t a question of if she would break through and win a major, but when — and how many. But as golf so often reminds us, success is rarely linear, and there is no such thing as a surefire prospect.
In Gee Chun takes advantage of Lexi Thompson’s meltdown, wins KPMG Women’s PGA
That’s not to say Thompson didn’t have success. She won plenty — 11 times by the end of the decade, including a major title at the Dinah Shore — and became one of the most popular women’s golfers of all time. But instead of writing her story as the next great American major champion, her name became synonymous with heartbreak.
At the 2017 ANA Inspiration (now Chevron Championship), Thompson was penalized four strokes during her final round for incorrectly replacing her ball on the green a day earlier. The infraction came at the cost of her second major title as she lost in a playoff to So Yeon Ryu later in the day.
In San Fransisco four years later, Thompson entered the back nine at Olympic Club on U.S. Women’s Open Sunday with a four-shot lead only to post 41 on the back nine and miss out on a playoff. The following summer she held a two-shot lead with three holes to play — only to bogey two of her final three holes and lose to In Gee Chun by a stroke.
Gaps between wins went from months to years. The once can’t-miss talent turned into a poster child for “what-ifs.” Before long, another crop of young talent entered the Tour, and Thompson’s name atop leaderboards became an exciting novelty rather than something to be expected.
The big announcement came Tuesday morning of the 79th U.S. Women’s Open. As the range came to life, filling with a collection of the top talent in the world, phones vibrated and whispers began.
Did you hear about Lexi?
Seventeen years after the 12-year-old with ladybug earrings and a pink visor endeared herself to golf fans everywhere, she’d decided to call it a career. A few hours later, she sat in front of the press to answer questions about her decision to retire.
The presser was an emotional one. Not only because of the Thompson’s decision, but also because of the vulnerability she showed.
“Being out here can be a lot,” she said, fighting back tears. “It can be lonely. Sorry if I get emotional. I said I wasn’t going to.”
After surprise retirement, Lexi Thompson opens up on ‘lonely’ struggle
Thompson may be one of the most popular players on Tour, but that stardom came at a price. She’s been in the spotlight since her youth, and she’s experienced heartbreak in the public eye more times that she’d care to count. The athlete Lexi Thompson is also the human Lexi Thompson. The grind of balancing those two roles has taken its toll.
“I just think, especially with what’s happened in golf, as of recently, too, a lot of people don’t realize what we go through as a professional athlete,” she said. “I’ll be the last one to say, ‘Throw me a pity party.’ That’s the last thing I want. We’re doing what we love. We’re trying the best every single day. You know, we’re not perfect. We’re humans. Words hurt. It’s hard to overcome sometimes.”
That juxtaposition of athlete Lexi and human Lexi was on full display over two rounds at Lancaster Country Club. As she struggled though two rounds of mediocre golf, the athlete showed frustration and sadness at the poor performance at the biggest tournament in women’s golf. The human made sure to smile at the young fans in the gallery, showing appreciation for those who’d backed her all these years.
“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,” Thompson said. “But it was a special week for sure.”
When she tapped in for bogey on the ninth green, the crowd sustained their applause for an extra beat. This may be the last time golf fans see Thompson in this setting, and they did not want the moment to go to waste.
With her presser finished and the tears dried, Thompson walked back toward the putting green and greeted her family. Throughout all the trials and tribulations of her career, they’ve been a constant. Her rock.
“It’s meant the world to me,” she said of having her family by her side. “I’m so blessed and grateful for the family I have. I’m just very blessed for the family I have … Just to have my family and friends and the amount of fans that were out there this week, that’s what we want. That’s what we want for the game of golf to grow.”
What’s next in the life of Lexi Thompson? That answer remains unclear; she’s been vague on the future. There’s sure to be more golf at some point, but fans won’t get the steady dose of Lexi that has been a constant for almost two decades.
“As far as like, after this year goes, I have no plans right now,” she said. “I’ll miss the competitiveness of just being out here and all the friendships that I’ve made along the way.”
Thompson said her goodbyes to her family and walked back toward the 18th green, two bodyguards in tow. Before heading back home, she had one more obligation: autographs for the fans who’d supported her all along the way.