Lexi Thompson may be approaching this week like it’s any other tournament, but the LPGA pro is facing her toughest challenge yet as she gets set to become the seventh woman to tee it up on the PGA Tour.
Playing a practice round at TPC Summerlin alongside recent PGA Tour runner-up Ben Griffin and former John Deere Classic winner Michael Kim, Thompson, one of the longer players in the women’s game, found herself reaching for the big headcover on almost every tee box, but this is something that could work in her favour.
“Yeah, it’s nice to come here and hit a lot of drivers, of course. You know, the last few weeks I didn’t hit too many drivers, but you still have to hit the golf shots on the LPGA Tour. It’s just I don’t get to take advantage of sometimes my length on a few of those holes,” Thompson said. “Here, it’s driver on every hole, and I definitely like that. Fire away and swing, get the most distance I can on a few of those holes.”
She freely admits that the news that she was being afforded a sponsor’s exemption came as something of a shock and she only found out during the final round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship that she was competing in a week after her impressive performances for the US side at the Solheim Cup in Andalucía.
Thompson, a major winner and one of the most recognisable faces in women’s golf, has been in the limelight ever since qualifying for the Women’s U.S. Open as a 12-year-old back in 2007, but, despite regular appearances at the QBE Shootout – a paired end-of-season event in Florida – this will be the first time she’s taken on the men in direct head-to-head competition and she admits that making the cut would immediately be thrust to the pinnacle of her achievements.
“Definitely at the top. Definitely at the top of my accomplishments. It’s been an honor just to get this invite, but one step, one shot at a time,” Thompson said Tuesday. “That would be an amazing feeling.”
Five missed cuts in a row during the summer, coupled with a drop from sixth to 26th in the world rankings, the 28-year-old was struggling and in danger of losing her LPGA Tour status after 13 years as a pro, but a minor swing change prior to the Solheim Cup saw her put in an excellent 3-1-0 performance and has since posted a T8 and a solo fifth in her two subsequent LPGA starts since.
“I can’t say,” she said with a grin when asked to elaborate on the exact change that sparked the turnaround in form. “No, it was something very simple, but I feel like as golfers and athletes we kind of have our tendencies of always going back to certain things. Even when we are struggling, we always have tendencies of what our swing goes to. Just really focusing in on this one thing, and it’s gotten me a lot better on track with my swing plane. Just really dialed into that the week before Solheim and I probably hit hundreds of golf balls every day until I got it down.
“Because I wanted to go to Solheim and play my best golf, because representing your country, that’s what I live for.”
Practice partner Griffin, who missed an eight-footer to win last week’s Sanderson Farms Championship, before going on to lose in a five-man playoff, was impressed with the accuracy and quality of striking from Thompson, and says it won’t come as any surprise to him if she becomes the first woman to make a cut on the PGA Tour.
“I thought she was striping it. She was hitting it closer than us on a few holes, which is to be expected. She has a ton of talent, and she can handle it out there,” he said. “It’s a little different out here being a little firmer, a little different conditions, but I think she’s adjusting well, and she played awesome today, and I think she can really compete this week and have a good chance at at least making the weekend. It’ll be fun to watch.”
Michelle Wie – now Michelle Wie West – came closest to making the cut when falling one shot shy at the Sony Open as a 14-year-old, and while the bookmakers favour Thompson to become the seventh woman to try and the seventh woman to fall short, she’s comfortable with the pressure and embracing the challenge.
“I think it’s just since I’ve been under the microscope I guess since I was 12 years old, just being used to it. Just believing in yourself and not listening to outside expectations or any people that judge you,” she said. “You know what you’re capable of, and all you have to do is believe in the work that you put in and go out there and trust the process. That’s all I’ve done throughout my whole career. Turning pro at a young age was a big step, doing this.
“Really you just have to go out and do what you love.”
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