Following a strong finale in 2023, Lexi Thompson is hoping to maintain that positive momentum by hiring the caddie who helped to rediscover her spark on a full-time basis.
Thompson will move away from having one of her family members on the bag, as she has done for much of her career, and will continue to move forward with a professional relationship she struck up towards the end of last year.
Thompson has often employed either her dad, Scott, or one of her brothers to walk alongside her at events - with brother Nicholas taking up the role as Lexi's looper most recently and Curtis having also filled in previously. But that looks destined to change, as the 11-time LPGA Tour winner has made the decision to stick with her unrelated on-course partner over the coming months.
Following a stuttering start to the new LPGA Tour campaign in 2023, Thompson found some form over the second half and managed three top-10 finishes - T7 in the Annika Driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, T5 at the Ascendant LPGA Benefiting Volunteers of America, and a T8 finish at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G. All of those results featured Colton Heisey on the bag, and Thompson will hope they continue once the LPGA Tour season begins for 2024.
Heisey is one of Thompson's few non-family caddies, following in the footsteps of Kevin McAlpine - who died last year aged 39 - Jack Fulghum, and Paul Drummond. Heisey was the former bagman of Brandon Matthews, but the 29-year-old endured a torrid season on the PGA Tour in 2023 and finished 196th in the FedEx Fall standings, leading to Heisey to search for new opportunities.
And what a job he found. After the move was confirmed by Thompson via her own Instagram story, new caddie Heisey wrote a post on social media revealing that he would be working for the American all-star in 2024.
Super happy for @Cheisey3317 he will be on the bag for @Lexi this year. Lexi’s good run at the end of last year was with Colton on the bag, so will be interesting to see what they do this season. pic.twitter.com/Foaj3QKrKmJanuary 6, 2024
Acknowledging that many of his family and friends had been wondering about his job prospects over "the last few months", Heisey was delighted to announce the change.
He said: "I know many of my family and friends have been asking and wondering the last few months, who I would be working for in 2024. With that being said, I would like to let everyone know that I will be working full time for Lexi Thompson.
"I'm super grateful for the opportunity to work with one of the best to ever do it. Looking forward to a great season and doing everything I can to contribute to her success."
Although she did not win last season, Thompson claimed other accolades by becoming the latest woman to tee it up on the PGA Tour when narrowly missing the cut at the Shriners Children's Open, while she also made an ace at the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational in December - won by Jason Day and Lydia Ko - as she and playing parner Rickie Fowler ended T6.
