LAS VEGAS — As she might in advance of any other tournament, Lexi Thompson walked TPC Summerlin on Tuesday with her parents, Scott and Judy, following along closely. The 11-time LPGA winner tried a myriad of shots, including two approaches on the par-5 16th hole – one in which she played it safe in three shots, another in which she tried a driver off the deck that cleared a lake but rolled through the green into a bunker.
But while the preparation might be the same, this is no ordinary tournament.
And she knows it.
Thompson, who played a practice round Tuesday with Michael Kim and Ben Griffin, will become the seventh woman to compete in a PGA Tour event when she tees off Thursday at the 2023 Shriners Children’s Open. She was as caught off-guard by the sponsor exemption as anyone, telling media members that she found out just nine days ago during the final round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
But while she’s won a major and has been in the public eye for more than a decade and a half, Thompson said she’d consider a chance to play the weekend at the Shriners as her crowning achievement.
“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.”
Although it may have seemed an inopportune time to get this call a few months ago, Thompson has seen an uptick in her performances in recent weeks, something she attributes to a small swing change in advance of the Solheim Cup.
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Thompson missed five cuts in a row over the summer and looked like she might be a liability for Team USA when she made the 12-player squad based on her Rolex Ranking. But she undoubtedly found something in September, and it was enough for captain Stacy Lewis to ask Thompson to hit the first tee shot in Spain and anchor her singles lineup Sunday.
After a fifth-place showing at the Volunteers of America last week outside of Dallas, Thompson said she feels comfortable with her game as the big day approaches, although she wouldn’t let on to what she was doing wrong.
“I can’t say,” she said with a wide smile. “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.”
First time on #tpcsummerlin for @Lexi and she played well. Course lines up well for her and she can take some shots. For example, driver off the deck on the par-5 17th just rolled into the bunker. In play for her. Will make for an exciting week. pic.twitter.com/4aiEP6Axsn
— Tim Schmitt (@TMSGolfweek) October 10, 2023
When she’s playing the average LPGA event, Thompson only gets a few chances per round to pull out her driver, but she’ll need it more often this week on a par-71 course that plays to 7,255 yards.
Typically, Thompson plays with five wedges in her bag and leaves her 5-iron home, she said Tuesday. This week the 5-iron is in play, and her driver will get a workout.
“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.”
Griffin, who lost in a playoff at last week’s Sanderson Farms Championship, said he was impressed with Thompson’s game and won’t be surprised at all if she’s still around after the cut.
“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.”
While the odds are firmly against her making the cut, Thompson insisted she’s not feeling any additional pressure this week. She’s played golf with men as long as she can remember, often with her two brothers, Nicholas and Curtis.
“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.”
Beth Ann Nichols contributed to this report.
