Lexi Thompson’s career so far: Major accomplishments and timeline of the retiring golfer explored
On Thursday, May 28, Lexi Thompson announced she would be retiring from golf after the current LPGA Tour season ends. This announcement made by the 29-year-old sent shockwaves across the world of golf. Thompson's announcement was met with congratulatory messages from fans and colleagues on the tour.
After all, Thompson at a young age achieved many accolades. At the young age of 12, she became the youngest woman to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open, a record which was later beaten by Lucy Li when she qualified for the same tournament at the age of 11 in 2014.
Coming back to Thompson, since her entry into golf, she has won several titles on the amateur and professional circuit. In her amateur career, the Florida-born golfer won prestigious events like the 2003 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship and the 2008 U.S. Girls Junior to name a few.
On the professional circuit, Lexi Thompson has 15 wins to her name. Two of these victories have come on the Ladies European Tour whereas one came on LPGA of Japan Tour. All her remaining victories came on the LPGA Tour, and the golfer won one Major during her career.
In 2014, Thompson beat Michelle Wie by three strokes at the Kraft Nabisco Championship to win her first Major. When summed up, Thompson had an incredibly successful career. Given she announced that she would retire after the LPGA Tour, fans will most likely see her play last at the Grant Thomton Invitational.
Lexi Thompson was emotional in a press conference after the announcement of her retirement
Lexi Thompson announced her retirement from golf ahead of the 2024 U.S. Women's Open. While the tournament is an extremely important event, the press conference ahead of it was largely focused on the news of Thompson's retirement.
In the press conference, Thompson was seen getting emotional and she spoke about a lot of people not understanding what professional athletes like her have to go through. She said:
"Being out here can be a lot, it can be lonely, sorry if I get emotional, I said I wasn't going to. I just think especiallywith what's happened in golf as of recent too, a lot of people don't realize a lot of what we go through as a professional athlete." [4:56 - 5:29]
Thompson added:
"We're not perfect, we're humans, words hurt, and it's hard to overcome sometimes... a lot of people don't know what we go through and the amount of training and hard work that we put ourselves through. It's a lot, and I think we deserve a lot more credit than what we get." [5:42 - 5:49] [6:12 - 6:23]
While Lexi Thompson's retirement has taken center stage on the LPGA Tour, she will look to be focused as she is set to play at the U.S. Women's Open. If Thompson can win this event, she will win her second Major on the tour.