Lexi Thompson

Lexi Thompson's Early Life and Background

Alexis "Lexi" Thompson was born in Coral Springs, Florida, on February 10, 1995. She was homeschooled and graduated in September 2012. Both of her elder brothers, Nicholas and Curtis, are professional golfers who have played on both the PGA and Korn Ferry Tours.

Lexi Thompson's Amateur Career

Thompson became the second-youngest American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) winner in 2007 when she also won the Aldila Junior Classic, and she was also the youngest winner in Junior PGA Championship history by winning the Westfield Junior PGA Championship.

She played at the 2007 U.S. Women's Open as the youngest player ever, at the age of 12; however, she didn't make the cut. Five years later, in 2014, Lucy Li surpassed this record.

She won the U.S. Girls' Junior in 2008. She also qualified once more for the U.S. Women's Open and again missed the cut, though she finally made the cut in 2009, after her third appearance, finishing tied for 34th place with a score of 295, over 11.

She shot 65 in the opening round of the Navistar LPGA Classic later that year, finishing tied for 27th place, 12 strokes behind winner Lorena Ochoa.

During the first half of 2010, Thompson maintained her amateur status. She competed in the Women's Australian Open as an amateur, placing tied for 16th place, 12 strokes behind Yani Tseng, the winner. At the 2010 Kraft Nabisco Championship, she finished tied for 24th place, 290, over 2, 15 shots behind Yani Tseng, the champion.

In a sudden-death playoff against Laetitia Beck, Thompson won the 2009 Verizon Junior Heritage. She went undefeated in the Curtis Cup competition, winning four matches and tying for fifth on the U.S. team. By the next week, or the latter half of 2010, she had turned professional.

Lexi Thompson’s amateur wins are as follows:

• 2003 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship

• 2004 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship

• 2008 U.S. Girls' Junior

• 2009 Verizon Junior Heritage

Lexi Thompson's Professional Career

Thompson played mostly through sponsor exemptions after turning pro at the age of 15 without having a membership in the LPGA Tour. In 2010, she had already signed deals with Red Bull and Cobra-Puma Golf. Her debut sponsor exemption event as a professional was the ShopRite LPGA Classic, although she missed the cut.

At the 2010 U.S. Women's Open, she finished tied for 10th place, which was nine strokes behind winner Paula Creamer, earning her first professional earnings of $72,131. A couple of weeks later, she played at the Evian Championship and tied as a runner-up for 275, under 13, in her third professional event. She participated in three more LPGA Tour events in 2010; she finished T16 and T57 in two of them and missed the cut at the CN Canadian Women's Open.

Thompson filed a petition with the LPGA in December 2010 to use sponsor exemptions to compete in up to 12 LPGA events in 2011 rather than the six that are permitted for non-members. Commissioner Mike Whan rejected Thompson's appeal in January 2011 but declared that non-members would now be able to compete in Monday qualifying under new LPGA rules. As a result, Thompson was able to participate in almost 12 events in 2011.

In October 2010, Thompson started competing in one-day events on the Fuzion Minor League Golf Tour, a developmental circuit designed for men who want to play professional golf at a higher level. Women play on the Fuzion Tour with their tees shifted higher, allowing them to cover 94% of the distance played by the men.

In February 2011, she made a comeback to playing against women, competing in the ANZ Ladies Masters and the Women's Australian Open, where she finished tied for 42nd place and missed the cut, respectively.

After 18 holes in a tie, she defeated Brett Bergeron on the second playoff hole to earn her maiden victory as a professional. Thompson tried to qualify for the LPGA Kia Classic Monday qualifier in March but was not successful.

With a sponsor's exemption, Thompson competed in the 2011 Avnet LPGA Classic, her first LPGA event. She and Song-Hee Kim were tied for first place after three rounds; however, she was nine strokes behind the champion, Maria Hjorth, when she tied for 19th place with 287, under 1.

She defeated LPGA Tour rookie Tiffany Joh by a five-stroke margin in the 2011 Navistar LPGA Classic, her debut LPGA win. She shattered Marlene Hagge's 1952 record of being the youngest winner (18) on the LPGA Tour at the age of 16, becoming the youngest winner ever. In August 2012, 15-year-old Lydia Ko won the 2012 CN Canadian Women's Open, shattering her record after 11 months.

Thompson won by a four-stroke margin at the 2011 Dubai Ladies Masters, a Ladies European Tour (LET) tournament. At 16 years and 10 months old, she became the youngest professional winner on the LET, while Amy Yang was the youngest amateur winner at the 2006 ANZ Ladies Masters, being four months younger at the time.

Thompson requested LPGA to receive a waiver for the 18-year-old or above mandatory rule to participate, which she received to enter the qualifying school. But, after winning the Navistar LPGA Classic at the age of 16, she petitioned the LPGA for membership based on her win and was approved, eventually joining the LPGA in 2012.

In 2013, Thompson won the Lorena Ochoa Invitational and the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, her second and third career LPGA Tour victories. At the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship, Thompson defeated Michelle Wie by three shots with a score of 274, under 14, to win her maiden major championship and fourth career LPGA victory. She was the second-youngest women's major winner then.

At the 2015 LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship and the 2015 Meijer LPGA Classic, Thompson won her fifth and sixth career wins, respectively. At $1.7 million, her best-ever season, she ranked fifth on the year's money list.

Thompson won the Honda LPGA Thailand in 2016 to record her seventh victory on the LPGA Tour. She also won her maiden tournament on the LPGA Tour of Japan, the World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup.

At the 2017 Kingsmill Championship, she finished 264, under 20, to claim her eighth victory on the LPGA Tour. While playing the 17th hole in the third round of the 2017 ANA Inspiration, Thompson replaced her ball on the green incorrectly, costing her four strokes that April. A TV viewer reported the infraction, which was evaluated after the round was over.

This meant that she was docked two strokes for signing the wrong scorecard and for misplacing the ball, on top of the two-stroke penalty for replacing it. She entered a playoff nonetheless, only to be defeated by Ryu So-yeon.

In September, Thompson achieved her ninth victory by winning the Indy Women in Tech Championship. In the final round of the CME Group Tour Championship, Ariya Jutanugarn concluded with back-to-back birdies, and Thompson lost the match after missing a two-foot putt on the 18th hole. She did, however, succeed in winning the $1 million prize for the overall Race to the CME Globe.

In 2018, she took a month-long hiatus for "recharging her mental batteries," as she posted on Instagram. By the end of 2018, she had won her tenth LPGA Tour win at the CME Group Tour Championship, defeating Nelly Korda by four strokes for 270, under 18.

In June 2019, Thompson finished second at the U.S. Women's Open, and in the same year, she won her 11th LPGA Tour event and 14th overall, the ShopRite LPGA Classic, just outside of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

For the following two seasons, she made several top-10 and top-5 finishes, but won none of the events, finally breaking the win-less drought with the 2022 Aramco Team Series in New York on the LET, where she won with a score of 205, under 11, defeating Madelene Sagstrom and Brooke Henderson by three shots.

Given that it was a team event, she won with Manon De Roey, Bronte Law, Nelly Korda and Chiara Noja. This was her second win at the LET and the 15th overall.

Lexi Thompson's Playing Style

Thompson's success on the tour can be attributed to a modification in her swing that has enhanced her ball-striking ability. She has been practicing her off-tee consistency, which is crucial for longer courses like the Chevron Championship.

One of Thompson's advantages is her driving distance; throughout the previous few seasons, she has averaged a driving distance of about 275 yards. Since 2012, Lexi has consistently placed in the top 10 on the LPGA Tour for driving distance, with an average of more than 270 yards.

Her best hitting year was 2021, when she finished fourth on the LPGA Tour with an average of 278.35 yards off the tee. She has spent several seasons ranked second on the distance lists as well.

Lexi Thompson's Caddie

Thompson changed her caddie in January 2024 and hired Colton Heisey as her looper. Heisey joined the ranks of Paul Drummond, Jack Fulghum, and Kevin McAlpine, who passed away at the age of 39 last year.

Heisey was Brandon Matthews' former bagman, but after a rough PGA Tour season in 2023 and a 196th-place finish in the FedEx Fall standings, the 29-year-old decided to look for new chances.

Thompson missed eight cuts in her first ten events of 2023, including five in a row from the Portland Classic to the U.S. Women's Open. However, after leaving the Pacific Northwest, something snapped.

During her final four official LPGA starts of the year, Thompson finished T-19 (Kroger Queen City Championship), T-8 (Walmart NW Arkansas Championship), 5th (The Ascendant LPGA), and T-7 (The Annika). She finished the Solheim Cup with a 3-1-0 record. At the first-ever Grant Thornton Invitational in December, she also competed with Rickie Fowler, finishing tied for sixth.

Thompson, who has spent a large portion of her career putting one of her family members on the bag, has stepped away from this practice and will maintain a professional relationship with Caddie. At events, Thompson has frequently hired her father, Scott, or one of her brothers to walk with her; brother Nicholas has lately taken on the position of Lexi's looper, while Curtis has also stepped in in the past.

Lexi Thompson's Golf Journey

The 2014 Chevron Championship winner, Lexi Thompson, emerged as a golfing prodigy from an early age, as she won her first amateur championship at the age of 8 at the 2003 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship. After breaking records at tournaments like the U.S. Junior Golf Association (AJGA) in 2007, she gained notoriety as the second-youngest AJGA winner.

After winning four amateur events, she turned professional at the age of 15, and she won her first LPGA event, the 2011 Navistar LPGA Classic, at the age of 16. Thompson faced a few initial challenges but quickly made an impact, securing sponsorships and making significant earnings in her early professional events.

Thompson was involved in another rules controversy, after the 2017 ANA Inspiration, during the first round of the 2020 AIG Women's Open, when an official saw her moving a tuft of grass behind her ball with her club. It was later determined that her lie had not been improved, as the grass returned to its original position, and she was not penalized; however, she missed the cut.

Thompson participated in the Shriners Children's Open in 2023 and shot 73-69 to miss the cut by two strokes, making her the seventh woman to play on the PGA Tour.

Regardless, she became the youngest winner on the LPGA and Ladies European Tour, constantly breaking records; however, she had to face a few challenges, such as controversial rulings and brief winless periods, but she has a total of 15 professional wins, 11 of which came on the LPGA Tour, and has finished 87 times in the top ten.

Lexi Thompson's Achievements

Lexi Thompson’s achievements are as follows:

• Participated in six Solheim Cups, winning three in 2013, 2015 and 2017.

• Has two international crowns in 2014 and 2016.

• Participated in the Olympics: 2016 Rio Olympics (T19), 2020 Tokyo Olympics (33).

• Holds the longest active winning streak on the LPGA Tour, having won an event in each of the last seven seasons, from 2012 to 2019.

• In 2016, she ranked first on the Tour in Eagles with 13.

• In 2017, she ranked first on the Tour in sand saves with 70.37%.

• She had a career-best year in 2017, with two wins, six runner-up finishes, and her highest-ever money list ranking (third).

• In 2007, she became the youngest individual to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open, aged 12.

• At the age of 15, she placed second in the 2010 Evian Masters.

• In the second round of the 2009 Navistar LPGA Classic, she shot an amateur record-low 65.

• Girls junior amateur and women's amateur rankings were #1 in Golfweek's 2009 rankings.

Lexi Thompson's Majors

Lexi Thompson's Awards and Honors

Lexi Thompson's Net Worth

The net worth of Lexi Thompson is estimated to be in the range of $2 million to $7 million as of March 2024. She made the Forbes list of the Highest Paid Female Athletes in 2022 in 17th place, as she nearly earned $5.9 million on-course. Also, she was on the Forbes 2019 30 Under 30—Sports list.

Her total career earnings are $13.9 million as of March 2024, with 87 career top-10s and 11 wins on the LPGA Tour. Her biggest payday was at the 2022 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, where she tied for second place, losing to Chun In-Gee by one shot and earning $718,827.

The second biggest payday would be the 2018 CME Group Tour Championship, when she defeated Nelly Korda by four shots, earning $500,000. As of March 2024, she has earned $21,585 from the LPGA Drive On Championship, where she finished in 16th place with a score of 282, under 2.

Lexi Thompson's Ventures

Golf Monthly reported that Lexi Thompson has endorsement and sponsorship deals with Bridgestone, Cobra-Puma Golf, Rock-Tenn, iCapital, Rolex, Rocket Mortgage, Velocity Global, UKG and iOveria.

She founded Lexi Skin and describes herself as a skincare entrepreneur. The company claims on its website that it creates skincare products that are free of cruelty and grounded in science and that its products from Lexi Skin cover everything from the face to the feet.

According to Forbes, her estimated earnings from all of her endorsements are $4 million as of March 2024.

Lexi Thompson's Assets

Lexi Thompson resides in Coral Springs, Florida, in the U.S., with her parents, but the exact address is not yet known. NBC reported in 2013 that she was looking for a residence in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, but there is no confirmation that she bought a house there.

Lexi Thompson's Family

Thompson was born to Judy and Scott Thompson. Her father, Scott, was the one to introduce golf to her at the age of five. She has repeatedly shown her gratitude to her father for this.

Her parents decided to homeschool her, as she was very interested in golf. Scott used to caddie for her at tournaments, and even after she went pro, he continued to do so.

Judy Thompson, her mother, reportedly instilled the mental toughness needed for this competitive sport. However, when Lexi was eleven years old, Judy received a breast cancer diagnosis.

Followed by Judy being diagnosed with a second uterine cancer in 2017. However, she did not allow her children's career aspirations to be hampered and said, “I want all my children to continue with what their dreams are.” In July 2017, a month following her surgery, she also went to her daughter's US Women's Open event. "Life can't stop," she added.

Lexi's older brothers, Nicholas (41), and Curtis (31), who compete on the PGA and Korn Ferry Tours, have been her supporters throughout her career. Occasionally, both brothers have caddied for their younger sister, Curtis, in 2018, when Lexi won the CME Group Tour Championship. Followed by Nicholas in the 2021 Solheim Cup.

Lexi Thompson's Boyfriend

Lexi Thompson is single as of March 2024. Furthermore, there is no information available about any of her past relationships.

Lexi Thompson's Cars

Lexi Thompson reportedly owns three cars as of March 2024: a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392, priced at $80,595; a Nissan GT-R Coupe, priced at $128,490; and a 2021 Bentley Bentayga, priced at $180,500. Any other cars owned by her in the past or bought recently are not known.