As a 12-year-old in 2007, Lexi Thompson strode onto the big stage at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina, in a visor and pigtails as the youngest qualifier in history to that point.
Despite shooting 76-82 and not advancing to the weekend, Thompson served notice that she was a child golfer with worlds of potential.
Returning to the U.S. Women’s Open stage this week at Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Country Club, Thompson announced that she will retire as a full-time player on the LPGA Tour at the end of the season. When she tees off at 1:58 p.m. EDT Thursday with Rose Zhang and Minjee Lee, it will mark her 18th consecutive U.S. Women’s Open, and she’s only 29.
“It feels amazing just to be here this week,” Thompson, an 11-time LPGA Tour winner, said in her pre-tournament news conference. “Reflecting back, this being my 18th U.S. Women’s Open, at the age of 29, it’s amazing because this tournament is where my whole career got started. I always say that 2007 at Pine Needles when I teed it up is when I realized I want to play against the best. It’s been an amazing journey. I’ve loved every bit of it. So, to be able to tee it up on my 18th is unbelievable.”
Similar to another golfer who announced his retirement from competition before his 30th birthday, Bobby Jones in 1930 after winning the Grand Slam, this announcement was a stunner.
“It’s my 14th year [on tour],” Thompson said in explaining her decision. “I’m not going to sit here and say it hasn’t crossed my mind in … the past few years, but I feel like I’m at a point in my life where it is time to step away from a full-time schedule. There’s more things to life than going to a tournament every week and doing the same training every day. There’s just more to it, and I’m looking forward to experiencing that. I feel like I’m very content with where my life is and where this decision will lead me to. Yeah, I’m just looking forward to what life has in store other than golf.”
Watch Lexi Thompson’s retirement announcement
Thompson has not won on the LPGA since 2019, though she claimed a Ladies European Tour event two years ago. In six starts this season, she has missed four cuts, including three in a row entering the U.S. Women’s Open. A tie for third at the Ford Championship in late March, when she shot four consecutive rounds in the 60s, has proved to be one of few bright spots in 2024.
Thompson has won only one major championship, at the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship, forerunner to today’s Chevron Championship, but she has 19 top-10 results in 63 major starts. She earned $14 million on the LPGA and untold millions off the course as one of the women’s game’s marketing darlings.
Allisen Corpuz, the defending U.S. Women’s Open champion, shared her thanks and support for Thompson.
“First, I just wanted to say she’s had such a great career,” Corpuz said. “I looked up to her, and I’m not that much younger than her, but I watched her play in multiple U.S. Opens, watched her win a bunch. She’s just such an inspirational player both on and off the course. She’s at pretty much every pro-am party, always up to do everything. Just to see how she’s impacted the tour is really special, and I just wish her all the best.”
World No. 1 Nelly Korda echoed Corpuz’s compliments.
“She really dedicated her time to growing the game,” Korda said. “It’s sad to see that she’s obviously leaving and not going to be out here with us anymore, but she’s had an amazing career, and I wish her the best in this new chapter of her life.”
Thompson, a prototypical modern athlete with an aggressive swing, was a junior prodigy in Coral Springs, Florida, where she grew up with older brothers Nicholas and Curtis, both of whom would play on the PGA Tour. The summer after becoming a record-setting qualifier for the U.S. Women’s Open, she won the 2008 U.S. Girls’ Junior and again qualified for the USWO, missing the cut. In 2009, she advanced to the weekend at the U.S. Women’s Open. In 2010, as a 15-year-old, she compiled a 4-0-1 record for the victorious Americans in the Curtis Cup and soon turned professional. At age 16, she became the youngest winner in LPGA history, claiming a five-stroke victory at the 2011 Navistar LPGA Classic.
Noreen Mohler, the captain of the 2010 U.S. Curtis Cup team, recalled Thompson as being “focused, determined, confident and absolutely delightful.”
“At the time, she was a little shy but definitely a team player and all in,” Mohler said via text message, concluding with: “Thanks for asking. I love that kid!”
The character Thompson exuded in competition was reflected perhaps best in her reaction to two-stroke penalties (four strokes total) during the final round of the 2017 ANA Inspiration. Despite watching her chance at victory disappear, Thompson sturdily handled her professional responsibilities – media interviews and autographs – with the aplomb of a champion.
“That was a huge moment in my career, not a great one,” Thompson said. “I look at it as I grew a fan base that I never thought I would have in that moment. It’s an unfortunate circumstance, but to be there and to hear chants of my name on 17 coming down the stretch and just to be able to sign all the autographs and go through that moment, it was like – the hardest moment of my career was like a blessing because it was just, I learned so much and I gained fans that I never thought I would have. Yeah, I’m not going to sit here and say that moment didn’t hurt – still does – but it’s part of a career.”
In a statement, LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan saluted Thompson as someone “beloved by fans” who “embodies the spirit and dedication of our founders — always showing up and engaging intentionally to help further the growth and impact of the LPGA. … Throughout her career, she has continually made time to engage with partners, their employees, and their clients, and truly has valued their tremendous support of women’s golf.”
Among her 16 top-10s at the majors, she came closest to winning the U.S. Women’s Open on two occasions.
“It makes my day better seeing those little kids out there, and I hope that I impacted them in some type of way, and I hope to continue to do so.” — Lexi Thompson
In 2019, at the Country Club of Charleston in South Carolina, she tied for second after starting the final round just one stroke off the lead. Her rally never came to life, and she ended up two strokes behind winner Jeongeun Lee6.
Two years later, at San Francisco’s Olympic Club, she held the 54-hole lead and made the turn in the final round with a five-stroke lead. However, she played her final eight holes in 5-over, including a bogey-bogey finish, and finished one stroke out of a playoff won by Yuka Saso.
She handled the post-round news conference with class despite some tears and then patiently signed autographs for about a half hour.
This week’s U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster represents the moment of her retirement announcement, but she still has goals for 2024.
“Number one is to definitely be on the Solheim Cup team,” said Thompson, a six-time U.S. Solheim Cup member. “Huge honor just to represent my country and play alongside the team there and my captain – definitely that. Every tournament I tee it up, I still want to win. It doesn’t matter what position I’m at, I want to win and just enjoy the ride and keep on seeing the improvements. I’ve been working very hard on my game, so to see the continued hopefully improvements, that’s big for me.”
At Lancaster, which boasts high-end involvement and enthusiasm, Thompson likely will be greeted by throngs of spectators in full throat. She produced young and old admirers with her overall activities within golf.
“Looked up to me?” she said about the youngsters. “Well, I’d like to think because of the way I give back to the game of golf, the fans, the sponsors. Signing all the autographs, even if I have tears in my eyes after bad days. The fans are what make the game. They took time out of their life to come support us, even if we shoot 78. Hearing a little girl after a 78 saying, ‘You did great today.’ I mean, that makes your heart melt every time. It makes my day better seeing those little kids out there, and I hope that I impacted them in some type of way, and I hope to continue to do so.”