Golf was Lexi Thompson’s life. He wanted something else
Naples, Fla. – Time has a funny way of making us forget. Something or someone can get so involved in our lives that we lose sight of those around us. We forget the context.
Take Lexi Thompson. He’s only 30 years old, so his announcement last year that he would step away from the full-time program came as a bit of a surprise. But it’s easy to forget that the long-lost Lexi Thompson is doing it this one. We forget that 18 years ago, she became the youngest to qualify for the US Women’s Open at 12. He turned Pro at 15. 15 years, doing the same things every year, the time has not been seen.
For the rest of her life, Lexi Thompson has been Lexi Thompson, a professional golfer. He has been grinding for a long time. He’s still grinding, for that matter. But after a season of the show being fixed, Lexi Thompson is not -honest professional golfer. She got engaged to her boyfriend, Max Revost, in January. Both are getting married in March. He spent more time with his friends and family. He poured himself into planning the wedding. Took a weekend trip to find out. Time has a different meaning when your focus is not.
For someone who lives his life with a club in his hand, making room for other things has softened the soul.
“Good. You put my mind at ease,” Thompson said after the first round of the CME Group Tour Championship. “It was money left over, especially for getting involved, planning a wedding.” This is my 15th year. I think most of the 15 people don’t realize how long I’ve been and I’ve been in the game longer than golf.
“[Golf] you took the money. “
When Thompson announced he was coming to the program full-time last year, he was given the courtship and tearful send-off usually reserved for players who hang up their spikes. But Thompson’s plan isn’t to stop working or stop competing. That’s in his DNA. You don’t turn Lexi Thompson if you don’t.
So he played 13 events, including the Viburon Golf Club Championship. She competed in the Chevn Championship and the KPMG PGA Women’s Championship before stumbling over the weekend. He posted a run at the Dow Championship. The work has not stopped. Thompson is still training hard at home – but says his body is now feeling much better after “everything he put into it.” He shot a two-under 70 on Thursday while dealing with a hip injury.
You are still Lexi Thompson. But work is no longer all-consuming.
And in letting it be something other than the golfer, Lexi Thompson’s golf has benefited. As the pressure eased, freedom emerged.
“Yes [I have been freed up] “On the mental side of things,” Thompson said. I won’t even lie. It’s hard for me. I’m always there because I want the best and I know how much work I put in. I’ve never been okay with mediocre Golf. But being able to pick and choose my events and balance in outside weeks has helped me a lot because sometimes that’s more important than making a habit. “
The year of the temporary schedule has taken its toll on Thompson. If it was an experiment, it seems to have succeeded. All signs point to this remaining the status quo for Thompson until he officially bids the professional game adieu to his time.
But the 2026 edition brings up the question of Lexi Thompson who has finally found peace. With the Solheim Cup being played in the Netherlands in 2026, Thompson, who has played in every Solheim cup since 2013, has narrowed down his schedule to ensure he makes Captain Angela Stanford’s team? Or will he continue to play when he chooses and let the chips fall where they may?
“I mean, I love Angela. She’s someone I’ve looked up to for a while now,” Thompson said. “The Solheim Cup has been my favorite event of my career. We’ll see. For the first few months, I won’t play because obviously I won’t have my time and everything.”
That there are no tricky answers now speaks to the impact the change has had on Thompson. Golf used to be everything: driving power. The leading light. His ID. But professional golf can also be isolating and endless. There are many cases where it can’t display everything you input, and that can be a burden.
Way back (not far), Lexi Thompson, Child Prodigy and Grand Champion, got what she wanted – what she wanted.
“I learned there’s more to life,” Thompson said. “With wedding planning and all that, there’s a lot to that game. When I’m fighting here, I’m just going to try to remind myself that it’s okay, you’re going to have another day and do good things here.”
Lexi Thompson will still be here love He was 15 years old. But it won’t and so on Be here. His mind will not be locked in a game that will not be perfect. After 15 years, Lexi Thompson allows herself to be something else.
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