At 16, becomes the youngest player to win on the LPGA Tour
Has a star been born, or will it be one of those meteorites that, due to its great speed, will eventually disintegrate in space? The case of Lexi Thompson is, of course, explosive: at only 16 years old, she has become the youngest player to win a tournament on the U.S. Women’s Tour (LPGA Tour), breaking the record held since 1952 by her compatriot Marlene Haggem. Of course, the latter achieved her record at the Sarasota Open, when she was already 18 years old. As for the youngest player to win a tournament on the American Tour, the honor goes to Johnny McDermont, who was 19 years old when he won the U.S. Open, back in the distant year of 1911.
Lexi (Alexis), born in Coral Springs, Florida, on February 10, 1995, made history in mid-September at the Navistar LPGA Classic, where, with 271 strokes, 17 under par, she pulled no less than five strokes ahead of the second-place finisher, who was impressed by the punch of her rival.
The leap to fame of this photogenic blonde girl of imposing bearing with her 182 centimeters of verticality, comes, despite her youth, from four years ago. When she was just 12 years old, her name made headlines when she qualified to play in the 2007 US Open. Another child prodigy, Michelle Wie, qualified for her first LPGA Tour tournament also at the age of 12, but the Hawaiian did not win her first tournament until she was 20.
In her first foray into the Grand Slam, Thompson signed 76 and 82 strokes and missed the cut, but her fame was already beginning to be planetary, having become the youngest player to have qualified for the US Open (the previous record was held since 2001, also 12 years old but a little older, the American Morgan Pressel).
Also in 2007, Thompson won the Aldila Junior Classic, an American Junior Golf Association tournament, becoming the second youngest player to win a tournament on that circuit. She also won the Junior PGA Championship, and this time she was the youngest player to do so.
In 2008 she also played the US Open, where she again missed the cut. That same year she achieved what would be her only victory on the USGA Tour, the US Girls Junior Amateur. She was the second youngest winner to win that title, a record held by Aree Song.
In 2009, at the age of 14, she finally managed to finish the US Open, and also with a good result, which earned her 34th place. That same season she played another PGA Tour tournament, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, where she finished 21st.
Professional with 15 years
When he was only 15 years old, he made the leap to professionalism and was allowed to play seven tournaments on the American Tour, in two of which he did not make the cut. His best result came at the Evian Masters, where he obtained second place and a check for 242,000 dollars. It was his third tournament as a professional.
Her victory at the Navistar LPGA Classic in Prattville, Alabama, was a thorn in her side from two years ago, when she shared the lead in that same tournament during the first two rounds. She could also have made a big splash last spring, when she reached the final round of the Avnet LPGA Classic at the top of the leaderboard, but ended up finishing 19th.
The dream finally came true at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Senator Course on Capitol Hill. Her father, who had been her caddie until Lexi turned pro last year, couldn’t hold back tears at such emotion.
The very young champion accepted the $195,000 check (of which she donated $20,000 to the tournament’s official charity, for war wounded) with a nervous laugh accompanied by a typical teenage gesture: shrugging her shoulders. “This is so embarrassing!” he apologized. He didn’t mind admitting he had cried when it dawned on him that the title was his. “Triumphing with my father next to me was the best experience,” he said.
Golf and family have been inextricably linked in the figure of Alexis Thompson, who started practicing this sport, hand in hand with his father, when he was just 5 years old. One of her brothers was a successful junior golfer, and another, Nicholas, 28, is a member of the PGA Tour and won on the Nationwide Tour. Last year, before Lexi turned pro, Nicholas claimed his sister would “do wonders” on the Tour. Clairvoyant.
Controversy in the Tour
Her victory on the LPGA Tour has once again brought up the controversy of whether it is appropriate for such a young athlete to be a full member of the American Women’s Tour. As a minor, Lexi could not automatically join the LPGA Tour, one of the rewards that come with winning a tournament. Thompson was forced to ask for an exception, since one of the requirements to participate in the LPGA Tour is to be over 18 years old. Everything was in the hands of the LPGA Tour’s top executive, Commissioner Michael Whan.
Late last year, Thompson petitioned the LPGA Tour for more tournament opportunities. Although, the request was denied, the Tour agreed to waive the minimum age of 18 to qualify for the 2011 Qualifying School that gives access to the 2012 U.S. Tour.
Thus, Lexi passed -with success, of course- the first phase of the aforementioned School. Then came her resounding triumph on Capitol Hill.
As expected since Lexi’s agent announced that the girl was withdrawing from the second phase of the Qualifying School, Whan was benevolent and agreed that the young star will be a full member of the LPGA Tour in the 2012 season.
“Lexi Thompson is a unique talent who has continued to grow, develop and mature, both on and off the course, since turning professional in 2010,” Whan said. “Her ability to fit in the success and disappointments inherent in the sport attest to the level of maturity that I believe will allow her to cope with the emotional rigors of professional golf,” added the manager.
The die is cast for this very young teenage star. Because of her psychological maturity and well-structured family, it seems unlikely that what happened to her compatriot Beverly Klass in the 1960s, a prodigious and precocious golfer whose childhood and youth were shattered by an abusive father who did not hesitate to beat her up if he was not satisfied with her results, will happen to her.
Leave a Reply