LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — Golf is all Lexi Thompson has ever known, and one of the LPGA Tour’s most popular players decided Tuesday that this will be her last year playing a full schedule.
Thompson chose the US Women’s Open – the major tournament she first played at age 12 – to announce she would retire at the end of the year. The 29-year-old American became emotional as she spoke about the amount of work no one sees and the loneliness she faces.
Thompson said she had considered semi-retirement in recent years and cited mental health as one of the factors that contributed to her decision.
“I think we all have our struggles, especially here,” she said. “Unfortunately in golf you lose more than you win, so it’s a constant struggle to keep putting yourself in front of the cameras and keep working hard and maybe not seeing the results you want and to be criticized for that, so it’s difficult.
“I’m going to stay, yes, I’ve struggled with it – I don’t think there’s anyone here who hasn’t,” she said. “It’s just a matter of how you hide it, which is very sad.”
Thompson is playing in her 18th US Women’s Open before turning 30. She won the first of her 15 LPGA titles at age 16. She is known as much for the major tournaments she lost as for the one she won at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2014 when she was 19.
___
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, America’s National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat has 988lifeline.org.
___
She made a vague reference to Grayson Murray, who has spoken openly about alcoholism and his struggles with depression and anxiety related to his life as a tourism professional. Murray, who won the Sony Open in January, committed suicide on Saturday.
“Being here can mean a lot. It can be lonely,” she said as her voice began to crack and she wiped away tears. “I just think – especially with what’s happened in golf recently – a lot of people don’t realize what we go through as a professional athlete.
“We do what we love. We do our best every day. You know, we’re not perfect. We are humans. Words hurt. This is sometimes difficult to overcome. …I may not have a large group of friends, but having the people who matter most around me has gotten me through some very difficult times.
Exactly what semi-retirement means is unclear. Thompson, whose last LPGA victory came nearly five years ago, said she would love to make the Solheim Cup team one last time. She loves fitness and launched an app. But it was time to find something else.
“I’ve only known golf as my life,” Thompson said. “So it’s nice to branch out and be able to enjoy other things.”
The news surprised LPGA players. The notice was published and then deleted several times on various social networks. Thompson was on the course during his first outing.
“She really dedicated her time to developing the game,” Nelly Korda said. “It’s sad to see she’s obviously leaving and won’t be here with us, but she’s had an incredible career and I wish her the best in this new chapter of her life.”
Thompson was 12 when she qualified for the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles, at the time the youngest person to qualify. She also set an LPGA Tour record as the youngest winner when she won the Navistar LPGA Classic at age 16.
Since then, both records have been broken.
Thompson was a four-time runner-up in the majors. She lost a five-shot lead at the 2021 US Women’s Open at the Olympic Club with a 41 on the last nine. The most famous was the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2017and she got emotional talking about it.
She was headed to an easy victory in the final round when the LPGA discovered she had incorrectly marked her golf ball on a green in the third round. She was penalized two shots for violation and two shots for signing an incorrect score due to the penalty.
“Is this a prank?” she said when a rules official informed her on the 13th hole of the final round that she had been docked four shots, turning a three-shot lead into a one-shot deficit. She rallied to force the playoffs before losing to So Yeon Ryu.
“It was a huge moment in my career, but not a great moment,” she said. “I see this as I have developed a fan base that I never thought I would have at that time. It’s an unfortunate circumstance, but being there and hearing the chants of my name on the 17th all the way down the stretch and just being able to sign all the autographs and going through that moment… the hardest moment of my career was like a blessing. .
“I gained fans I never thought I would have.”
Thompson grew up playing with two older brothers, both of whom reached the PGA Tour, and she was renowned for her power. She accepted an exemption playing a PGA Tour event in Las Vegas last yearkeeping fans in suspense as to whether she could make the cut until she disappears.
Thompson couldn’t say how often she would play, only that she would “take it day by day and see how I feel.”
“But I’m very happy with the fact that this is my last year full-time,” she said.
___
AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
News Source : apnews.com
Gn sports
