Lexi Thompson’s Open Championship nearly came to a heartbreaking conclusion.
US
Lexi Thompson’s reaction said it all.
When a golfer hits a tee shot it can they find trouble, they look closely. When does a golfer hit a tee shot that is, without question, absolutely dead? They head to the bag to catch another ball. It’s the equivalent of a pitcher giving up a home run so monstrous that he turns to the umpire before it clears the fence: One more Rawlings, please.
Thompson’s home run came in the second inning of the AIG Women’s Open on the 17th in St. Andrews, a brutal par-4 that is among the world’s most famous and most challenging holes. She picked up the driver off the tee, but blocked it far right, over the iconic Old Course Hotel, where (to extend the baseball analogy) she cleared the fence. By the time the ball had dropped, Thompson was already back in her bag. One more Maxfli please.
It seemed like the damage was already done. Thompson reached No. 17 in 3 over par. The cut off line was at 4 over. Suddenly she was hitting her third shot off the tee on the hardest hole on the course. Thompson went from driver to fairway wood. She played away from the trouble, sending it left in the fescue.
There were layers of pain built into this misery. Not only was Thompson headed for a brutal missed cut; this was a brutal missed cut coming off an OB tee on her 35th hole. This was a brutal missed cut in the last major of the year. It was a brutal missed cut in the final race of the year in which Thompson announced her retirement. This was a brutal missed cut in what theoretically could have been Thompson’s final major EVER.
But then it wasn’t.
From fescue, Thompson did the impossible. She sent a long iron up the fairway along the fairway and up the slope to the front of the green, where it landed about six feet from the hole. When she bent that putt to the rim, she had officially turned a disastrous double or worse into a triumphant cheat. Now she was at 4 over. Right on the cutting line.
“This feels like Lexi. In a portrait,” announcer Grant Boone said as the ball hit the bottom of the cup. He was right. The willingness to suffer through some gut punches, oh-no heartbreak. The ability to bounce back and fight again. Good. Bad. Wow. Again.
Thompson’s career has been defined as much by her failures as by her talent and successes. If that sounds harsh, that’s because it can be a harsh business. But there’s beauty in the pursuit, too—in the obstacles the sport throws up and the maneuvers needed to overcome them.
At the age of 18, Thompson tore off his shirt and crashed down the left side of the fairway. From there she landed a wedge just short of the hole, but made it back. One thing remained: She rolled in her birdie putt, finishing with a second-round style 1-under 71, making the cut by one stroke.
There’s even more to play for this weekend. Thompson hopes to finish her season as a member of the USA Solheim Cup team, as she did in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023. (They are going even years this season.) The team consists of nine automatic qualifiers (the top seven players in the US Solheim Cup points standings and the top two players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking who are not already eligible) and three additional captain picks, who will says Thompson will need help; she enters this week in 14th place in the points standings.
“Very hungry,” she said earlier in the week when asked how hungry she was to make the team. “Whenever I can represent my country, it’s my goal no. 1 to be in this team. This is nothing like that. I feel like it brings out an energy and talent from all of us players that the fans don’t see every week. I think they really enjoy it.
“You’re not just playing for yourself. Golf is such an individual sport. We have the opportunity to bring 12 girls together, build those friendships and relationships, play under our captain that we’re looking for. It’s something different. It’s special.”
It will be good, then, that Thompson has two more days to continue her audition in front of team captain Stacy Lewis.
Thompson did not speak to the media Friday evening; I’m not sure if it was requested. But something she said before the tournament spoke volumes for her chances at the weekend.
“Weeks like this, you just have to stay in the moment and take one shot at a time, be patient, know there’s going to be bad breaks or some bad shots. You just have to get through them with a positive attitude and move on.”
This weekend, Thompson will continue. She has earned that chance.
