GAINESVILLE, Va. — Lexi Thompson is not certain whether or not this yr’s Solheim Cup will likely be her final as a participant, however she confirmed her dedication to returning the cup to the USA by making an early go to to the demanding venue the place the Individuals will tackle Europe in September.
Thompson, who introduced on the U.S. Girls’s Open in Might that this yr could be her final enjoying a full LPGA Tour schedule, is 14th within the Solheim Cup standings, which suggests she would possibly must depend on a captain’s choose. However U.S. captain Stacy Lewis informed The Related Press on Monday at Robert Trent Jones Golf Membership that Thompson has nothing to fret about.
“She’s proper the place she must be. She’s struggled, however I believe making the [retirement] announcement and sort of getting that monkey off her again, you’ve got seen some higher golf come after that,” Lewis mentioned. “And holds one other card that no person else has. And that is the expertise. And I do know she’s a type of gamers that performs higher when she will get right here, too.
“I informed her, ‘I do not want you to play 30 occasions. I simply want you to be shut.'”
The 29-year-old Thompson, who turned professional at age 15, made her Solheim Cup debut at Colorado Golf Membership in 2013 and hasn’t missed it since. This yr’s could be her seventh, however she hasn’t been a part of a successful workforce since 2017 in Des Moines, Iowa.
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Europe received in 2019 in Scotland and in 2021 in Ohio and retained the cup with a draw final yr at Finca Cortesin in Spain. Lewis and European captain Suzann Pettersen are reprising their roles because the cup strikes again to even-numbered years, away from the Ryder Cup.
Thompson has maintained a robust document regardless of the Individuals’ struggles, going 9-7-7 general and 5-2-1 within the tough alternate-shot format. She was 3-1 final yr, 2-0 in alternate shot.
“She’s acquired a struggle that nobody else has,” Lewis mentioned. “Final yr in Spain, she was down by a pair holes and anyone was like, ‘Do it’s worthwhile to go see Lexi?’ And I used to be like, ‘No, she’s nice.'”
Thompson’s energy ought to give her a bonus at RTJ, a giant ballpark on the shores of Lake Manassas about 35 miles west of Washington, D.C., that has hosted the Presidents Cup and PGA Tour occasions.
“I positively hit numerous drivers,” Thompson mentioned of her follow spherical a day earlier alongside Lewis. “It is on the longer aspect. I did not have too many wedges in on the market.”
Lewis mentioned she favors a tough setup at RTJ that might favor a participant like Thompson.
“The place there is a penalty for a miss, I believe that can play into our gamers a bit bit higher,” Lewis mentioned. “I believe we’ve a number of extra ball-strikers than they do on Staff Europe.”
Thompson skipped a significant, the Evian Championship in France, to hitch Lewis at RTJ.
“Any time I can be capable of assist out and characterize Staff USA, that is highest on my record,” Thompson mentioned.
Thompson left some wiggle room in her retirement announcement, saying she hadn’t determined how a lot she’s going to play sooner or later. Requested whether or not she would attempt to make Solheim groups after this yr, she mentioned, “I actually have not actually thought that a lot into it.”
Lewis predicted that Thompson would return to the occasion in a special function.
“Oh, yeah,” Lewis mentioned. “She’ll be a captain.”
