Viciously Targeted by the Media, Lexi Thompson Became the Reluctant Star of Solheim Cup in 2023

It’s no secret that Lexi Thompson is retiring after this LPGA season. She is cherishing her remaining time on the course, making each tournament significant for her. The same goes for the Solheim Cup, which is set to take place from September 13-15. However, this tournament is extra meaningful to her because she managed to rise above the struggles last year.

Last year during the Solheim Cup there were a lot of controversies surrounding Lexi Thompson. Most of them were because of her performance throughout the 2023 season. Over 11 starts in the last season on the Tour, she missed eight cuts, with three finishes of T-31, T-47, and T-19 at the Kroger Queen City Championship. Despite that, she automatically qualified for the event thanks to her world rankings. Notably, Captain Stacy Lewis also had trust in her.

“You’d never know she’s playing as poorly as she is. Just by the way she’s acting, the way she’s going about her business. She never stops working. I think she’s going to figure it out. I really do. Her role is going to be very different this time, She’s going to be the most experienced of anybody on this team. She’s the one these girls are going to look to,” said Stacy Lewis as per the Sports Illustrated website.

It was her sixth appearance at the Solheim Cup, and with her experience, the captain had complete confidence in her. The tournament kicked off at the Finca Cortesin Golf Club. While the tournament continued, an unfortunate incident happened on the 18th hole during Friday fourball. The golfer shanked her attempted chip onto the green, and the ball almost hit her partner Lilia Vu and her caddie, with eventually resting up at the bottom of the hill by the front of the green. Witnessing that, fans started bashing the golfer on social media with comments like “Lexi, right next to Michelle Wie might be the 2 most overrated golfers in history.”

This miss proved detrimental for Team USA as Team Europe got their first full point of the day. Despite that, Lewis still had trust in her as she placed Thompson in the final grouping of the day on Sunday. And guess what? Lexi Thompson bounced back. Initially, she lost two of the first three holes but got the momentum back and held on to earn Team USA a point. On the par-4 5th she won six of the next nine holes to take a four-shot lead and ended up defeating Emily Kristine Pedersen.