Revered by teammates, captain and U.S. fans, Lexi Thompson hopes for a win in her final Solheim Cup

Lexi Thompson enters what looks like her final Solheim Cup as the most popular American player among fans, a team leader and a key contributor for captain Stacy Lewis

Lexi Thompson worked her way down the rope line between the second and third holes at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on Thursday, signing dozens of hats, flags and golf balls. The fans on the other side, worried they would miss their chance with the U.S. Solheim Cup team’s most popular player, began chanting, “Lexi! Lexi!”

Thompson obliged, finally informing her still-waiting supporters, “Sorry, guys, I’ve got to go hit, OK?” There was a practice round to play, after all. But then she stopped again to sign the hats of two school-age girls and the vest of a service dog.

We’re excited for you, and we’re excited for your retirement,” one fan told Thompson. “Enjoy life.”

The Solheim Cup begins Friday at this battle-tested venue about 40 miles west of Washington, D.C., that has hosted four Presidents Cups. And if it’s truly Thompson’s last as a player, she’s going out on top — at least in the eyes of American fans, teammates and captain Stacy Lewis.

There was never a doubt that Lewis would select Thompson to play in her seventh consecutive Solheim Cup. Although the 29-year-old hasn’t won on the LPGA Tour in five years, she brings power, proficiency in the tricky alternate-shot format and — rare on this U.S. team — memories of hoisting the trophy in the biennial team competition against Europe.

Thompson and Alison Lee are the only players on the American squad who’ve won a Solheim Cup, which the U.S. last captured in 2017 in Iowa. Europe won in 2019 in Scotland and 2021 in Ohio and retained the cup last year with a 14-14 draw in Spain. The event returns a year later — with Lewis and European captain Suzann Pettersen reprising their roles — to move back to even-numbered years and avoid the Ryder Cup.