GAINESVILLE, Ga. – Judy Rankin says Lexi Thompson is as patriotic as anybody that’s ever played. Stacy Lewis believes Thompson’s legacy in the game is the Solheim Cup. On the eve of what could be Thompson’s final appearance wearing the red, white and blue, there could be no better place to consider what the 29-year-old has meant to American golf.
“I think we all as players owe her a lot,” said Ireland’s Leona Maguire, who first played against Thompson at the 2009 Junior Solheim Cup. “She carried a lot of the weight for a long time of American hope for the tour, and she shouldered a lot of the media pressure and expectation.”
Thompson announced earlier this season at the U.S. Women’s Open that this would be her final full season on the LPGA. She hasn’t used the word retirement. While no one would be surprised to see her tee it up in select events in 2025, it’s difficult to believe that she’d play enough to merit a spot on the 2026 U.S. Solheim team.
“It’s a massive void,” said Lewis. “Whoever is the next captain, they need to get her on as an assistant, that’s all I can say. Lexi needs to be there in the team room.”
Thompson, who was one of three captain’s picks this year for Lewis, is making her seventh Solheim Cup appearance at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, with her first coming in 2013. She boasts an overall record of 9-7-7. Last year in Spain, Thompson played her way onto Lewis’ team despite playing some of the worst golf of her career. She turned it around in time for the competition, however, and Lewis sent her out in the first match.
Thompson went 3-1-0 for the week.
“She plays better golf here,” Lewis explained.
Lexi Thompson of Team United States signs autographs for fans prior to the Solheim Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on September 12, 2024 in Gainesville, Virginia. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Coming into a Solheim Cup year, playing for Team USA is always Thompson’s No. 1 goal. While she was emotional last month at the Old Course at St. Andrews, where she likely played in her final AIG Women’s British Open and potentially her final major, Thompson hasn’t let herself go there so far this week.
“This is my favorite event that I’ve ever played in my career,” she said, “so enjoying the fans out there, signing the autographs, hearing the slow chants out there right now building up … just enjoying every step along the way.”
Winning, of course, would go a long way toward that enjoyment. Team USA hasn’t won this event since 2017. Thompson is one of only two players on Lewis’ team who know what it feels like to win a Solheim Cup. Alison Lee was also part of that stirring comeback in 2015 in Germany.
“That’s the one thing we have going against us,” said Lewis, “but at some point they’re going to win one, and at some point they’re going to get over the hump, just the odds of it.”
Solheim Cup: Scoreboard, teams | Photos
That’s one of the reasons Lewis brought assistant captains Paula Creamer and Brittany Lincicome into the fold this year, to add more confidence and experience to the team room.
Thompson’s career, at both the Solheim and beyond, has had more controversy and difficulty than most. There have been times, Rankin believes, when Thompson could’ve chosen an easier road for herself.
At last year’s cup, for example, Thompson shanked a shot on the 18th hole late on Friday, which ultimately helped shift the momentum toward Europe heading into the weekend. When asked about the miscue during a press conference, Thompson said curtly, “I don’t need to comment on that.”
The reaction created a stir amongst the media and on social media. Rankin believes that was the wrong approach.
“I just think there’s not a whole lot of reason to laugh at yourself in this game,” said Rankin. “And I think had she laughed at herself when she made some of these mistakes a few times, it would’ve been easier on her.”
Lexi Thompson of Team USA reacts before the Solheim Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on September 11, 2024 in Gainesville, Virginia. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Few players on the modern tour have the kind of experience Thompson boasts, though she’s not yet 30. A winner on tour at age 16, even older players like Ally Ewing, who has been pegged the team’s “mama bear” this week, look up to the former phenom.
Thompson isn’t a big speechmaker. She leads with good energy and a strong work ethic. Lewis said she could pair the 11-time winner with anyone on the team and she’d be fine.
“She was testing a golf ball the other day that was going like 7 or 8 yards shorter with the wedge,” said Lewis. “She’s like, it’s OK, I’m just going to get my numbers, it’s good. Where anybody else would just be freaking out that a wedge is going that much shorter, she’s like, it’s fine. I’ll just get my numbers.
“She’s that kind of person. She’s going to do whatever it takes to win, and I wish I had 12 of them.”