What Lexi Thompson playing on PGA Tour means for LPGA, future players

My initial thought last week on Lexi Thompson playing against the men: This is a bad idea.

Quickly followed by, why now?

Given that Thompson is in the midst of a four-year winning slump on the LPGA and only recently began to find some form, why in the world would she step into a potential cauldron of criticism by taking up a spot in a PGA Tour event? Furthermore, if she struggles at the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas, why risk tearing apart the confidence she’s built up since the Solheim Cup?

One week later, however, after several conversations with folks far wiser and more experienced, I’ve come to view Thompson’s decision in a different light.

I’ve since concluded that the reward for Thompson and golf is greater than the risk.

For starters, this is nothing like Annika Sorenstam’s appearance at The Colonial 20 years ago. At that time, Sorenstam was the best player in the women’s game. She wanted to test herself and push herself beyond anything she’d ever experienced. And while that was her personal goal, Sorenstam carried the weight of the tour and women’s golf on her shoulders. The sports world literally stopped to see how she fared.

There was great risk in Sorenstam’s decision to play, and even though she didn’t make the cut, it paid off handsomely. The Swede left Texas an even bigger force in women’s sport.

Thompson is far from a dominant figure on the LPGA, but she is the most well-known and most popular U.S. player, as much for her triumphs as her crushing defeats. If Thompson doesn’t play up to her standards at the Shriners, the LPGA won’t take a hit.

The 28-year-old isn’t expected to become the first player since Babe Zaharias in 1945 to make a cut on the PGA Tour. If she does, however, it will be her most well-known accomplishment – far more than winning a major.

Thompson is often praised for her resiliency. No modern player has experienced more heartbreaking losses. The four-stroke penalty fiasco at the ANA Inspiration in 2017 and the 2021 back-nine collapse at the U.S. Women’s Open at Olympic were the most painful to witness.

The untimely shank on the 18th on Friday at the Solheim Cup – coupled with the media debacle that followed – harkened back to those fragile times.

But there’s a resolve inside Thompson that’s undeniable, even if she’s reluctant to let the world in on her pain.