Lexi Thompson tucks grief away, remains fan favorite at LPGA
Her ailing Grandma Mimi had died earlier that day, but Thompson’s team withheld the information until she arrived in a setting that offered at least a modicum of privacy. When told, Thompson began sobbing, even though she had made peace with the inevitable while sitting bedside during her beloved grandmother’s final days.
Her supporters didn’t care that Thompson had posted a 5-over-par 76 in the final round or that she finished tied for 20th in her quest for her first U.S. Women’s Open title. What mattered was that Thompson, grieving inside, still gave of herself despite the circumstances. The quest for Thompson’s first Women’s PGA Championship victory begins Thursday with a 1:23 p.m. tee time in the first professional major contested in the D.C. area since the 2011 U.S. Open. It also marks the first women’s major at Congressional.
“Lexi, she doesn’t need a last name, right?” said Stacy Lewis, a two-time major champion and the 2023 U.S. Solheim Cup captain who finished third behind Thompson at the Kraft Nabisco in 2014. “She’s the one person that probably doesn’t need a last name. Everybody knows who she is.