Lexi Thompson Turns Out to Be One of the U.S. Stars at the Solheim Cup
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The Ryder Cup would be thrilled to produce the same kind of drama that we witnessed in Spain at the Solheim Cup. The women’s version of the event saw its first tie, meaning Europe retained the Cup, having won the 2021 version. The Europeans also came back from a 4-0 hole after the opening foursomes session.
But it was 8-8 going into Sunday singles and the final day delivered plenty of drama.
Lexi Thompson ended up getting the Cup-tying point by winning the 12th match, having built a big lead before winning 2 and 1. The fact that captain Stacy Lewis had confidence to put her in the last spot and played four times showed some moxie. And it also shows some resolve from Thompson.
Lexi Thompson went 3-1 and secured the half-point to tie the Solheim Cup at 1
Bernat Armangue/AP
It’s been a trying year for the longtime LPGA star who was fortunate to be on the team at all. She had missed 10 cuts in 13 starts. She was 138th on the LPGA's season-long points list. She got her spot due to a Solheim Cup rule giving an automatic place to the highest-ranked player in the world not already qualified.
Lewis would have been within her right to limit Thompson. Maybe play her once before singles. Or even just once a day. But the captain saw some spark in practice and ended up sending her out first, in foursomes, on Friday morning, with Megan Khang. They won 2 and 1.
"She wasn’t in my lineup that I’ve had for a couple of weeks," Lewis said. “And just the way the last four days have gone (in practice), just the way she’s seemed mentally, I just had a feeling about it."
Thompson found herself amid a mini-controversy when her match in the afternoon ended on the 18th hole after she shanked a chip shot. She initially didn’t want to answer a question about it, but then offered an explanation that it was a difficult lie and she hit a bad shot, but the position was "impossible."
There was social media backlash to the question even being asked, but this was fair game. It was a pivotal point in the match, the hole could have gone either way, and Thompson’s misfortune led to a lost hole and match—one that the U.S. had tied a hole previously. It’s certainly no shame to hit a bad shot, there were plenty of them all weekend. But in that situation, at that moment, Thompson had to expect such a question.
Regardless, she came right back out Saturday morning and won another foursomes match before sitting out the afternoon. Lewis again put her in a pressure-packed position on Sunday, and Thompson delivered. It was a strong week and, perhaps, one that will give a jolt of confidence going forward.