Even while wrestling with the decision to announce her retirement, making the U.S. team to play on American soil again at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club was at the top of the star’s goals for 2024. Four top 10 finishes helped Thompson earn a captain’s pick from Stacy Lewis for her seventh Solheim Cup. But hearing Lewis describe Thompson’s impact on the team, she may have made the team regardless of how she played.
“I think it is her legacy, is her and the Solheim Cup,” Lewis said. “Just the way she is with the crowd and the fans, this event is Lexi to a T.”
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Thompson has been on every American roster since 2013 when she was 18. The most experienced player on this U.S. team has been teammates with Lewis and all four American assistant captains over the years, bringing back memories for Paula Creamer of when they played four-ball together.
The 11-time LPGA winner was a key part of the American’s last two victories as part of one of the most potent tandems in U.S. Solheim history with Cristie Kerr. They went 4-0-2 across six team sessions in 2015 and 2017. In the U.S.’s last victory at Des Moines Golf and Country Club, Thompson had one of the best performances of her career. Trailing steely Euro veteran Anna Nordqvist 4-down going into the back nine, U.S. captain Juli Inkster gave Thompson a pep talk. Thompson holed out for eagle on the 10th, starting an impressive charge to ultimately tie the Swede.
The pair had another gladiator-like singles battle in 2021, as neither took more than a 1-up lead at Inverness Club before settling for another tie.
“I think those are some of my best matches,” Nordqvist said. “And I think we ended up tying both, which seemed like a fair result in both.”
Even mired in a struggling 2023 campaign before the matches in Spain, Thompson played beyond her poor form with an impressive 3-1-0 week. While her performance may have been overshadowed by Thompson’s response to a shank on the 18th green during Friday four-ball, she answered numerous critics with a crucial 2-and-1 victory in singles against Emily Kristine Pedersen as the final match on the course to tie the Solheim Cup at 14 points apiece.
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“I think Solheim Cups bring a different pressure that we’re not used to week in and week out,” Thompson said. “I feel like, not only myself, but all of us players have pulled off shots or made putts under extreme pressure when we needed to, and I think that’s kind of what we build off of this week, that we can perform any type of shot under that type of circumstance.”
Thompson’s impact goes beyond her 9-7-7 career record, as multiple captains lauded her for how she sets a tone for the American’s ethos with her team-first attitude. Lewis was alongside Thompson earlier in the week as the six-time Solheim Cup veteran was trying a different ball in preparation for foursomes. Thompson’s wedges were flying eight yards shorter than usual, which often leads to wanting to avoid playing with that particular ball.
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