THE WOODLANDS, Texas — There’s a noticeable difference between Lexi Thompson the semi-retired LPGA Tour player and the one who played fulltime on tour for 14 years.
More vacations and down time.
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Thompson, who announced her part-time status last year, hasn’t turned off that competitive streak, and that was evident Friday as she shot a five-under 67 in the second round of the Chevron Championship and is four under for the tournament. She rebounded after opening with a one-over 73.
When Thompson finished after her morning-wave tee time, she was in the top 10 and in contention for the weekend with the other half of the field yet to finish at The Club at Carlton Woods.
There will be no vacation this weekend as she’ll be vying for her second major title.
“The biggest difference, more vacations for sure. And not feeling bad about them,” Thompson said. “I have a lot bigger breaks in between events than a normal player would, but it’s nice. It’s my 15th year. It’s very, I think, well-deserved. I’m enjoying my off time and still practicing when I can.”
The 30-year-old Thompson won this event in 2014 when it was the Kraft Nabisco Championship at Rancho Mirage in California, and it stands as her only major triumph. She said she always enjoys being part of the Monday Champions Dinner to kick off the week. The 11-time LPGA winner is playing in a limited number of events this year—the majors and a few others.
“It’s not like I’m just going out here to show face,” Thompson said. “I’m still very competitive and just trying to enjoy the few times I will play.”
She missed the cut at last week’s JM Eagle LA Championship. Things didn’t get off to a good start early in the first round, but she played well on Friday with three birdies on the front nine. After a bogey on No. 14, she birdied 15 and 18 to move up the leaderboard. On Thursday, she had three bogeys on the back nine.
“I am very much [proud]. Coming into the week, if I’m being honest, I wasn’t hitting it great coming off last week. Didn’t really know what to expect,” Thompson said. “But Monday through Wednesday, I don’t think I’ve ever practiced that hard. I worked with my brother Curtis on the bag and my dad [Scott], and just going back and forth with things that could possibly work. Sometimes, you just got to go out there and focus in on one thing and let it go. So I’m very proud of myself and been having fun the last two days.”
Thompson’s career is littered with cases of her putting herself into contention in majors. She had an impressive 20 top-10 finishes, and 13 of those were top-5s, with some heartbreaking collapses. Her last LPGA victory was at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in 2019. When she announced her impending retirement last year, she opened up about her mental health challenges.
With more time on her hands, Thompson has binge watched shows and enjoyed simply doing nothing.
“I always say that I should [have more hobbies] because I probably will be bored, but it’s just so nice not doing anything. It’s just so nice just sitting around,” Thompson said.
“I’ll work out an hour or two a day and still practice here and there. It’s nice to just I don’t know, I’m just going to binge watch a show, just sit on my couch. Never really had the opportunity to do that that much, so it’s nice to do that. But I probably will pick up a hobby. I’m looking into maybe volunteering at an animal shelter or something like that. I love animals. Something to keep me busy.”
Thompson announced her engagement to boyfriend Max Provost on Jan. 1. Her family is all here for this major, too. And watching Thompson in contention is surely just like old times.
“I have adrenaline every time I tee it up,” Thompson said. “I think that just shows how much you care, and how much you want to play well, and how much of the training and practice that you’ve put in that you want it to show once you go out there and tee it up or perform in any sport.”
Especially in majors.
