Alexis Noel Thompson (born February 10, 1995) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She has won a total of 15 professional titles during her career, including 11 victories on the LPGA Tour. Her one major title came at the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship. She has represented the United States at seven Solheim Cups, winning in 2015, 2017 and 2024.
In 2007, aged 12, Thompson became the then youngest ever golfer to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open. She was part of the United States team that won the 2010 Curtis Cup, and she turned professional afterwards aged 15. In September 2011, Thompson set a then record as the youngest-ever winner of an LPGA tournament, aged 16 years, seven months, and eight days, when she won the Navistar LPGA Classic. Three months later, she became the second-youngest winner of a Ladies European Tour event, after capturing the Dubai Ladies Masters. She won her first and only major championship at the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship at the age of 19years, 1month and 27days, making her the second youngest LPGA golfer to win a major.
Thompson's pursuit of a second major victory has resulted in several near-misses. She finished second at the 2015 Evian Championship, and she lost in a playoff at the 2017 ANA Inspiration after being penalized a total of four penalty strokes during the tournament for replacing her ball incorrectly and subsequently signing an incorrect scorecard. She has also recorded further runner-up finishes at the 2019 U.S. Women's Open and the 2022 Women's PGA Championship, and let slip a five stroke lead during the final round of the 2021 U.S. Women's Open where she ended up in third place.
Family and education
Thompson with her brother Curtis as her caddy at the 2022 Dana Open.
Thompson lived with her family in a home that was situated immediately adjacent to Eagle Trace Golf Club in Coral Springs, Florida.[2] She is the youngest of three siblings, her two brothers Nicholas and Curtis also became professional golfers.[3][4][5] She began playing golf at age 5, and started playing competitively two years later.[6] Thompson was home-schooled, getting up early in the morning to carry out her studies before playing golf in both the mornings and afternoons. She graduated in July 2012.[2]
Amateur career
In 2003, Thompson was the U.S. Kids under-8 World Champion and she won the under-9 title the following year.[6] In 2007, aged 12, she became the then youngest ever player to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open. At the tournament, she shot 76-82 and failed to make the cut.[7] Her record was later surpassed by Lucy Li in 2014 who was 11.[8] During 2007, Thompson won the Aldila Junior Classic to become the second-youngest winner in American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) history,[6] and she also won the Westfield Junior PGA Championship to become the youngest winner in Junior PGA Championship history.[9]
Thompson qualified for the U.S. Women's Open for the third straight year in 2009 and she made the cut for the first time, finishing tied for 34th.[12] She then clinched victory in a playoff at the Verizon Junior Heritage.[6] Thompson was then selected to play at the 2009 Junior Solheim Cup, and she helped the United States record a 15.5-8.5 victory over Europe at Aurora Country Club, in Aurora, Illinois.[13]
She played as an amateur in the Women's Australian Open, where she finished T16,[14] and she made the cut at the 2010 Kraft Nabisco Championship, finishing T24.[15] Thompson represented the winning United States team in the 2010 Curtis Cup competition and she went undefeated, winning four matches and tying in a fifth. The United States defeated Great Britain and Ireland 12.5-7.5.[16]
Professional career
Lexi Thompson, 2013
2010
On June 16, 2010, Thompson, aged 15, announced that she had turned professional, the youngest female player to do so.[17] She also signed a sponsorship deal with Cobra-PUMA Golf.[17] Lacking official status as an LPGA Tour member, she largely had to rely on sponsors' exemptions to gain entry into tournaments. Her first sponsor's exemption was entry into the ShopRite LPGA Classic where she missed the cut by four strokes.[18]
Thompson progressed through qualifying to gain entry to the U.S. Women's Open in July. She finished T10 at the tournament, at six-over-par, nine shots behind winner Paula Creamer.[19] Two weeks later, at the Evian Masters, Thompson finished T2, one shot behind the winner.[20] Her ranking rose 75 places to number 74 in the Women's World Golf Rankings.[21]
Petition to LPGA
In December 2010, Thompson petitioned the LPGA to allow her to play in up to twelve LPGA tournaments in 2011 using sponsor exemptions instead of the six allowed to non-members by LPGA rules. In January 2011, Commissioner Mike Whan denied Thompson's petition, but announced that the LPGA rules would be changed to allow non-members to participate in Monday qualifying for events they wished to enter.[22]
Thompson began playing in one-day tournaments in October 2010 on the Fuzion Minor League Golf Tour.[23] She returned to play against women in February 2011, at the Women's Australian Open and the ANZ Ladies Masters, where she missed the cut and finished T42 respectively. Returning to the United States, she won a one-round Fuzion Tour event, on February 21, at her home course in Coral Springs, Florida. Tied after 18 holes, she beat Brett Bergeron on the second playoff hole, for her first professional win. Victory also meant she became just the second woman to triumph in the Fuzion Minor League.[23] In March, Thompson attempted the Monday qualifier for the LPGA Kia Classic, but failed to qualify.[24]
Thompson's first LPGA tournament in 2011 was the Avnet LPGA Classic, with a sponsor's exemption. After three rounds, she was tied for the lead. In the final round, she carded a 78, which included back-to-back double-bogeys on the 14th and 15th holes. She finished the event tied for 19th, nine strokes behind the winner.[25] In September, she won her first LPGA tournament, the Navistar LPGA Classic, by a five-stroke margin over Tiffany Joh. Aged 16, her victory meant she became the youngest ever winner on the LPGA Tour, breaking the previous record set by Marlene Hagge at age 18 in 1952.[26][27] Her record stood for 11 months until 15-year-old Lydia Ko won the 2012 CN Canadian Women's Open the following year.[28]
On December 17, 2011, Thompson won the Dubai Ladies Masters, an event on the Ladies European Tour (LET), with a four-stroke margin. This win made her the youngest professional winner on the LET at age 16 years, 10 months, 8 days, and the second-youngest overall, after Amy Yang, who was four months younger when she won the 2006 ANZ Ladies Masters as an amateur.[29]
Qualifying for 2012 LPGA membership
Thompson successfully petitioned the LPGA to receive a waiver to the rule that LPGA Tour members must be at least 18 years old, allowing her to enter the 2011 LPGA Qualifying School for Tour membership in 2012. The first of three stages was held in July at the LPGA International course in Daytona Beach, Florida. Thompson won Stage I by ten strokes, with the top 50 finishers and ties advancing to Stage II.[30] After winning the Navistar LPGA Classic, Thompson withdrew from qualifying school[31] and petitioned the LPGA for membership based on her win. Her petition was approved on September 30, 2011, and she became a member of the tour for 2012.[32] Thompson recorded a third place finish at the Evian Championship, the final major of the year.[33]
Thompson made her Solheim Cup debut for the United States in August 2013 at the Colorado Golf Club. They were defeated 10–18 by Europe, and she finished the competition with a 1–2–0 (win–loss–tie) record, which included a 4 and 3 victory over Caroline Masson in the singles.[34] Thompson earned her second LPGA Tour win with a four-stroke victory at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia in October,[35] and she also won the Lorena Ochoa Invitational the following month, beating second placed Stacy Lewis by one stroke.[36]
2014
Thompson earned her fourth career LPGA win and first major championship at the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship. The victory made her the second-youngest women's major winner at the time.[37] Thompson recorded 73–64–69–68=274 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California to secure a three-stroke victory from Michelle Wie. After her win, Thompson revealed "This was one of my goals coming into the year, to win a major. I've always seen myself winning a Kraft Nabisco. It's such a huge honor with all the history behind the tournament."[38] She also recorded top-10 finishes at the U.S. Women's Open, where she finished in a tie for seventh,[39] and at the Evian Championship where she ended tied for tenth.[40]
2015
Thompson finished 7th at the ANA Inspiration, and third at the Women's PGA Championship.[41][42] She then earned her fifth career win at the Meijer LPGA Classic in July. Having trailed by four strokes after the conclusion of the third round, Thompson shot a six-under-par round on the final day to seal a one-stroke victory over Gerina Piller.[43] She then won her sixth LPGA Tour title, and her second of the year at the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship in Incheon. Thompson finished the tournament 15-under-par and said afterwards "I don’t really play for myself as much as I play for my country. I love being an American and it’s a great honor to be the first American to win in Korea."[44] At the 2015 Evian Championship, Thompson finished in second place, six strokes adrift of the winner Lydia Ko.[45]
Thompson played in the 2015 Solheim Cup held at Golf Club St. Leon-Rot in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The United States claimed a narrow 14.5–13.5 victory, with Thompson finishing with an undefeated 2–0–2 record. Thompson won two matches alongside playing partner Cristie Kerr and halved her singles match with Carlota Ciganda on the closing day.[46] She made 13 top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour during the season and earned $1,763,904 in prize money.[47]
2016
In February 2016, Thompson earned her seventh LPGA Tour win at the Honda LPGA Thailand. She ended 20-under-par to win the tournament by six strokes from In Gee Chun.[48] Thompson held the lead after the penultimate round of the ANA Inspiration, but eventually had to settle for fifth place, three strokes behind the tournament winner Lydia Ko.[49] On the LPGA Tour of Japan, she earned her first victory at the World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup, where she won by a two-stroke margin over Ayaka Watanabe.[50] In July, Thompson was part of the USA team that triumphed at the 2016 International Crown. USA finished the event one-point clear of South Korea.[51] She had her best finish at the Women's British Open, finishing T8th at Woburn Golf and Country Club.[52] Thompson was selected by USA to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She finished T19th, seven strokes adrift of the bronze medal position. Thompson later had the Olympic Games emblem tattooed on her hand.[53]
2017
Thompson started the season at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, where she shot a 61 (−12) in the second round. However, she missed a putt to win the tournament, and Brittany Lincicome clinched victory with a birdie on the first playoff hole.[54] She earned her eighth LPGA Tour win at the Kingsmill Championship in May, where she finished with a tournament record 20-under-par (65-65-69-65=264).[55]
In April, Thompson was penalized a total of four strokes for replacing her ball incorrectly on the green while playing the 17th hole during the third round of the 2017 ANA Inspiration. The infringement was reported in by a TV viewer and assessed after completion of the round, which meant that in addition to receiving a two stroke penalty for replacing the ball incorrectly, she was also penalized two strokes for signing an incorrect scorecard.[56] Despite this, she reached a playoff, eventually losing to Ryu So-yeon.[57] Afterwards, Thompson said "It is unfortunate with what happened. I did not mean that at all. I had no idea that I did it."[58] She then recorded a T7th finish at the Women's PGA Championship.[59]
In June, at the Manulife LPGA Classic in Cambridge, Ontario, Thompson was defeated in a three-way playoff by Ariya Jutanugarn. Thompson had held a four-shot lead in the event after nine holes on the final day, but shot four-bogeys to lose her advantage.[60] Thompson won the inaugural Indy Women in Tech Championship on September 9 for her ninth win. Thompson finished four strokes clear of Lydia Ko in Indianapolis.[61]
At the 2017 Solheim Cup, Thompson finished with an unbeaten 2–0–2 record at Des Moines Golf and Country Club, Iowa, as the United States secured a 16.5–11.5 overall victory. Thompson's two winning points at the event came with playing partner Kerr on day two. Thompson and Kerr played together for a total of six matches during the 2015 and 2017 editions of the event, winning four and halving two, with their five points being a joint partnership record in Solheim Cup history. Thompson halved her singles match with Anna Nordqvist, having been 4 down after nine holes.[62][63][64]
At the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, Thompson missed a two-foot putt on the 18th hole to lose the tournament after Ariya Jutanugarn finished with back-to-back birdies. However, she did still win the overall Race to the CME Globe for the $1 million bonus.[65] Thompson won the Vare Trophy in 2017 for having the lowest scoring average on the LPGA Tour. Her 69.114 average was an all-time record.[66]
2018
Thompson finished T5th at the U.S. Women's Open,[67] but she withdrew from the Women's British Open and took a month-long leave from the LPGA Tour. In a post on Instagram, she explained: "I have not truly felt like myself for quite some time", adding "I am therefore taking this time to recharge my mental batteries, and to focus on myself away from the game of professional golf."[68] After her break, she missed the cut at two tournaments before heading into the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. On November 18, Thompson won the event with an 18-under-par total, giving her a four-shot victory over Nelly Korda.[68] The victory, her first in over a year, and the tenth of her professional career,[69] was worth $500,000.[70]
2019
Thompson finished 3rd at the ANA Inspiration in April, four strokes behind Ko Jin-young.[71] In June, she had her best finish, a T2nd in the U.S. Women's Open at the Country Club of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. She finished the event two shots behind Jeong-eun Lee6.[72] The following week, she finished one shot clear of Lee6 at Seaview to win the ShopRite LPGA Classic. Thompson made an eagle at the final hole to seal her victory.[73]
Thompson finished without a win in the 2019 Solheim Cup at Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland. She posted a 0–2–2 record as USA were defeated by Europe 13.5–14.5. She lost her singles match to Georgia Hall 2 and 1 on the final day.[74]
2020
Thompson began the year at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in January, finishing T7th.[75] In March, the LPGA suspended competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[76] In August, after the LPGA Tour had resumed, Thompson was involved in a rules controversy during her opening round at the Women's British Open, when she was observed by an official moving a tuft of grass behind her ball with her club; it was later deemed that her lie had not been improved, as the grass returned to its original position, and she escaped any penalty. She went on to miss the cut.[77][78] She finished fourth at the ANA Inspiration in September, two strokes behind Mirim Lee who won in a playoff.[79] At the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, she finished in T5th place.[80]
In February, Thompson finished T2nd at the Gainbridge LPGA, three strokes behind champion Nelly Korda.[81] The following month, she finished runner-up again, this time at the Kia Classic where she ended five shots behind Inbee Park.[82] In June, Thompson led the U.S. Women's Open going into the last round at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, California. In the final round, towards the end of her front nine, Thompson led by five strokes. She then shot a five-over-par 41 on the back nine and missed out on a playoff by one stroke.[83] At the Tokyo Olympics, she finished in 33rd position.[84]
Thompson was a member of the United States team that lost the 2021 Solheim Cup to Europe 13–15 at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Thompson finished 1–2–1 for the tournament with her win coming in the day two foursomes when she and playing partner Brittany Altomare defeated Charley Hull and Emily Kristine Pedersen 2 and 1. In the singles, she halved her match with Anna Nordqvist.[85] In the Pelican Women's Championship, Thompson bogeyed the final hole to end up in a 4-way playoff, which was won by Nelly Korda at the first extra hole.[86] She then finished eighth at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.[87] Across her LPGA season, she made the cut at all 19 tournaments that she entered and recorded 7 top-10 finishes.[47]
2022
In January, Thompson finished T6th at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio,[88] and the following month she finished runner-up at the LPGA Drive On Championship, three strokes behind champion Leona Maguire.[89] Thompson finished T4 at the Chevron Championship in April,[90] and finished second at the LPGA Founders Cup in May.[91] After her tie for fifth place at the Meijer LPGA Classic in June,[92] she moved to 10th on the all-time career money list on the LPGA Tour, having earned $12,608,045 in 230 events over 10 years, starting from her LPGA membership in 2012.[93]
In the Women's PGA Championship at the Congressional Country Club, Maryland, Thompson finished T2nd, losing to winner Chun In-gee by one stroke. Thompson had held a two-stroke lead before making back-to-back bogeys at the 16th and 17th holes on the final day.[94] In October, Thompson was victorious in the individual event of the Aramco Team Series-New York, winning the Ladies European Tour event by three strokes.[95] The following month, Thompson recorded her fourth second place finish on the LPGA Tour for the year, this time at the Pelican Women's Championship. There, she finished one stroke behind Nelly Korda.[96] She finished the year with ten top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour.[47]
2023
Thompson represented the United States at the International Crown in May, where they were defeated in the semi-finals by Thailand. The United States ended the competition in third position after overcoming Sweden in the third-place playoff.[97] She arrived at the 2023 Solheim Cup in September, in a bad run of form. On the LPGA Tour in 2023, she had missed the cut in eight of her last eleven events, and had a season best finish of T19th at the Kroger Queen City Championship.[98] In the Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin in Casares, Andalusia, Thompson recorded three victories from her four matches, finishing with a 3–1–0 record, which included a 2 and 1 victory over Emily Kristine Pedersen in the singles. Europe and the United States finished tied on 14 points, resulting in Europe retaining the trophy.[99][100]
On May 28, 2024, Thompson, 29, announced that she would retire from full time golf at the end of the 2024 LPGA season after 14 years as a professional golfer.[104][105] She said she will continue to play at a small number of events. [106] In June, at the Meijer LPGA Classic, Thompson was beaten in a playoff by Lilia Vu.[107] The following week, she recorded her first top-10 finish in a major since 2022 when she finished T9th in the Women's PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington.[108]
Now playing part-time on the tour, Thompson finished T4th at the Meijer LPGA Classic in June. She had held a share of the lead at the end of the third round, but lost ground on the final day as Ciganda claimed victory.[113]
Personal life
Thompson partnered with the SEAL Legacy Foundation. In May 2017, she skydived with a United States NavySEAL before the start of the Kingsmill Championship pro-am.[114][115]
In January 2025, Thompson revealed that she had become engaged to Max Provost, who proposed to her in Whistler, Canada.[116][117]
^ Official as of 2024 season[119][120][121] * Includes matchplay and other events without a cut. 1 Earnings and top-10s prior to 2012 are unofficial because Thompson was not an LPGA member. 2 Official 2012 earnings do not include $23,107 from T14 finish at the Honda LPGA Thailand. LPGA rules specify that earnings by players who gain entrance to an international tournament using a sponsor's exemption are unofficial.
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