Lexi Thompson can take heart in having grown the women’s golf game while growing up in it
NORTON — The first quip came when she eyed her playing partner on the putting green, two golfers dressed in identically-hued hot pink shirts.
“I jokingly said it’s a good thing I wore black shorts or it would be tough to tell who is who out there,” said Megan Khang, a 5-foot-1, dark-haired New Englander whose bright Puma-branded shirt was strikingly similar to that of Lexi Thompson, a 6-foot, blond-headed Floridian.
The second came as the two golfers made their way to the first tee for their 11:50 a.m. start in the third round of the FM Championship, where fans quickly made it clear which weekend pairing was going to be the most popular of the tournament so far. Rows deep and snaking along the first fairway of TPC Boston, they showed up for not only their hometown favorite Khang, but for a longtime LPGA Tour pro who announced in May that this will be her last playing a full-time LPGA schedule.
“I joked with Lexi, this might be the first time I hear my name louder than yours,” Khang said. “She was so gracious. She was like, ‘No, this is your crowd.’ But I know everyone is coming out here to watch some great golf and obviously Lexi is an incredible player.”
That Thompson is choosing to leave the Tour at the age of 29 sent shock waves through the sport, if only because she has been such a fixture and staple for so long. In 2007, at age 12, Thompson was the youngest golfer ever to qualify for the US Women’s Open (since broken by Lucy Li, who was 11 in 2014) and by June of 2010, when she was 15, she turned pro.
Through success like winning her sole major at the 2014 Chevron Championship, through challenges like injury or intense social media scrutiny, Thompson persevered, she and her booming driver raising the profile and popularity of her sport.
But in realizing she’d had enough, that there were new challenges to try and more family time to enjoy, she is ready to move on. But not before this first-ever FM Championship in Boston, not before the upcoming Solheim Cup, for which she will make her seventh consecutive appearance as a recent captain’s pick, not before hearing the respect and appreciation from so many of her peers.
“Lexi has been great for the game of golf. She’s such a household name and has done so much, especially at a young age,” Khang said after a round that ended with neither woman making much headway up the leaderboard but left them both fulfilled nonetheless.
Identical 1-under 71 scores have put them in a 10-way tie for 13th heading into Sunday’s conclusion.
“She is not too much older than I am, but it’s pretty cool that like when I was growing up playing junior golf Lexi was kind of crushing it out here on tour,” Khang said. “You know, we’re sad to see her leave. Being able to play this round — and I played with her a couple weeks ago in Canada — like I said, it’s always fun playing with her. The tour will miss her.
“I think all the fans will as well, and the players. Being able to kind of be on the same team with her on the Solheim Cup coming up, it might be her last one. Who knows, maybe she changes her mind and comes out of retirement. But it’s going to be a fun week.
“I think the fans as well are acknowledging how much of a loss we are going to have with Lexi retiring … Maybe we’ll see a little bit more of her.”
