BELLEAIR (Fla.) — Stacy Lewis, the U.S. skipper, told Lexi Thompson, at the LPGA stop of Cincinnati, two weeks before the Solheim Cup that she wouldn’t be playing her in alternate shot. Lewis said Thompson could have gotten angry, but she instead used it to motivate herself.
Lewis noticed a new player when Thompson arrived in Spain. Thompson’s ball striking returned to its former form after she received a new thought about her swing from Tony Ruggiero. She had started working with him a month earlier. Lewis was constantly approached by players who wanted to let her know that Lexi had returned. Lewis’s stroke-gain numbers were “off the chart.”
Lewis, who had only a few holes left to play in Thursday’s practice round, asked Megan Khang and Thompson if they would be willing to alternate shots on Friday. This was something that hadn’t been discussed previously.
Lewis informed the team later that evening that Thompson would be hitting the first tee-shot.
Lewis said, “I don’t know the exact words that were spoken but everyone was fired up and ready for action.”
Thompson, who was 28 years old and had missed more cuts this season than she’d achieved, suddenly became the star player for Team USA. She delivered with a 3-1-0 score.
Lexi Thompson, Team USA, plays on the second green during Day Three at Finca Cortesin Golf Club in Casares on September 24, 2023. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images).
Thompson, who has won 11 times in a row, is reluctant to reveal what exactly she and Ruggiero do together. However, Thompson does credit Ruggiero’s arrival as the reason her season turned around.
Thompson said, “He texts every day, asking how I am doing and keeping in touch. All I need is that. I need someone to be there for me, just to check in and support me. “Even if I play well every day, someone is still asking.”
Thompson will be driving the Annika, a vehicle owned by Gainbridge, at Pelican this week. She has been the runner-up in both of the last two seasons to Nelly Kodra. This is her first appearance since she made the cut on the PGA Tour.
Thompson says that Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida is in the best condition she has ever seen. She loves that she is able to play more aggressively and use the driver more here than in most tour shops. Her familiarity of Bermudagrass is a huge asset.
Ruggiero worked with many male touring professionals over the years. Lucas Glover, Rob Shelton and others are former students. Thompson is a fan of his direct approach.
She said, “Tony is going to tell you the truth and I’m happy about that.” “That’s what I do.” “We laugh together, and it’s really not that uptight.”
Lewis has analyzed the statistics from 2023 and found that Thompson’s ball striking, especially her driver, is what has held her back. This is the opposite to Thompson’s usual game.
Thompson’s confidence is back, thanks to her improved long game, and not just because of the Solheim Cup but also the 69 she scored in the second round at the Shriners Children’s Open last month.
Thompson hit 20 of 28 fairways in two rounds at Las Vegas, averaging 301 yards. He was tied for 13th place in driving accuracy among men.
Lewis said, “You could have seen it coming.”
I hope she will learn from this and continue to be aggressive with her driver on shorter courses.
Thompson led the field for Strokes Gained Putting in the two last years at Pelican. In 2021 and 2022, Thompson gained an average of 1.76 strokes on the greens.
She’s not just playing for a title this week.
Thompson is currently ranked 88th in the CME point list. Thompson, who is a former champion of the CME Group Tour Championships, will qualify with the top 60 at the end this week.
Bianca Pagdanganan is currently ranked 60th in the points ranking with 528.780. Thompson is 223.88 behind her. Third place is worth 230 and second is worth 325.
Thompson tries to forget about it.
She said that if she focused on this, it would take her off course for the week.
