BRADENTON – Lexi Thompson might be semi-retired, but she hasn’t stopped grinding. The 29-year-old announced last season that she was stepping away from a full-time schedule yet signed up for the first event she was eligible to play in 2025.
Thompson, an 11-time winner on the LPGA, opened the Founders Cup Thursday with a 2-under 69 at Bradenton Country Club with brother Curtis on the bag.
“Being the Founders Cup, it’s so important to be here and show our support of the founders,” Thompson said. “You know, they’re the reason why we’re out here today. It’s important for all of us to be here and show that support and gratefulness for them.”
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Two-time Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis played alongside Thompson on Thursday and liked what she saw.
“Looks great,” said Lewis, “more in control and just hitting her irons much better than most of what I saw last year.”
Thompson said she reached out to several instructors, asking them to take a look at her swing, but has mostly worked back home with Curtis. She won’t play in the upcoming Asian swing but is considering teeing it up again in March at the Ford Championship in Arizona and the JM Eagle LA Championship in California next April ahead of the season’s first major.
Thompson, who last won on the LPGA in 2019, is eligible to play in the Chevron Championship and the KPMG Women’s PGA and plans to compete in both. She’ll also play in the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills if she qualifies. Currently ranked 55th in the Rolex Rankings, Thompson must remain in the top 75 by March 24 to earn a spot in the first wave of exempt players. If she somehow falls outside the top 75 in that time, she could move into the top 75 by May 19 and get in the second wave of exemptions.
“It’s definitely a more ease of mind,“ said Thompson of the potential of a lighter schedule. “When I go out to practice, if it’s not going well, be like, well, you know, if I don’t have my game figured out. … I wasn’t going to play this week if I didn’t feel good about it. So I got it to where I was like, OK, I feel like I can compete and, you know, get a W. So we’ll see.
“I’ll just take it day by day, but it’s definitely more peace of mind.”
As for an upcoming wedding, the newly-engaged Thompson said that won’t take place until next year.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Semi-retired Lexi Thompson returns to LPGA at Founders Cup in Bradenton with majors in mind
