News
Lexi Thompson: “I need to have a life”
Lexi Thompson has been a high-level, highly visible professional golfer since she was 15, and her life has been centered around the game since she was five. For we average folk, the pressure inside the ropes and the obligations outside them that such a life engenders are without parallel.
After a particularly grueling stretch, Thompson, arguably the face of the LPGA Tour, was understandably worn down. She took a month-long break from the game and, really, the demands of her celebrity.
The 23-year-old skipped last month’s Ricoh Women’s British Open. She’ll return to competition at this week’s Indy Women in Tech Championship.
“I’m not just a robot out here,” she told reporters ahead of the tournament. “I need to have a life.”
In the past 18 months, the Coral Springs, Florida, native has dealt with her mother’s cancer, the death of her grandmother, and of course, the ANA Inspiration debacle.
“You can only stay strong for so long and hide it,” Thompson said.
Thompson also told reporters she took a trip with friends and shelved her golf clubs for two weeks.
Full press conference, below.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 PGA Championship
GolfWRX is on site this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the PGA Championship.
While we see fewer equipment changes and new gear seeding at major championships, we get a look at custom gear and looks into the bags of players we rarely see, which is just as exciting. In the case of the PGA Championship, this means a look at the gear some of the PGA Professionals who qualified for the tournament will be gaming, and LIV players, such as Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed.
Check out links to all our albums from Valhalla below and check back throughout the week as we continue to update.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Michael Block – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Patrick Reed – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Cam Smith – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brooks Koepka – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Josh Speight – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Takumi Kanaya – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Kyle Mendoza – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Adrian Meronk – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jordan Smith – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jeremy Wells – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jared Jones – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- John Somers – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Larkin Gross – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Tracy Phillips – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jon Rahm – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Keita Nakajima – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Kazuma Kobori – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- David Puig – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Ryan Van Velzen – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brad Marek – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Chris Gotterup – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Rich Beem WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Phil Mickelson – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Matt Dobyns – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Lucas Herbert – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jason Dufner – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- John Daly – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Taylor Gooch – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Dean Burmester – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Joaquin Niemann – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Dustin Johnson – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
Pullout Albums
- Ping putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Bettinardi covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Cameron putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Max Homa – Titleist 2 wood – 2024 PGA Championship
- Scotty Cameron experimental putter shaft by UST – 2024 PGA Championship
- Joaquin Niemann – new Ping putter – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brooks Koepka’s new Cameron putter – 2024 PGA Championship
- Rickie Fowler’s Cobra bag and Aerojet driver – 2024 PGA Championship
- Super Stroke grip – 2024 PGA Championship
- Tiger Woods – 2024 PGA Championship
- Michael Block’s new TaylorMade “Proto” 7-iron, from address – 2024 PGA Championship
- Odyssey putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
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News
Morning 9: Is it Rory’s time? | Stricker WDs | Why Valhalla is a great major venue
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News
Tour Rundown: Rose blooms, Rory rolls
This week last year, I found myself praying to the weather goddesses and gods that Rochester would be spared their wrath over the next seven days. The 2023 Oak Hill PGA Championship (that was slated for August when the contract was signed) was on the horizon, and I wanted my region to show well. Things turned out fine, with all four seasons making an appearance, a PGA Professional (Blockie!) stealing hearts, and a proven champion in Koepka (although I was pulling for Viktor.)
This year, no concerns. Louisville will shine this week at Valhalla, but we’ve matters to consider before we look to four days of coverage this week. Nelly did not win on the LPGA this week, so who did? The PGA Tour held two events in the Carolinas, and Tour Champions celebrated a major event in Alabama. Four noteworthy events to run down, so let’s head to RunDownTown and take care of business.
LPGA @ Founders Cup: Rose blooms
There was a sense that Rose Zhang might have a role in the 2020s version of the LPGA. After winning everything there was in amateur golf, she came out and won her first tournament as a professional. That was last May and, let’s be honest, who among us thought it would take 12 months for Zhang to win again? Rhymes with hero, I know.
This week in New Jersey, eyes were on Nelly Korda, as she made a run at a sixth consecutive win on the LPGA circuit. Korda ran out of gas on Saturday, and that was just fine. Madelene Sagstrom and Zhang had turned the soiree at Upper Montclair into a battle of birdies. Gabriela Ruffels came third at nine-under par. No one else reached double digits under par but Sagstrom and Zhang. They didn’t just reach -10…they more than doubled it.
Sagstrom had the look of a winner with five holes left to play. She was three shots clear of Zhang, at 23-under par. The Swede played her closing quintet in plus-one, finishing at 22-deep, 13 shots ahead of Ruffels. That performance we’d anticipated from Zhang? It happened on Sunday. She closed with four birdies in five holes to snatch victory number two, by two shots. Spring is a lovely time for a Rose in bloom.
Take a look back at hole No. 1… @rosezhang is living life on the edge ? pic.twitter.com/o6z6SK7TRA
— LPGA (@LPGA) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour @ Wells Fargo: Rory the Fourth is crowned in Charlotte
Xander Schauffele is a likable lad. He has an Olympic gold medal on his shelf, and a few PGA Tour titles to his credit. Even X knows that even par won’t get much done in a final round unless conditions are brutal. They weren’t brutal at Quail Hollow on Sunday. X posted even par on day four. It kept him ahead of third-place finisher Byeong Hun An but gave him zero chance of challenging for the title.
Paired with Xander in round four was the King of Quail, Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman had previously won thrice at the North Carolina track, and he was champing at the bit to gain some momentum on the road to Louisville. While Xander scored increasingly worse along the week (64-67-70-71) McIlroy saved his best round for the final round. Thanks to five birdies and two eagles, McIlroy ran away with the event, winning his fourth Wells Fargo by five over Schauffele.
HOLE-OUT EAGLE FOR RORY!!!
He now leads by SIX! pic.twitter.com/UE49lwfwNC
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour @ Myrtle Beach Classic: a little CG won the inaugural week
It always seemed odd that the PGA Tour had zero stops along the Grand Strand each season. This week’s event seemed odd in that the golfers played the same course each day, and there were zero handicaps involved. Most events at Myrtle Beach involve hundreds of amateurs at dozens of courses, with all sorts of handicaps.
The Dunes Club is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. course, down toward Pawley’s Island. It claims what used to be considered an unreachable, par-five hole, the watery 13th. Nothing is unreachable any longer, including a 22-under par total for a six-shot win. Chris Gotterup, a former Rutgers and Oklahoma golfer, played sizzling golf all week and won by a sextet of shots. Gotterup opened with 66, then improved to 64 on Friday. His Saturday 65 sounded a beacon of “come get me,” and his closing 67 ensured that second place was the only thing up for grabs.
Chasing the podium’s second level were a bunch of young Americans. In the end, Alastair Docherty and Davis Thompson reached 16-deep, thanks to rounds of 64 and 68 on Sunday. They held off six golfers at 15-under par. The victory was Gotterup’s first on tour and should be enough to get him a Wikipedia page, among other plaudits.
Leader by SIX!
@ChrisGotterup | @MyrtleBeachC pic.twitter.com/TVdA6ZPYc4— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour Champions @ Regions Traditions: Vindication for Dougie
Doug Barron, if I recall correctly, was suspended by the Powers That Be, way back in 2009, for testosterone. He was naturally low in the hormone, so he took supplements. This did not sit well with certain admins, so he was put on the shelf for 18 months. Not cool.
In 2019, Barron came out on the Tour Champions. He won in August. The next year, despite the craziness of Covid, he won again. Barron hit a dry spell for a few years. He kept his card, but accrued no additional victories. In late April, Barron showed serious signs of life, with a t2 at Mitsubishi. This week in Birmingham, he jumped out to a lead, lost it, then gained it back on Saturday. With major championship glory on the line, Barron brought the train into the station with 68 on Sunday.
Stephen Alker, the man who could not lose just two years ago, gave serious chase with a closing 63. He moved up 11 slots, into solo 2nd on Sunday. He finished two shots back of the champion. Two shots ain’t much. Cough once and you drop a pair. Third place saw a three-way tie, including last year’s winner (Steve Stricker) and runner-up (Ernie Els.) Despite the intimidating presence of the game’s greats, however, Doug Barron had more than enough of everything this week, and he has a third Tour Champions title to show off.
At the @RegionsTrad, all champions receive a green bike.
Doug Barron decided to take a victory lap ? pic.twitter.com/bEzENMjZwv
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 13, 2024
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James
Jun 28, 2023 at 9:02 pm
Lexi we sure wish her the best and happiness! But, If anyone thinks she can compete with the best by not competing on a regular basis doesn’t get it! If she thinks she can win without that ………someone needs to give her the real talk!!!! Obviously she has made new goals…..
I could help her be a very very good putter or at least where she is way more natural and confident. She is tremendously better for sure right now than she has been. Have one of her handlers send me a email. What would it hurt! Always have fun.
MG
Aug 18, 2018 at 8:46 am
That or she just really hates paying UK taxes and doesn’t like playing the Ladies British…
Bob McNichols
Aug 17, 2018 at 12:28 pm
I remember playing in a Junior-Am in 2009 and the privilege of riding in the Golf car with her that day. She was 14. Living at home in Florida. I asked where she went to school. She said she was home schooled. I asked how she met other kids her age. She said at golf tournaments like the one we were at in Missouri. I felt immediately Lexi and kids like her were being robbed of a childhood and socialization outside of their sport. I was not surprised to read of her burn out at 23 years old and I’m glad she recognized it and is dealing with it for her own good. Congratulations and best wishes to Lexi and kids in all sports who need to have a life outside of their sport while playing and learning about life on the outside of the grueling pace of junior sports and at the highest level they can achieve.
Midwest Blade
Aug 17, 2018 at 11:13 am
She has been on the stage for several years, probably missed a few things over those years when golf at the LPGA level took over. I give her full rights and respect to take a breather. The ladies play for so much less than the men, most of the top players play week after week just to make a decent living which is why I like to follow the Ladies tour, at least you see some of the big stars at just about every tournament.
Southeast super game improvement
Aug 17, 2018 at 12:52 pm
Good call blade. She no doubt appreciated your permission.
Sahil Singh
Aug 17, 2018 at 6:33 am
she takes one tournament off, stating that she wants to work on her life. either she has a really short life to work on or maybe her issues are just too small. Mental strength is lacking. she’s the Rickie Fowler of the LPGA (plus 1 major), one of the most absolutely over rated players on tour.
jeff
Aug 16, 2018 at 1:38 pm
This is such a perspective arguement.
If a magic geenie said you can become a professional athlete right now, yes or no?
EVERYONE would say yes. BUT, being a professional athlete is also very stressful and requires way more work and commitment than most of us are willing to give. It seems like the perfect life but eventually the stress gets to you. So, eventually there will be a breaking point in which you will need some time to yourself.
dj
Aug 16, 2018 at 1:00 pm
Golf is her job. How many of you would just stop working because you wanted a life?
MBA-J
Aug 16, 2018 at 6:18 pm
How many of us have taken a mental day or a quick vacation because we wanted a break? She skipped a tournament…it’s not like she retired.
A. Commoner
Aug 16, 2018 at 7:05 pm
This is dime store novel stuff. Who does not have adversity in their life? Advice: quit what you’re doing, move to Nowhere USA, and get a job in an office clerical pool.
Realist
Aug 16, 2018 at 9:24 pm
You have no idea what they are talking about…u must be happy with ur job!
Scott McDonald
Aug 16, 2018 at 12:41 pm
Maybe cut down on the Instagram pics.
The dude
Aug 16, 2018 at 5:15 pm
Bingo
Brett Weir
Aug 16, 2018 at 12:23 pm
She’s been through a lot these past few months. I’m sure she’ll be ok in the end.
Geohogan
Aug 16, 2018 at 11:41 am
Wish the best for Lexi. Hope that she takes at least 6 months.
Health, including mental health is much more important than golf.
CJ
Aug 16, 2018 at 7:15 am
I met her when she was 14 playing golf all day every day would mess with anyone… period. Other than that… dramatic this is not.
Liberty Apples
Aug 15, 2018 at 10:29 pm
Face of the LPGA tour? Apparently you’ve missed perhaps the greatest transformation of a professional sport in history. You want the face of the LPGA tour? Pick one from South Korea.
gunmetal
Aug 16, 2018 at 1:29 am
“arguably”, so chill out a tad. The best American in any international sport will always have a level of prominence. Not to mention she’s pretty freaking good, too.
millennial82
Aug 16, 2018 at 3:18 pm
what about soccer? oh, maybe that’s too International..
O sh t
Aug 16, 2018 at 2:18 am
Face of the white American female player of the LPGA, yes.
Andrew Reagan Mclaughlin
Aug 16, 2018 at 5:11 am
Black power!
The dude
Aug 16, 2018 at 5:14 pm
……that didn’t take long…