Lexi Thompson has had one hell of a golf career.

At 12 years old, she became the youngest ever woman to take part in the US Women’s Open, and at 16 she became the then youngest ever winner of an LPGA tournament.

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With the golfing world at her feet, the star junior player won six events by the end of 2016, including her first major – the Kraft Nabisco in 2014 – and looked set for superstardom.

It hasn’t all gone to plan, though, with the pain continuing into last night’s final round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship when, after leading by two shots, she finished with two bogeys and a par to lose by a shot to In Gee Chun, another who had let a lead slip through Sunday’s tense final 18.

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Majors have proven a tough gig for 27-year-old Thompson.

Lexi led the 2017 running of the first major of the season, the ANA Inspiration, into the back nine, before being notified of a four-shot penalty for misplacing her ball on the 17th hole of her third round – two shots for putting the ball back in the wrong place, and two for incorrectly signing her scorecard – all via notification from a television viewer.

In tears, the former World Number One fought back to birdie the final hole, finally losing a playoff to So Yeon Ryu.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the only time Lexi has found things conspire against her at the wrong time.

During the 2021 season, she blew a five-shot lead the down the stretch of the US Women’s Open with a series of errors, whilst in November of the same year, she lost her third playoff of the year when failing to capitalize on yet another lead, this time at the Women’s Pelican Championship.

Shrugging that off by saying she is working on all aspects of the game and feels good, Sunday the 26th of June will surely not be a day she will want to keep in the memory banks.

As mentioned, after In Gee had played nervously throughout the opening holes, Lexi found herself in front going down the stretch and hot favorite to finally lift her overdue second major.

Winning is hard, golf is hard, and it just didn’t happen. Again.

If losing (yes, that’s sadly the right word) wasn’t enough, Lexi was then fined $2000 for slow play after her round.

Lexi, perhaps unsurprisingly, refused to talk to the media after coming off the course and, naturally, social media has had a field day with both instances.

Justin Thomas took to Twitter to plead: “I’m all for helping slow play, but putting those ladies on the clock with 2 holes left trying to win a major seems like a good read the room situation and don’t put them on the clock.”

Zephyr Melton of Golf.com was tweeting the main twists and turns of last night’s final round and noted Lexi’s refusal to speak to the media as “not a good look.”

Lexi Thompson has declined to speak with the media here at Congressional.

Not a great look?

— Zephyr Melton (@zephyrmelton) June 26, 2022

Whilst he admitted that she did come out and sign hundreds of autographs after, the replies to the initial tweet were many and varied.

The majority called for the media to “give her space”, whilst a good few gave the comparison to Naomi Osaka, the number one tennis player who refused to speak to the media at the French Open before being told she would face expulsion if not doing so.

Back then, Osaka said she had witnessed players breaking down after questioning by the press, and called for prioritizing the player’s mental health.

The question must be, is a player obligated to talk to the media covering an event?

According to one respondent:

“It’s called being a professional and facing the music when you choked away a major championship (again, I might add). You owe it to the people who supported you & the entire country! Osaka and her have a lot to be ashamed of. You would never see this happen w/ Billy Jean King!”

While another countered, saying:

“The media overestimates how much people really want to hear what athletes have to say following devastating losses. I’d rather give them their privacy and let them talk after they’ve had time to process.”

Did she choke? Unquestionably.

Does she need to be questioned about it just minutes after doing so, not that long after throwing away a couple of similar chances and answering it all back then?

Leave that to you, GolfWRX readers.

*Photo courtesy of @TheAmyRodgers

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