It almost did not feel right to label Lexi Thompson a one-time major champion as the 29-year-old stepped away from full-time golf at the end of the 2024 season.
Lexi Thompson has certainly been one of the more important figures in the women’s game over the past couple of decades; proving to be one of those players who does have an impact on the amount of interest in the sport. But there is also a sense that she was robbed of what would have been a second major title.
Thompson won her first major at the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship, finishing three shots clear of Michelle Wie West at Mission Hills. And at the 2017 ANA Inspiration, she appeared to be well placed to secure a second major.
Thompson led by two going into the final round. And she remained two shots in front as she made her way to the 13th tee. However, it was then that she was informed that she was being given a four-shot penalty – for something which happened during her third round.
How a ‘disgusting’ retrospective penalty cost Lexi Thompson a second major title
Thompson was penalised two shots for replacing her ball in the wrong spot on the green, while the other two shots came for signing the wrong scorecard due to the penalty. It turned out that a viewer at home had phoned in after noticing Thompson mark her ball before a tap in and place it back down in a different spot – though it appeared to be no closer to the hole.
The penalty left Thompson two shots off the lead. And while she ultimately managed to fight her way into a play-off, it was Ryu So-yeon who won her second major title that week.
Understandably, Thompson was angered by the decision, and emotional after her final round. And speaking about the incident to Golfing World, Gary Player insisted that it was not fair to take action so late in the day – particularly when the incident would have gone completely unnoticed had Thompson not been on the coverage at that moment.
“In a normal tournament, you have 156 people tee up, in a normal tournament. Irrespective of what the number is, it’s a large amount. About 15 to 20 people are being scrutinised with television and watching. There’s no equity in the fact that the rest of the 130, nobody ever sees them,” he said at the time.
“But you have your marker, you have yourself and usually an opponent, so you have three chances to see if you make a mistake with the rules. And everybody, there’s never been a player who doesn’t make a mistake with the rules. If you make a mistake, you’re penalised.
“But for somebody to be able to phone in, that person should phone in, and if they did accept immediately and they received it and they have got their phone on, they should then be listening. And if he phoned immediately and they listened immediately, she would have got a two-shot penalty before signing her card. But as it happened, they got the message, as I understand it, a day afterwards or later, and then gave her a four-shot penalty. I think that’s wrong, I think it’s disgusting.”
What Thompson said after her final round at the ANA Inspiration
While Thompson could have few complaints about being penalised for replacing her ball incorrectly – though it is not clear whether she had any intention at all to do so – it was awful to take that decision a day later.
As Player alluded to, Thompson was unlucky in that moment to have her infringement filmed. And it seems baffling that the officials had to then penalise her two extra shots for signing what was a correct scorecard at the time.
Thompson would somehow compose herself enough to congratulate Ryu as she was asked to sum up everything that happened on the final day.
“I played amazing today. Probably the best golf I played all week. Wasn’t expecting that on whatever hole that was. I did not intentionally do that. So to the officials, or whatever called in, that was not my purpose. I didn’t even realize I did that. But you know what, I fought hard coming in, and I didn’t give up. I knew I could still win. But I mean, so many players played great, so congrats to So Yeon,” she said.
Meanwhile, a rule was introduced a few weeks later which showed more leniency when it comes to what could have been an honest mistake from Thompson.
Only she will ever know whether she was looking to move the ball out of a spike mark or make life slightly easier with that putt on 17 on Saturday. But clearly, she has probably wondered ever since how different everything could have been had she just hit the putt immediately.
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