As things stand, Lexi Thompson is set to make her final appearance at the Solheim Cup this month, with Stacy Lewis handing the 29-year-old a captain’s pick ahead of the event in Gainesville, Virginia.
Lexi Thompson has been a stalwart of Solheim Cup teams ever since making her debut in the competition back in 2013. She has played in four matches at every event since 2015, so it was no surprise that Lewis included her in her team this year.
Thompson announced earlier this year that she plans to retire from full-time competition at the end of the season. And Thompson recently reiterated that she has no intention to reverse her retirement decision as things stand.
So there is a chance that this could prove to be her final Solheim Cup appearance. Plenty of eyes will be on her given that she is the most experienced player on the American side as they look to win the trophy for the first time since 2017.
Lexi Thompson backed to evoke memories of Suzann Pettersen at this year’s Solheim Cup
In fact, speaking on Golf Channel, commentator Grant Boone picked out Thompson as the key player for the Americans – and even suggested that he could see her replicating the moment Europe’s current captain holed the winning putt with the final shot of her playing career.
“I would say, on the American side, I’m going to look at Lexi Thompson. She’s the most experienced player on the US team, she’s one of only two Americans to have been part of a winning Solheim Cup team. She’s done that on a couple of occasions, the other is Alison Lee who hasn’t played a Solheim Cup in nine years,” he said.
“Lexi last year was given really the ball, if you want to look at another sport’s analogy, by Stacy Lewis. She was asked to play a lot, she hadn’t played much in the summer of last year. She played a lot leading into the Solheim Cup, she hit the very first shot of the Solheim Cup, she was really good, she went 3-1 last year in Spain and she hit really one poor shot in three days. But she was a big reason why the US tied Europe 14 apiece.
“This is her swansong and it would not surprise me in the least if Lexi had a Suzann Pettersen moment, a walk off type moment at RTJ.”
Thompson’s Solheim Cup record puts her amongst the greats
Some of the greatest Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup players have not necessarily been those who sit at the top of the world rankings or boast the most majors. They are the players who manage to find a completely different gear in the heat of the matchplay battle, and deal with the pressure which most would crumble under.
Thompson has had some tough times over the last decade. But more often than not, she has shown up in the Solheim Cup, winning three points from her four matches on three occasions. It should be noted that all of her matches in 2023 went to at least the 17th hole at Finca Cortesin.
Ultimately, she will be more bothered about the US team winning than having the moment to hole the winning putt as Suzann Pettersen did back in 2019 at Gleneagles.
But clearly, some are wondering if some things are just meant to be.
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