There was a stage for an hour during the CME Group Tour Championship where it seemed that every group finishing up their round included a player saying goodbye to the LPGA, with Lexi Thompson, Marina Alex and Ally Ewing all calling time on their full-time careers at the event.
While Alex and Ewing have had outstanding careers, they would probably be the first to suggest that Lexi Thompson retiring from full-time golf was the biggest blow to the LPGA, with the 29-year-old one of the biggest superstars the tour has had for well over a decade.
Thompson may have surprised some with her decision to announce his retirement from full-time competition earlier this year. But she has been playing at the highest level for the best part of 20 years. And, while she has not won as many majors as some would have expected, she has definitely helped change the game.
Rickie Fowler suggests how Lexi Thompson is an outlier on the LPGA Tour
Thompson’s final event of 2024 is the Grant Thornton Invitational, where she will play alongside Rickie Fowler. The tournament is played over a number of formats. And Fowler explained how teaming with Thompson – who was 26th for average driving distance on the LPGA in 2024 – boost their chances. He also commented on her decision to step away from the game.
“Yeah, I’d say Lexi ends up being a little bit of an outlier on the distance side of things in the women’s game, so that’s a benefit on my side, on the team side with her up there essentially playing from some fun spots for me,” he said.
“Yeah, I think sometimes watching some of the women play and how simple it can look, for the most part they hit it very straight. It looks simple, knock it on the green, you make a putt here or there and add ’em up at the end. I think the guys make it a little bit more interesting at times maybe playing from different areas. Hopefully I can keep that a little tighter this week so I don’t put my partner in some interesting spots.”
“I mean, massive would be one way to look at it. As far as the whole game and then looking into the women’s game, it’s been a lot of fun to watch. From I think it was you were 12, played in the U.S. Open. A little sooner than most people, so you got a little bit of a head start there,” he added.
“I know I am as well as everyone else are hoping that you still will play some so we can see you. Maybe this gives us more time that we can actually play at home.
“Looking forward to this week. This being kind of her last as a fulltime player. Might as well go get a trophy and you can go have fun the rest of the time playing a few events here and there.”
How the Grant Thornton Invitational works
The Grant Thornton Invitational is a unique event in the golfing calendar, with 16 teams made up of one PGA Tour and one LPGA Tour player. The event was won by Jason Day and Lydia Ko in 2023.
The teams will play Tiburon Golf Club – also the site of the CME Group Tour Championship – over three rounds, with a different format in each of the rounds. The teams will play scramble, alternate shot and best ball across the week.
Day and Ko won last year’s tournament on 26 under par. It was the first time that the event had been staged. Meanwhile, this year’s marquee group looked set to be Nelly Korda and Tony Finau, before Finau withdrew from the event due to injury.
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