The 2024 CME Group Tour Championship seemed to have even more significance than usual with a number of LPGA greats, including Lexi Thompson, calling time on their full-time careers on the tour at the season finale.
There was a period on Sunday at the CME Group Tour Championship where it seemed that almost every group included a player waving goodbye to the LPGA, with Marina Alex and Ally Ewing joining Lexi Thompson in deciding to step away.
Of course, the trio are all former Solheim Cup players, with both Thompson and Ewing featuring earlier this year at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. But it is surely Thompson’s retirement from a full-time schedule which will hit the sport the hardest.
Thompson has spent her entire adult life on the LPGA. She won a major title in 2014, while she also clinched the Race to CME Globe crown in 2017. And crucially, she is one of the biggest names on the women’s side of the game.
Lexi Thompson expresses disappointment during her final LPGA appearance before semi-retirement
Unfortunately, it would appear that the LPGA made a decision which meant that Thompson’s goodbye was not as fitting as it perhaps should have been.
Of course, the LPGA has come in for plenty of criticism recently. Charley Hull branded the levels of slow play ‘ridiculous’ after the final round of The ANNIKA. Thompson herself, backed Hull’s comments about the need to address how long rounds are taking.
Meanwhile, the LPGA has been accused of not capitalising on the interest in figures such as Nelly Korda, and it seems that there was pessimism that Caitlin Clark’s appearance in the Pro-Am at The ANNIKA would prove to be a turning point for the tour.
So it certainly was not the best look to have Thompson express her disappointment at a decision ahead of her final round at the CME Group Tour Championship, with the LPGA deciding to opt for a two-tee start to ensure that the round was completed in time for the television coverage.
That meant that Thompson, unlike Alex and Ewing, finished her round on the ninth hole rather than surrounded by the hordes of fans in the stands all the way up the 18th.
An unnecessary mistake as Thompson waves goodbye
Obviously, it would have been difficult for the LPGA to justify making an exception for Thompson’s benefit. However, there were clearly ways to get around the decision; ensuring that everyone got their rounds in in time while also presenting Thompson with the stage for a proper farewell.
Thompson is unlikely to let the disappointment overshadow a 2024 which has seen her rightfully receive all kinds of tributes. But clearly, the LPGA dropped the ball with what appeared to be an obvious mistake.
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