Lexi Thompson had a ‘complicated’ relationship with golf and media, but never with her fans

As journalists, we’re tasked with getting to know the athletes we cover. To try and crack their outer shell, to learn their inner workings, and if we’re lucky, to be able to share our findings with the outside world.

But with Lexi Thompson announcing her retirement from professional golf at the end of this season, I’m left with the sense that we’ve never fully understood this complex character.

“You haven’t always been easy on me, or fair, for that matter,” Thompson said in a farewell video on social media, addressed to the game. “Complicated” was the word she chose to use to describe her relationship with golf, which could characterize her relationship with the media, too.

We’ve covered the highs and lows of Thompson’s career, from major championship glory at Mission Hills in 2014, to her heartbreaking defeat three years later at that same championship, where she faced scrutiny for improperly replacing her ball mark. Thompson declined to visit the media center afterwards, leaving fans and journalists, alike, with unanswered questions and a void filled with assumptions and analysis.

“We’re doing what we love. We’re trying the best every single day,” Thompson said Tuesday at Lancaster Country Club about the challenges she faced in her career. “You know, we’re not perfect. We’re humans. Words hurt. It’s hard to overcome sometimes.”

And when she faced a devastating loss in the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open at Olympic Club, having relinquished a five-stroke lead on the back nine, I was tasked with interviewing her immediately after her round.

She declined the televised interview. Instead, she spoke briefly in the quick-quotes area (the moderator cutting short questions) and, with tears in her eyes, she did what she had done so many times before to buoy her feelings when faced with defeat – she turned to her fans.

Thompson signed autographs for the young kids who were waiting for her outside the scoring tent. I was the only journalist who captured Thompson with her adoring fans and my photograph posted to social media went semi-viral. It garnered more views than anything I’d ever posted.

And comments came pouring in, the good and the ugly, weighing in on Thompson’s loss. It was a glimpse into the scrutiny she’d been shouldering, but also revealed the overwhelming desire for Thompson to be heard from in the wake of defeat.

For reasons easy to understand, even more so in difficult times, Thompson prioritized her fans ahead of the media. Golf is complicated. And so was Thompson’s relationship with it. And therefore, with all of us. Those watching the live coverage that day from home were left wondering what happened as she sought solace in the kids who were waiting to meet her.

“The fans are what make the game,” Thompson said Tuesday. “They took time out of their life to come support us, even if we shoot 78. Hearing a little girl after a 78 saying, you did great today. I mean, that makes your heart melt every time.”

Thompson’s dedication to her fans earned her one of the LPGA Tour’s top honors in 2023 and led to the most revealing interview I’ve had with her.

Selected by her peers, Thompson received The Founders Award, which is given to a player each season who embodies the spirit of the LPGA through both behavior and actions. The award was given out at the CME Group Tour Championship, the final event of the season, in which Thompson failed to qualify for the first time in her career, but she still made the trip to Naples, Florida, to receive the honor.

During the dinner portion of the show, I had a chance to interview Thompson one-on-one about receiving the award. She was open, honest, and genuine in her responses. But we weren’t talking about golf. We were talking about something she loves – her fans. Without a large group of friends on Tour and with the media often kept at arm’s length, those who have cheered her from outside the ropes have provided her comfort at the times she needed it most.

All the time she’d spent taking selfies with little girls had earned her one of the LPGA’s most distinguished awards. Thompson gushed in our interview about how much her fans meant to her, admitting they – not necessarily the victories – were the ones who brought her joy.

“I’ve learned along the years that you can win as many tournaments, but giving back to the game, seeing the smiles on the fan’s faces, that’s what makes me happy and just leaving the game in a better place,” Thompson told me.

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As our interview ended, I asked Thompson about playing a reduced schedule and what she enjoyed most about creating more of a life away from golf. Looking back on that interview today, it foreshadowed the announcement Thompson would make just six months later.

“Just to not have to wake up to an alarm clock and not have a schedule. Don’t have to be somewhere, that’s the best,” she said. “And just quality time with my family and friends. That’s all I want.”

We might not have received all the answers we wanted from Thompson throughout her career, the details of everything that went right or wrong. But there was no question how much the fans meant to her. For all the complications the game provided, she always found comfort and happiness in putting a smile on a fan’s face and, in turn, on her own.