The WOODLANDS (Texas) – Lexi Thompson is easing into the first major of the year, having only teed it up twice in 2023 – once on the LPGA, and once in Saudi Arabia.
All that rest didn’t lead to a physically rested approach. Thompson, 28 years old, had been working so hard in south Florida she was taped up on her right wrist when she arrived at the Chevron championship. The pain began about a week back.
Thompson replied, “I have been hitting golf balls so much at home,” when asked what caused the black tape to run up her elbow. “It’s kind of hurting, I won’t say injured but a little.” But I got some work done in the last few days, and it’s now taped.
“But yeah, it’s possible I overdid it.” There’s nothing severe about it, but there’s still something. “But we’ll have to wait and see.”
Thompson started her week in Texas with the Champions Dinner where she shared some laughs with former Solheim Cup Captains Juli Inkster & Pat Hurst. Mission Hills Country Club was her favorite tour stop, despite the heartache and joy she experienced there.
This week marks an important transition for the American superstar.
Thompson, who is a member of The Club at Carleton Woods’ Nicklaus Course, said: “It has a great feel to it.” It’s going to be windy and long. It’s Texas so it will be windy and difficult to play. That’s what a major should feel like.
Thompson spends about two hours per day at home working on her putting. In the weeks before this event, Thompson focused on ball striking.
Chevron: Photos
Stacy Lewis, who grew up in The Woodlands, said that great ball striking will be required this week due to the firm greens and precision needed at certain hole locations.
Lewis said, “I think that you can look at anyone who grew up playing Bermudagrass and the chipping or the surrounds.” I think it’s important to know how to play the shots around the greens this week.
Thompson says that the wrist pain is worse when she releases her grip on the way out and hinges back.
She said, “It was just the pressure I felt from trying to put my thumb on the top of the club.” “But it was much better today. Hopefully it will slowly disappear.”
Thompson started the year at the Saudi Ladies International in February, a LET event with a purse of $5 million. She made her LPGA debut in Arizona at the Drive On Championship, but missed the cut. Since then, she hasn’t played a single hole.
She said that she was enjoying her life more away from the golf course.
“I took the offseason and spent a lot of quality time with family and friends. I also gave myself an additional month.” I played in Saudi Arabia in early 2012, then in Arizona in late 2012. I tried to space out my events so that I could be healthy and not tired when I play the events I want to and on the golf courses I like.
She said that being on her own schedule and close to her family does wonders for mental health. She said that her parents were at the Chevron last week, and that her older brother Nicholas was on the bag.
“It’s not as if this is just my first or second year on tour. Since I was five years old, I have been playing golf. Thompson replied, “I haven’t experienced anything different since I was 12.”
“I wasn’t burned out but maybe I was in a rut. I wouldn’t even say routine. I didn’t allow myself to take vacations or live more life because it’s so much more than just a game.”
Thompson, an 11-time LPGA winner, won her last tour victory at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in 2019. She won the Aramco Team Series in New York last October, at the LET.
She won her only major championship at the 2014 Chevron Championship where she defeated Michelle Wie West by just three strokes. Thompson has finished in the top 5 at major championships 10 times, despite a few devastating finishes.
She said, “I feel a lot refreshed.” Her lighter schedule was credited with this. “I’m more relaxed and happier, I think. It’s not that I was bad before, just refreshed. I took the time I needed off.
“I was probably training harder than ever while I was at home, but I took the time to unwind later in the evenings and to get my mind away from golf, and to make sure that I was excited to return out.”
By: Beth Ann Nichols
Title: Chevron: Lexi Thompson, making just second LPGA start of 2023, comes into first major with wrist pain after grinding too much at home
Sourced From: golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/04/19/2023-chevron-championship-lexi-thompson-wrist-pain/
Published Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2023 21:30:31 +0000
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