Lexi Thompson ‘Honored’ to Play PGA Tour Event Despite ‘Expected’ Negative Comments

Thompson said she accepted the Shriners Children’s Open exemption almost immediately and anticipated ‘comments’ about the decision.

Eleven-time LPGA Tour winner Lexi Thompson is teeing it up with the guys. The 7,255-yard set up at TPC Summerlin will be long for her, but Thompson is used to the challenge—and she’s welcoming it this week at the Shriners Children’s Open.

“It’s something I grew up doing with my brothers and have wanted to do,” Thompson said on Tuesday at her pre-tournament press conference. “But [I] also [want] to send a message out to the Shriners kids that no dream is too small and they can do what they want and follow their dreams.”

Becoming just the seventh woman to play in a PGA Tour event is one of Thompson’s dreams. That’s why when Shriners got in contact with her management team two weeks ago with the sponsor exemption opportunity, she instantly accepted.

“It was basically an automatic yes,” Thompson said. “I did have plans this weekend, but they moved to next week now. It was such an exciting feeling. I got the news two Sundays ago right after I played at Walmart [NW Arkansas Championship], so it was kind of surreal. I was letting that round soak in and have a good round under my belt and got that news. I'm like, right, this is all just exciting.”

Many didn’t meet the announcement of Thompson’s exemption with such immediate positivity, however. PGA Tour policy board member Peter Malnati even referred to it as a “gimmick” before walking back his comment on the spot.

“I don’t think we’re going to need to resort to gimmicks to drum up interest,” Malnati said. “I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t know that having Lexi play is a gimmick, but I don’t think the tournaments are going to have to go to those kind of lengths to drum up interest and get storylines, because I think these events are actually going to have a lot of meaning.”

When asked about Malnati’s statement, Thompson explained that it didn’t surprise her. She knew the bold move to tee it up on the PGA Tour would open the door to criticism.

“No reaction. I knew some comments were going to happen,” Thompson said. “Like I said, I’m out here playing of course with the men, but I want to leave a message just to the kids that I’m following my dreams and to go after what you want with a positive mindset and don’t let anybody’s comments or reaction get in the way of that.

“It’s all good. I mean, I expected it,” she said.

Thompson will become just the seventh woman to play in a PGA Tour event this week.  :: Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire

Despite a rocky 2023 season, Thompson has found her form as of late. Just hours before receiving that exciting call from the Shriners team, the 28-year-old posted a T8 finish—her best since November of 2022. And one week later she topped it, finishing in solo 5th place at the Ascendant LPGA. Thompson's resurgence seemed to take shape in the weeks leading up to the Solheim Cup, and at the team match play event she went 3-1 in her matches. Thompson credits one particular swing adjustment as the key to her recent success, but she wouldn’t reveal the secret.

Thompson has lifted trophies all over the world—including at a major championship. But this week she’ll be chasing one goal, which she says will be a defining career moment if she pulls it off: To make the 36-hole cut.

Of the six women who have previously made PGA Tour starts, only one has accomplished the feat. At both the 1945 Tuscon Open and Phoenix Open, Babe Didrikson Zaharias made the weekend alongside the men.

“Definitely at the top of my accomplishments,” Thompson said when asked where making the cut would rank among her career accolades. “It’s been an honor just to get this invite, but one step, one shot at a time. That would be an amazing feeling.”