Amid Struggles, Lexi Thompson Will Take on ‘Different’ Role on U.S. Solheim Cup Team

The veteran automatically qualified despite a dismal 2023, but captain Stacy Lewis says six Solheim Cups worth of experience matters.

You think Justin Thomas had a rough 2023? Lexi Thompson has made just two cuts in 10 starts all season. Her best finish was a T31. Eighteen of her 24 rounds have been played over par, and she hasn’t won on the LPGA Tour in three years.

Thompson is in danger of losing her full-time Tour status, but she still earned one of nine qualifying spots on the U.S. Solheim Cup team, which faces Europe at Finca Cortesin Golf Club in southern Spain in two weeks. The 11-time LPGA winner made the squad via her Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking—she’s 25th despite the victory drought and lack of tournament rounds—and appears to have reached a career crossroads at age 28.

“You’d never know she’s playing as poorly as she is,” U.S. captain Stacy Lewis tells Sports Illustrated. “Just by the way she’s acting, the way she’s going about her business. She never stops working. I think she’s going to figure it out. I really do.”

There’s plenty of room for improvement. Thompson is ranked 158th in driving accuracy, 134th in putting and 108th in greens in regulation this season. One of the game’s most recognizable female players, her $55,347 in 2023 earnings is 142nd on the money list. She has never finished outside the top 30 in 13 previous seasons—Thompson became a regular on the LPGA Tour when she was 15.

What she does bring to Lewis’s roster is experience. Thompson holds a 7-8-3 record in six previous Solheim Cups, two of which the U.S. has won.

“Her role is going to be very different this time,” Lewis says. “She’s going to be the most experienced of anybody on this team. She’s the one these girls are going to look to.”

Lexi Thompson is in the midst of her worst season to date, but she still managed to automatically qualify for the U.S. Solheim Cup team.  :: Luke Walker/Getty Images for HSBC

The question is, can Lewis afford to have a player on her team whose greatest value is in a leadership role? America has lost the last two Solheim Cups after winning eight of the first 11 in the series, which began in 1990. This roster includes five rookies and a total of just seven major titles. By comparison, the U.S. Ryder Cup team has four and 15.

“Lexi played with Cristie Kerr all those years—you play with Kerr enough and you’re going to bleed red, white and blue,” Lewis says. “Cristie taught her what the Solheim Cup is about, how you play with passion, how you play hard and how you never give up. Now it’s Lexi’s turn.”

Thompson’s veteran status comes with a certain amount of responsibility. Her task will extend beyond the course as a more vocal presence in the team room, and Lewis thinks that the unfamiliar role might have a positive effect on her game.

“Having all these rookies playing so well, it could take some of the pressure off of her,” the captain says. “Match play, you can get away with some shots. You can hit a wayward shot and just move on to the next hole, and it’s OK.”

The admission makes it clear that Lewis is wary of Thompson’s lingering demons—and for good reason. What the captain isn’t worried about is her demeanor off the golf course.

“I'm just a lot more refreshed,” Thompson said earlier this year at the Chevron Championship, despite battling a sore wrist from over-practicing. “I'm in a better mindset, more relaxed, just happier to be out here. Not saying that I wasn't before, but just refreshed. I had the time off that I needed. Of course I was training probably harder than ever when I was home, but I made sure to take the time later in the day and the nights to really unwind and get my mind off golf and make sure that I'm excited to come back out.”

Lewis has spent time with Thompson away from competition, and she has noticed that shift herself. But the U.S. captain also maintains that Thompson isn’t just spending that time resetting. She’s working—and she’s working hard.

“If Lexi goes out there and doesn’t give up and gives me 100 percent, that’s all I want out of her,” Lewis says. “Don’t be surprised if you see her play some good golf and win some matches, because she’s working too hard for it to not get better.”

As his 2023 PGA Tour season veered in the wrong direction, Thomas found himself in a competitive situation similar to Thompson’s. JT wasn’t bashful about expressing his Ryder Cup aspirations, and that passion might have played a role in Zach Johnson’s decision to include him among his six captain’s picks. His outstanding 6-2-1 record in the event didn’t hurt either.

Would Lewis have chosen Thompson if she hadn’t automatically qualified for the team? Or if she’d been given as many at-large selections as Johnson? We’ll never know.

“She’s happy, you can tell she’s happy,” Lewis says. “I don’t know what she’s doing or where her brain is, but she’s remaining pretty upbeat, given how hard it’s been. It’s getting a lot of attention and that doesn’t make it any easier. She knows people are talking about it. Somehow she’s just putting the blinders on and going to work. She needs to be commended for that.”