What did Lexi Thompson learn from last year's US Women's Open collapse
SOUTHERN PINES — Lexi Thompson has learned from the most disappointing experience of her career.
And that may make the 27-year-old a contender once again in the 77th U.S. Women's Open Championship that begins here Thursday at the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club.
Thompson, who made her Open debut at age 12 in 2007, held a five-stroke lead during the final round last year at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. The victory was all but conceded to her as the round reached its midpoint, but she lost that margin on the back nine and bogeys on the last two holes left her out of a playoff eventually won by Yuka Saso.
The experience was difficult, but one Thompson says has made her a better golfer.
"I wouldn't say that there was really any challenge to it,'' Thompson said after a practice round at Pine Needles on Tuesday. "(It) Didn't go the way I wanted to, but every time I tee it up there's always something to learn. I always say there's really no feeling, you're always learning. Every time I tee it up, there's something to be processed, to learn. Yeah, it didn't go my way, it was frustrating, but it happens.''
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Thompson, who is No. 6 in the current Rolex women's golf rankings, said part of the process of rebounding from last year's Open debacle has been learning to relax on and off the golf course. She's also been working with Martin Hall, one of the nation's top golf instructors.
"Honestly just enjoying life more, realizing that golf isn't life or death as I took it sometimes when I was younger,'' Thompson said. "(I'm) Just enjoying my time out here more, realizing that it's just a blessing to be out here. And having Martin Hall as part of my team, helping with my golf swing, but other than that just being such a positive influence in my life and having him around has helped me out tremendously in just getting through the past year of ups and downs and just going through that whole process with me.''
Lexi Thompson's US Women's Open history
This will be Thompson's 16th appearance at a U.S. Women's Open and marks a return to the site of her first Open experience. She qualified for the 2007 Open played at Pine Needles as a 12-year-old, carding rounds of 76 and 82, but missed the cut. At the time, she was the youngest to ever qualify for the Open.
"Probably, honestly, how nervous I was,'' Thompson said Tuesday when asked about her memories from 2007. "I don't remember much of the golf course besides No. 10's tee shot because I just remember, again, how nervous I was, and I was so happy that it was raining because there was nobody out there following.
"But it was just an amazing experience. I remember driving up with my parents, practicing my signature on the way, and just embracing it all.''
Thompson has changed physically and mentally since that experience, and her goal to win a U.S. Open title has only grown stronger.
"I was 12 years old then and just have grown as a person and as a player and have learned a lot of things about myself, and it's just been a great experience,'' she said. "Teeing it up here when I was 12 is the reason where I am today, because I realized then that this is what I wanted to do.''
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Lexi Thompson learned from last year's US Women's Open collapse
