Lexi Thompson reveals how she wants to be remembered as full-time LPGA Tour career comes to end

She is inactive finishing up her season, but it is just to telephone Lexi Thompson an LPGA Tour legend. 

It is usually a customized to notation to players arsenic legends aft their careers person travel to a close, but though Thompson volition not beryllium connected Tour full-time starting adjacent year, status was not the connection she utilized astatine this year's U.S. Women's Open erstwhile citing intelligence wellness arsenic a main crushed down taking a measurement backmost from the crippled she has ever loved. 

"I deliberation we each person our struggles, particularly retired here," she said backmost successful May. "Unfortunately, successful play you suffer much than you win, truthful it’s an ongoing conflict to proceed to enactment yourself retired determination successful beforehand of the cameras and continuing to enactment hard and possibly not seeing the results you privation and getting criticized for it. So, it’s hard.

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Lexi Thompson walks the spread 1 fairway during the 3rd circular of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship play tournament. (Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports)

"I've struggled with it. I don't deliberation there's idiosyncratic retired present that hasn't. It's conscionable a substance of however good you fell it, which is precise sad."

Thompson fought backmost tears arsenic she poured retired her bosom and caput astir her decision, and months later, she told Fox News Digital however that determination to archer the satellite however she was feeling led to monolithic enactment passim the game. 

"It’s been a batch since the announcement, but each successful bully ways," Thompson, who besides discussed her prime of Maxfli golf balls for her last full-time season, said. "I’ve gotten thing but emotion and enactment from, of course, my family, but different competitors arsenic well. I consciousness similar the things I said that week benignant of opened the doorway for chap players and conscionable radical successful wide to beryllium unfastened and honorable astir however they’re feeling wrong and cognize they’re not unsocial oregon that they person to fell definite emotions. 

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"I consciousness similar that truly deed a batch of radical much than my existent announcement itself. That’s a large portion of it, but I’ve gotten thing but enactment from chap players and everybody astir me."

While soaking successful each the praise, Thompson has had clip to bespeak connected her stellar vocation successful golf. Again, the connection "retirement" was not used, but Thompson did uncover what she would similar to beryllium remembered for connected and disconnected the play course. 

"I would privation radical to deliberation astir my vocation as, of course, a talented golfer," she began. "That’s portion of it. But I conscionable privation radical to spot maine arsenic idiosyncratic who gave backmost to the game, who realized the value of what went into the tournaments and conscionable the Tour and conscionable being grateful for being retired there. 

"[I] gave backmost and made it a amended crippled and helped the women’s sports conscionable turn and getting kids progressive astatine a younger age. I deliberation that’s what I privation to beryllium seen as. – a relation model. A relation exemplary for kids to look up to and strive to be."

Lexi Thompson looks connected during the archetypal circular of the U.S. Women's Open play tournament. (John Jones-USA TODAY Sports)

Leaving the crippled amended than erstwhile she entered it arsenic a nonrecreational successful 2010 astatine the property of 15 was ever what Thompson had successful mind. Of course, winning was ever apical of her caput arsenic well, and Thompson did that 11 times connected the LPGA Tour, portion competing for Team USA successful aggregate Solheim Cups and 2 Olympics (2016, 2020). 

As the crippled of play has grown tremendously since she went pro implicit a decennary ago, women's play has benefited from it to the joyousness of Thompson. 

"Of course, I don’t deliberation it’s conscionable me," she said, laughing. "There’s truthful galore talented women retired present who person impacted the game, person fixed backmost and that’s what makes the Tour truthful special. 

"On my broadside of things, giving backmost to the fans, the sponsors and seeing that maturation implicit the years successful 2010 erstwhile I turned pro. We gained tournaments, we gained sponsorships, we gained TV sum and purses person risen rather a lot. It’s conscionable large to spot the growth, and we’re getting the praise women’s play needs and deserves. I deliberation we’re moving successful the close direction. 

"I deliberation there’s a batch much country for growth, but it’s babe steps and there’s obscurity to spell but up."

GOING OUT WITH MAXFLI

Thompson's last full-time play saw a alteration successful play balls, arsenic she worked for months with Maxfli, a play shot marque that has been astir a people since 1922, to take a shot she would usage passim the year. 

Thompson discussed the "honor" it was to get the telephone from Maxfli to articulation their team. 

Lexi Thompson of Team USA reacts to her thrust connected the 3rd tee against Team Europe during the Solheim Cup 2024 astatine Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. (Aaron Doster-Imagn Images)

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"I switched to Maxfli astatine the opening of the season," she said. "They came to maine astatine the extremity of the past season, truthful I was ace excited. A precise historical play marque that a batch of apical names successful the golfing manufacture person utilized Maxfli play balls. So, I was honored to person them scope retired to me. Being capable to correspond them and their goals successful the play manufacture truly align with mine."

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