Wednesday at the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout, Lexi Thompson met with the media for the first time since incurring a four-stroke penalty during the final round of the ANA Inspiration.
The penalty came after a viewer submitted feedback via LPGA.com during the final round that Thompson had improperly replaced her ball on the 17th green during the third round on Saturday. After being reviewed by LPGA Rules Officials, Thompson was assessed two strokes under Rule 16-1b for the breach of Rule 20-7c (Playing from the Wrong Place) and assessed an additional two strokes for signing for an incorrect scorecard under Rule 6-6d.
During Wednesday’s press conference Thompson maintained, just as she did in her comments immediately following her playoff loss to So Yeon Ryu, that it was not her intention to improperly move her ball. Thompson went on to explain the process by which she lines up her ball when putting.
“I mark my ball with a dot and that’s where I focus my eyes on, where I want to make contact,” Thompson said. “When I marked it, I just rotated my ball to line up my dot to where the ball would make contact.”
Thompson says she hit a terrible first putt in her birdie attempt at the par three 17th hole. She had a 10 to 15 footer and was “pretty mad at the first putt because I put a terrible stroke on it.” Relying on advice from her father, Thompson says she went ahead and marked the ball to give her time to regroup.
“I was just like ‘Lexi, just relax. Mark the putt. It’s a major championship, you don’t need to go up and miss this little putt,’” Thompson told the media. “I went and marked it and just took my time with my practice stroke, took a deep breath and made sure I made it.”
Thompson says she has seen the enlarged video of her moving the ball, which she explained as part of her routine of lining up her putt.
“I have seen the video and I can see where they’re coming from with it. It might have been me, I guess, rotating the ball,” Thompson said. “Those greens were absolutely perfect. The whole week there was nothing in my line to be moving it from or anything. I have no reason behind it. I did not mean it at all.”
Thompson handled the difficult ruling with class and maturity beyond her years. A leader by three strokes when she received news of the penalty, Thompson trailed by two after learning of the ruling. But Thompson battled back. She rallied with a birdie on three of her last five holes to force a playoff with Ryu, where she lost on the first extra hole. When asked about what has been the most difficult part of the last several weeks, Thompson broke down crying, and said going through the experience was the most difficult.
“That’s one of my favorite tournaments and it’s always a dream of mine to just see myself jumping into Poppie’s Pond. I’ve worked my whole life to have my name on major championship trophies, especially that one. It’s a very special week for me with all the history behind it and I played amazing that week. I don’t think I’ve ever played any better. For that to happen, it was just kind of a nightmare. It was still a very special week, it always is.”
Thompson’s social media posts in recent weeks have been focused around positivity and not allowing the incident to define her. The support she’s received from friends and family has helped her keep that optimistic outlook.
“It’s been hard, but I know where my game is at and just having the support of my family means the world to me,” Thompson said holding back tears. “Also seeing players supporting me, it means a lot.
Tuesday, the USGA and R&A announced a new decision to limit video review but not viewer call in’s or emails. Thompson, who flew from Texas to this week’s Zurich Classic in Louisiana Tuesday and back on Wednesday, hadn’t had time to fully read the decision.
“Golf is the only sport that call in’s are available to. Do I think it’s right? Not really, but it’s not my say. We’ll see what happens in the future with it.”
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