Lexi Thompson announces retirement from LPGA Tour after 2024 season | Golf Central | Golf Channel

Golf Central discusses Lexi Thompson’s announcement that she will retire from professional golf at the end of the 2024 season. #GolfChannel #GolfCentral #LexiThompson #LPGATour
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Lexi Thompson announces retirement from LPGA Tour after 2024 season | Golf Central | Golf Channel
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golf Central on YouTube is brought to you by the new Chrome tour golf ball from Callaway news from the US Women’s Open today at Lancaster Country Club at 29 years old the 11 time LPGA Tour winner and major Champion Lexi Thompson has announced her plans to retire from the LPGA at the end of this season with more let’s head to Pennsylvania and Amy Rogers thanks Matt well the US Women’s Open the place where Lexi Thompson began and her young career at just the age of 12 is where she announced today that her career will soon be coming to a close uh Thompson took to Instagram earlier today to post a video announcing that she will retire from professional golf at the end of the 2024 season saying she will no longer be playing a fulltime schedule this announcement comes in the midst of what is her 13th season on the LPGA Tour and it has been a career full of ups and downs 11 wins and one major title some could argue knew that perhaps that number could be higher given the talent and the power that we have seen Thompson display on the golf course but she has been quite open uh throughout her career about some of the struggles that she’s dealt with over these past two seasons she’s played a more limited schedule just hoping to find more balance more life away from the golf course she opened up even more in meeting with the media here earlier today and was brought to tears talking about the challenges she’s faced over the last few years I think honestly just staying true to myself um being out here can be a lot um it can be lonely um sorry if I get emotional I said I wasn’t going to um I just think you know especially with what’s happened in golf as of recent too A lot of people don’t they don’t realize a lot of what we go through as a professional athlete I mean and I’ll be the last one to say like throw me a pity party that’s the last thing I want but you know we’re doing we’re doing what we love we’re trying the best every single day and um you know we’re not perfect we’re humans words hurt um and it’s hard to overcome sometimes but having the people around you that love you and support you and I feel like that’s that’s been the biggest thing for me I might not have a huge friend group but um but to have the people that matter the most around me have gotten me through some really hard times and I think it’s a lot for everybody around out here or in any professional sport a lot of people don’t know what we go through and the amount of training and hard work that we put ourselves through it’s it’s a lot and I don’t think we deserve I I think we deserve a lot more credit than what we get you heard as Thompson got emotional there referencing some of the recent events that have been happening uh Around The World of Golf alluding to the recent passing of Grayson Murray and just you just have no idea what players are dealing with on the inside now Thompson went on to say she wants to play for the remainder of the Season hoping to qualify for the US solheim Cup team for the seventh time in her career it’s one of the few times she’s been able to connect with some of the players out here on the LPGA Tour that in addition to the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational where she teamed up with NASA Hoka and Brooke Henderson I spoke with Hoka earlier today she said that it was amazing teaming up with Thompson that she learned so much from her and that she was quite surprised uh to hear about the retirement news I also spoke with Henderson who shared her reaction along with several other players to Thompson’s retirement news yeah Lexi is amazing she’s truly an icon out here on tour and I’m a little bit sad that she’s retiring but at the same time I’m really excited for her she’s had an amazing career and I just wish for nothing but the best I honestly heard probably 15 minutes ago that she’s retiring um she’s had such an amazing career I think I’ve gotten to represent be on the team with her a couple of times representing our country I think she does an amazing job for the tour she spends so much time going to each proam party she really dedicates her time um to Growing the game and it’s sad to see that she’s obviously leaving and not going to be out here with us anymore but um she’s had an amazing career and I wish her the best in this new chapter of her life she’s had a long successful career and um I think it just shows that time flies and you know I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to play alongside her know quite a lot it’s sad to um see you know somebody like her that that wants to give back to the game and has already given so much uh to women’s golf and golf in general uh leave but at the same time I think I’m super excited for what’s ahead of her um I’m sure she’s had to make a lot of sacrifices along the way and um maybe you know when she leaves it it’ll be I’m sure it’ll be Bittersweet but uh you know maybe she’ll be able to spend a bit more time for herself and do you know um just be Lexie herself I mean we’re all kind of chatting about it at breakfast I’m just honestly very happy for her she’s had such an incredible career and done so so much for the game and so much for me and so just really happy for her and excited to see what she does next and speaking to Pano she told me that she first met Lexi Thompson back when she was six years old and said to this day she still has an autograph signed hanging in her house from Thompson so a lot of these young players out here really looked up to her and will miss having her out here on the LPGA Tour Thompson said that she’s been contemplating retirement for the last several years but felt like this was the right time as she’s ready to step away from just the week toe grind of tournaments in training Matt Amy thank you very much let’s flash flash back in time here 2007 US Women’s Open where Lexi at 12 years old became the youngest player to ever qualify for the US Women’s Open it is a mark of course that has since been broken and Lexi would make the cut at the US Women’s Open just two years later after turning professional Thompson had a couple of wins on the LPGA before her big breakthrough in 2014 she won the Chevron Championship that year a second round 64 put her in position and she went on to lift the trophy and of course make that leap into Poppy’s Pond to date it’s the only major title of her career unfortunately for Thompson there has been some Peaks and valleys some close calls in some bad breaks at the Chevron championship of course in 2017 Thompson was penalized four strokes for incorrectly placing your ball on the green here you see her career bio those 11 LPGA Tour wins she won the the V trophy the race to CME globe in 2017 six times in those us solheim Cup teams that she talked about the importance of she was a two-time United States Olympic team member 2008 US girls junior champion and qualified for the 2007 US Women’s Open at the age of 12 okay so trip I guess the the question question I want to ask of you is how do you react to someone of her stature that decides to retire and In fairness retire early at only 29 years old retire early yes but I mean you look at the length of her career she’s had a very successful career some are going to say yeah she could have done better absolutely with her Talent when you watch her play and I’ve had the privilege of watching her play up close several times uh during my career with gol Channel and it’s impressive I mean she’s clearly one of the longest players over the course of her career she uses that power to advant her Advantage she’s a very good wedge player she’s a good medium range putter the problem is the closer she gets to the hole she gets into results and she gets in her own way and she’s cost herself at least uh you know nine or 10 tournaments with with those short range type putts including uh you know a US Open here or there so could it have been better yes but here’s the thing I think that Lexi probably after a couple of years maybe away I think Lexi’s probably going to miss it I think you get you get beat down and you have the grind and and you want to get away from it and once you step away you really you have a different perspective and you have the ability to probably come back with a little more light-hearted attitude and I think that might do Lexi some good [Music]