Lexi Thompson has been sitting atop the 2017 Team USA Solheim Cup Point Rankings for well over a year, and will likely enter the tournament as the sentimental favorite for the fans who pack Des Moines Golf and Country Club.
Heading toward her second win in an LPGA major, the ANA Inspiration, Thompson was handed a four-stroke penalty after a television viewer notified tournament officials of a possible rules violation the previous day. She then lost the tournament in a sudden-death playoff to So Yeon Ryu. The ruling reverberated throughout the golf world, and has led to rules changes which limit the use of video to determine possible rules violations.
The ANA Inspiration could have been Thompson's second victory in a major. Her previous win came in the 2014 Kraft-Nabisco Championship. Thompson also has six other career tournament victories and 45 top 10 finishes.
Now she is setting her sights on the 2017 Solheim Cup. This will be her third berth on Team USA. Her first came in 2013 when she was 18, becoming the youngest player ever to represent the U.S. in the tournament. She earned her second berth in 2015. She will bring a combined 3-2-2 record in Solheim Cup match play to Des Moines Golf and Country Club
"There's nothing like waking up, putting on my country's colors and teeing it up for my country," Thompson said to reporters after this year’s ANA Inspiration “The first tee shot I always say is usually the most nervous I'll ever be on the golf course. But it's the best. It's what I play golf for. Just to hear the crowd cheering, ‘U-S-A’ it is the best feeling.”
Cheer on Lexi Thompson and her 2017 Solheim Cup teammates August 14-20 at Des Moines Golf and Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa. Get your tickets now.
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