ANDALUCIA, Spain — The Solheim Cup is an event that’s always circled on Lexi Thompson’s calendar. The 28-year-old is a diehard Solheim Cupper and has played in five editions of the biennial team competition, winning nine and a half points for the United States in those previous team appearances. She’s been a part of some of the event’s biggest moments, helping the U.S. squad capture the Solheim Cup in both 2015 and 2017, and has witnessed some of the U.S. team’s low points, including losses in 2013, 2019 and most recently in 2021.
So, when the calendar turned to 2023, Thompson mentally drew a circle around September 22-24 and set a goal to qualify for her sixth U.S. Solheim Cup team, who would face off against Europe at Finca Cortesin in Andalucia, Spain. But adversity has plagued Thompson’s season, threatening to take away her spot on the United States team and ultimately driving her to push herself as far as possible to ensure that she’d be repping the Stars and Stripes in September in Spain.
“(I love) everything about (the Solheim Cup). It's my favorite event of all time,” said Thompson. “Knowing that it was this year, it was like, ‘Alright, I have to make that team. I gotta make that team. I gotta do whatever it takes. There's just nothing like it. To be able to be part of a team and to be able to wake up, put your country's colors on. We do not hear as many cheers over there. Hopefully, we get a lot of people on our side over there. But there's nothing like representing your country and just to be part of a team as well. It's so much fun, intense, but there's absolutely nothing like it.”
While it hasn’t been the strongest of years for the LPGA Tour veteran, Thompson, as she is wont to do, has handled every challenge with grace and has taken every struggle in stride as she’s worked to find form with the end of the year and the Solheim Cup looming large. Thompson isn’t one to lay down and quit, doggedly pursuing success in every aspect of her life, even when it feels like it’s hard to come by.
After automatically qualifying for the team based off her position in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, she finished T19 at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, her last start before the Solheim Cup, carding rounds of 73-68-71-69 to earn her first top 20 and best finish of the 2023 LPGA Tour season. During her time away from the game, she has continued to grind in the gym and on the course, working as hard as she can to make sure she’s ready for a week like the one upcoming at Finca Cortesin.
But this time around will be different for Thompson. The Solheim Cup stalwart is far and away the most experienced of her United States teammates, with only Danielle Kang playing in three or more Cups throughout her career. The Florida native boasts a 6-6-7 record and is a threat in all three formats that the Solheim Cup features, earning 2.5 career points in singles, 3.5 career points in Foursomes and 3.5 career points in Fourball. The 2023 U.S. team features five rookies this year – Allisen Corpuz, Cheyenne Knight, Andrea Lee, Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang – and considering her veteran status on the squad, it’s reasonable to assume that Thompson will be peppered with questions before the first tee shots are struck on Friday.
“I would honestly just say, focus on yourself and your game,” said Thompson of the advice she’d give the 2023 Solheim Cup rookies. “Going to another country, it's a whole different thing. We're going to hear their chants, not ours and hopefully not hear boos. But it’s just a matter of focusing on your game and blocking out all the noise and just focusing on what you can control out there because the first tee experience is like no other. Showing my experience with that and knowing what they're getting themselves into coming to the first tee, but they have nerves of steel. They have no problem. I think (it’s just) a matter of being there as a teammate and partner whoever I have on my side in matches. That's all you need.”
The 11-time LPGA Tour winner also brings another bit of unique experience to the U.S. team – she knows what it’s like to play alongside Stacy Lewis in a Solheim Cup. Of course, Danielle Kang and Angel Yin have been teammates with this year’s U.S. captain, and Ally Ewing was tapped to take her place in 2019 when Lewis was forced to withdraw with a back injury. But none of them ever got to partner with her in a match like Thompson did in 2013 as a rookie. Captain Lewis has remained one of the most respected players in the modern women’s game throughout her career and has poured herself entirely into her captaincy, involving herself in every aspect of the process from start to finish. Thompson knows from experience the hustle and the heart that Lewis and her assistant captains will bring to the U.S. team in Spain and is looking forward to playing under someone who knows what it’s like to play for their country – and win for their country – in a Solheim Cup.
“I think Stacy's not only a great person but obviously a very talented player and I think she does great things for the team. She knows what it takes,” said Thompson. “We've done a lot of work behind the scenes on our team and the matchups and everything so I really do believe her Angela, Natalie, Morgan, they all know what they're doing. And I feel like we're all ready so just a matter of getting there and really embracing the whole experience.”
But it’s more than that for Thompson and the rest of the 12-player U.S. squad. The United States has lost the last two Cups and has never allowed Europe to win more than two in a row before taking the crystal back. As there always is, a lot is on the line this week for the Americans and few are hungrier than Thompson to get the job done and help her country to its first Solheim Cup victory since 2017. While it will be a tall order with the Euros playing on home soil this week, Thompson knows it is possible and knows that it’s going to take her and her teammates’ best stuff to get the job done come Sunday at Finca Cortesin, a challenge that she is more than ready for.
“We want to represent our country the best that we can and of course winning the Solheim Cup is a huge deal for us,” Thompson said. “But we have to go into the week and have that hunger and we know that they're gonna bring their A games and we have to bring our A plus game. We have to be ready for it and every challenge that we're faced (with) and just do all we can.”
2023 marks @Lexi's SIXTH time playing for @SolheimCupUSA ✋☝️
— LPGA (@LPGA) September 17, 2023
The 11x LPGA Tour champ earned her spot on the team through Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings! pic.twitter.com/2w10kcfuGL
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