‘I Have Always Played by the Rules…’: Lexi Thompson Was Reduced to Tears After ‘Nightmare’ Moment in 2017

Lexi Thompson is one of the best young golfers on the LGPA Tour. The American is only 26 years old and has already piled up several trophies. Lexi turned pro at the age of 16. She has a total of 11 wins on the LPGA Tour and one major. She also has two Olympic medals from the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. In 2017, at the ANA Inspiration in California, Lexi narrowly missed out on her second major, and the reason? a four-stroke penalty

Tragedy strikes Lexi Thompson

Lexi was cruising past her competitors at the ANA Inspiration. She ended her second round with a one-stroke lead. At the end of round three, Lexi initially finished with a score of 67, 5 under par. With her 3-stroke lead, Lexi was confident, and it showed in the final round.

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With 6 holes remaining on the final day, Lexi Thompson was informed by the officials that she had committed two fouls the previous day and hence had to face a 4-stroke penalty. The fouls were as such: placing a marked ball in an incorrect place and signing an incorrect scorecard. They docked her two strokes for each foul. Lexi was shook. “The hardest part was just going through it,” she said while speaking to the media later.

Lexi saw his three-stroke lead reduced to a one-shot deficit with only six holes left, following a television viewer’s email to the LPGA. The pressure on her was massive. She said, “I don’t think I’ve ever played any better, and just for that to happen it was just kind’ve a nightmare.” Lexi did her best to gather herself, but ultimately fell short and lost in a playoff to Ryu So-Yeon.

The LPGA amends their rules.

After the traumatic events of the tournament, Lexi was heartbroken and said, “I have seen the video and I can see where they’re coming from with it.” But Lexi believes she wasn’t in the wrong, and went on to reiterate that she always played by the rules. She said it was a mistake: “I have always played by the rules of golf.… I have no reason behind it, I did not mean it at all.”

The entire golfing community erupted in favor of Lexi Thompson. The fans went on to, both tweet and post about how the infringement was incredibly minute. Many went on to point a finger at the LPGA, saying they robbed Lexi of her second major. Even golfing legend Phil Mickelson came out and said, “I think that she [Lexi] should be given the trophy.”

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The incident drew so much attention, that the rule was changed thereafter. The new rule stated that players would not be penalized for minor infractions that could not be reasonably discerned with the naked eye. It didn’t, however, mention anything about viewers reporting incidents to the authorities.

With the infraction being so minor and causing Lexi’s lead to vanish, was she robbed of the trophy? Let us know in the comments below.