Lexi Thompson has retired as a full-time professional golfer. The LPGA star played the last event of the 2024 season; the CME Group Championship 2024. While she wasn’t able to break her 5-year losing streak in the LPGA, she was still able to gain a lot of love and support from her fans.

In her 12 years in the LPGA, Thompson has been a part of many controversies. She is no stranger to unfair treatment from officials and fans and that may have contributed to her lack of success since 2019. So let’s take a close look at three occasions when Lexi Thompson was wronged on the course.

The unwarranted penalty

At noon on April 2, 2017, Lexi Thompson was lining up for the 16th hole. She had a 2-point lead on So-yeon Nam and was on the verge of capturing the much-deserved 2017 ANA Inspiration title. Currently known as the Chevron Championship, it would have been the second major of Lexi Thompson’s 12-year career in the LPGA Tour.

But things didn’t go as planned as she received dire news as she was getting ready to hit the stroke. Thompson was informed about a penalty that she had incurred a day prior. Apparently, she had moved the ball a lot while she was trying to mark the spot before playing the stroke. There is video evidence that shows that she did move the ball away but the distance was clearly exaggerated. What was even more ridiculous was the severity of the penalty.

Thompson incurred a 4 stroke penalty for her actions in the third round. That put her 2 points behind Nam in the tournament. Getting such news on the 16th hole of the final round can be heartbreaking for anyone. But Thompson tried to fight back as she tied Nam at the 18th with a score of -14. Unfortunately, she was unable to overcome the challenge in the playoffs and ended up losing the title. This upset a lot of pros who were watching the tournament including Tiger Woods.

The allegations that followed

After the events of the 2017 ANA Inspiration, she faced a lot of backlash from the golf community. The footage of her actions in round 3 of the tournament surfaced online. This helped fans gain a better perspective of what really happened. Soon after, they started accusing Lexi Thompson of trying to deceive the officials and intentionally placing the ball closer to the hole.

Fans berated her everywhere, on course, social media, and many other channels. This caused a lot of stress to the 29-year-old as she started doubting herself and lost confidence in her abilities. To this day, Thompson mentions how the allegations still affect her and how she has not been able to overcome the challenges that came with them.

The 18th hole nightmare

The 2023 Solheim Cup may have been just another tournament for the European team, but it was a horrorshow for Lexi Thompson and her Team U.S.A. colleagues. Thompson and Lilia Vu were battling Team Europe’s Leona Maguire and Georgia Hall.

Everything was smooth sailing up until the 18th hole of the round. On the third stroke of the par 5 hole, Thompson was placed in a tough spot as she faced a tricking shot very close to the green and the hole. What should have been a simple scoop to get close turned into a game-changing shank that made sure Team U.S.A. lost a point.

The ball ended up much further than it was originally at and Thompson’s team were unable to take the advantage. Team Europe and Team U.S.A. tied on points in the tournament and the former ended up retaining the Solheim Cup.

These were some of the worst experiences Lexi Thompson had throughout her career. More recently, she had a disappointing incident at the CME Tour Championship 2024 as she had to give up the opportunity to finish in 18th to adhere to the broadcast schedule. This completely messed up her last hoorah as a full-time professional golfer and possibly her last appearance at the CME-sponsored event.

While she may not be a full-time pro anymore, Thompson has hinted that she might still end up playing a few events in the coming years. We may see her in some of the majors and most probably at the 2025 Solheim Cup. Will she be able to create better memories and overcome the disappointments of her past? Only time will tell. You can follow her journey on her Instagram @lexi and stay updated about her future events.