It’s no secret that Lexi Thompson is retiring after this LPGA season. She is cherishing her remaining time on the course, making each tournament significant for her. The same goes for the Solheim Cup, which is set to take place from September 13-15. However, this tournament is extra meaningful to her because she managed to rise above the struggles last year.

Last year during the Solheim Cup there were a lot of controversies surrounding Lexi Thompson. Most of them were because of her performance throughout the 2023 season. Over 11 starts in the last season on the Tour, she missed eight cuts, with three finishes of T-31, T-47, and T-19 at the Kroger Queen City Championship. Despite that, she automatically qualified for the event thanks to her world rankings. Notably, Captain Stacy Lewis also had trust in her.

“You’d never know she’s playing as poorly as she is. Just by the way she’s acting, the way she’s going about her business. She never stops working. I think she’s going to figure it out. I really do. Her role is going to be very different this time, She’s going to be the most experienced of anybody on this team. She’s the one these girls are going to look to,” said Stacy Lewis as per the Sports Illustrated website.

It was her sixth appearance at the Solheim Cup, and with her experience, the captain had complete confidence in her. The tournament kicked off at the Finca Cortesin Golf Club. While the tournament continued, an unfortunate incident happened on the 18th hole during Friday fourball. The golfer shanked her attempted chip onto the green, and the ball almost hit her partner Lilia Vu and her caddie, with eventually resting up at the bottom of the hill by the front of the green. Witnessing that, fans started bashing the golfer on social media with comments like “Lexi, right next to Michelle Wie might be the 2 most overrated golfers in history.” 

This miss proved detrimental for Team USA as Team Europe got their first full point of the day. Despite that, Lewis still had trust in her as she placed Thompson in the final grouping of the day on Sunday. And guess what? Lexi Thompson bounced back. Initially, she lost two of the first three holes but got the momentum back and held on to earn Team USA a point. On the par-4 5th she won six of the next nine holes to take a four-shot lead and ended up defeating Emily Kristine Pedersen.

Although the tournament ended up being a 14-14 tie, and Europe retained the trophy, Thompson stood strong with her performance shutting down all the critiques. Although you might think Stacy Lewis was the only one supporting Thompson, that is not the case. Jessica Korda was also by her side.

What did Jessica Korda say about Lexi Thompson?

After the mishap on the 18th hole during Friday’s fourball the 29-year-old received a lot of criticism on social media. Frustrated over that she said “I don’t need to comment on that,” when asked about the chip shot in the Press conference. Witnessing that, Jessica Korda came to Lexi Thompson’s defense and shared a post on X and shared her thoughts.

She wrote, “So sad seeing golf media, yet again, shred Lexi. It’s easy writing about other people’s mistakes. It’s Golf, bad shots happen- give the girl a break. She grows the game more than anyone on tour… And she’s a great player!!” 

This year, the golfer is excited about her seventh appearance in the Solheim Cup. She even discussed it in her pre-retirement plans saying “Number one is to definitely be on the Solheim Cup team. Huge honor just to represent my country and play alongside the team there and my captain; definitely that.”

Now that she is playing at the 2024 Solheim Cup how do you think it will turn out for her? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!