Team USA did it! Stacy Lewis’s squad got their revenge on Suzann Pettersen’s Team Europe from last year, and for two editions before that, This year, all eyes were on Lexi Thompson, as she’s set to retire at the end of the 2024 season, and this one was her seventh Solheim appearance. You might expect her to be showered with love and appreciation after America’s 3-point victory, but sadly, that isn’t the case.

During the Sunday singles at the Solheim Cup, Lexi Thompson faced off against France’s Celine Boutier and initially held a lead as she won the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th and 8th holes. However, despite a hard-fought battle through to the 18th hole, Thompson couldn’t sustain her advantage and ultimately lost the match to Boutier by one point.

Ahead of Sunday singles, on Saturday foursomes played alongside Lauren Coughlin against Georgia Hall and Maja Stark. In that matchup, the USA was able to beat Europe with a 4-3 score. Following that on Saturday Fourballs, Thompson, and Ally Ewing played together against Carlota Ciganda and Emily Kristine Pedersen, and Europe was the victor with a 2-1 score.

America won, in the end, thanks to the efforts of other golfers such as Jennifer Kupcho, Rose Zhang, and Allisen Corpuz. Thompson highly hailed her squad’s performance and was proud of how they all fought together, as she said in the press conference, “No words can explain this. I am so happy to be here, so proud of my team and the captain. We all just came together this week. We knew from the start we had a special team, and a special group of girls.”

She praised the European team as well, and mentioned how they forced American players to up their game, “We knew coming into the week the Europeans had so much talent. They brought their A-game and we knew we had to bring our A-game. We knew we had to make a lot of birdies and play our best.” After the LPGA shared a video of X of America winning the tournament, the fans started bashing Lexi Thompson for her blunder during the Sunday singles.

Last year, the golfer faced similar criticism after a critical mishit during a Friday afternoon four-ball match when she was playing alongside Lilia Vu. On the 18th hole, Thompson’s third shot from the rough rolled back down a hill, leaving her farther from the hole than where she started. This misstep proved costly for Team USA, as they lost the match 1 down to Georgia Hall and Leona Maguire. In the end, the tournament was a tie, and Team Europe retained the Cup.

Fast forward to this year; it happened again after she lost her lead. Surprisingly, some are talking about last year’s shank; meanwhile, some took the criticism even further and are questioning the golfer’s worth to the team.

What do fans have to say about Lexi Thompson?

This fan questioned the golfer worth saying, “Why was Lexi Thompson on this team? She choked big time.” Yes, the Solheim Cup is indeed a team game, despite that. Last year, Lexi Thompson’s shank proved detrimental for Team USA, as that one point could have changed things. Despite last year’s mishap, Thompson remained a part of this year’s American squad. She is a Solheim Cup veteran, with 7 appearances under her belt. Unfortunately, she made another error, failing to maintain the lead.

Surprisingly, last year’s and this year’s Solheim Cup aren’t the only incidents that gave Lexi Thompson the title of ‘choker.’ This fan talked about it, saying, “Lexi Thompson’s legacy of choking continues!” During the 2021 US Women’s Open, Thompson had a five-shot lead after eight holes in the last round. However, things got worse at the back nine at The Olympic Club, where she carded back-to-back bogeys and finished with a four-over 75 and was unable to win the tournament.

Expressing similar sentiments, another added, “Lexi Thompson not even close. Lexi chokes again.” The 2021 US Women’s Open isn’t her only blunder at the major tournament. Just a year after that at the 2022 Women’s PGA Championship, Thompson had two strokes with three holes left. And guess what happened next? Yes, Thompson whiffed her putt in the final holes and ended up finishing second, while In Gee Chun claimed the victory.

Throughout the whole tournament, the only victory Lexi Thompson had was on Saturday morning foursome matches, where she played alongside Lauren Coughlin and won 4-3. Considering this fan added, “Did anyone on the planet think Lexi Thompson would win that match?” highlighting that they had no hope that Thompson and her team would be able to claim the victory considering the performance she delivered. Expressing similar sentiments, another added, “Despite Lexi Thompson choking again.” 

What do you think about Lexi Thompson and her blunder at the Solheim Cup? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!