St. Andrews making Lexi Thompson smile amid looming retirement

At the U.S. Women’s Open in May, an emotional Lexi Thompson announced her retirement from pro golf, effective at the end of the season.

Since then, she has played in five events, with her best finish coming at the Meijer Classic, a tie for second. But now she is in Scotland, playing in what could be the last major championship of her career at the AIG Women’s Open. Thompson did not close the door on that possibility, but she did not rule out playing in future majors either. Regardless, the 29-year-old Thompson has smiled far and wide at the Home of Golf this week, as she feels confident in her decision.

“I haven’t had any doubt,” Thompson said at St. Andrews.

“I’m very content with my decision, and I think that will make me happiest inside.”

Thompson added that she felt a significant weight fall off her shoulders after her announcement in Lancaster, where fans, fellow players, and tournament officials alike embraced her for making such a difficult decision public.

“I didn’t really know what to expect or think, what people would think of my decision or my announcement,” Thompson said.

Photo by Oisin Keniry/R&A via Getty Images

“Everybody is going through things, and a lot of people don’t know about it. It’s just a matter of how well you hide it and how open you want to be about it. I think it’s important to share those feelings, whether it’s with close loved ones or be open about it with somebody that you want to seek help with. It’s not something that you should keep inside. You should not be afraid of sharing how you genuinely feel.”

Thompson has played golf under the brightest lights as a young teenager. Fans and media alike have scrutinized her career ever since, which unfortunately comes with a healthy dose of negativity. Thompson touched on those unfortunate circumstances when she made her decision public in May.

“Being out here can be a lot. It can be lonely. Sorry if I get emotional. I said I wasn’t going to,” Thompson said at Lancaster Country Club, fighting back tears.

“A lot of people don’t realize what we go through as a professional athlete. I’ll be the last one to say to throw me a pity party. That’s the last thing I want. We’re doing what we love. We’re trying our best every single day. You know, we’re not perfect. We’re humans. Words hurt. It’s hard to overcome sometimes.”

But this week at St. Andrews, Thompson did not touch on that. Instead, she focused on the positives. She wants to get married and raise a family. She wants to travel to South Africa and Greece and do all the “touristy things” when visiting places around the world.

Thompson will also launch her Lexi Fitness app in the coming weeks, a new endeavor she is passionate about. Yet she will not hang the clubs up altogether.

“I think golf is such an amazing game for bringing families together, bringing people together, and building those relationships. I think it’s super important,” Thompson added Wednesday.

Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images

“So no, it’s not something I would just stop. Family wouldn’t stop that. But professionally, I don’t plan on having a family and playing professional golf.”

That said, Thompson still has a tournament at St. Andrews this week—a full-circle moment since her first AIG Women’s Open start came at the Old Course in 2013. She missed the cut that week. But Thompson continues to dream big, even with her retirement looming.

“[A win] would mean the world to me, honestly. At the Home of Golf? It doesn’t get much better than that. And being a major championship, it would be a dream come true,” Thompson said.

“But there’s so much golf to be played, and weeks like this, you just have to stay in the moment and take one shot at a time, be patient, and know there will be bad breaks or bad shots. You have to get through them with a positive attitude and keep on going. But yeah, that would be a dream of mine.”

No matter what happens this week, Thompson will continue to smile, knowing she feels comfortable with her career and life trajectory. But a Thompson victory would conclude an incredible journey and send her off into retirement with the biggest smile of them all.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.