Despite a disappointing final round Sunday, Alexis Thompson’s strong showing at last week’s Avnet LPGA Classic had observers wondering if the teen golfer might seek tour membership. Thompson’s manager put an end to such speculation a day after the 16-year-old struggled to a final-round 6-over to finish at 1-under, nine shots back of winner Maria Hjorth.
“We would not entertain any thoughts of anything like [requesting membership in the LPGA],” Blue Giraffe Sports’ Bobby Kreusler told us Monday. “We are not in a rush. We have absolutely no plans to do anything with the LPGA [involving asking for membership].”
Late last year, Thompson, who is ineligible for tour membership until she turns 18, petitioned the tour for additional sponsor’s exemptions. Tour commissioner Mike Whan denied the request early this year but opened up Monday qualifiers to all professional golfers.
Even without additional sponsor invites, Kreusler said the hero of the 2010 Curtis Cup (contested at Massachusetts’ Essex County Club) had plenty of dates on her 2011 dance card to keep her busy. Thompson will play the Ladies German Open later this month, the ShopRite LPGA Classic and Wegmans LPGA Championship (both in June), the U.S. Women’s Open and the Evian Masters (both in July), and the Safeway Classic in August. She will also attempt to qualify for the Women’s British Open in July.
Kreusler expressed admiration for his young client. “Everyone around her is enormously proud of the way she played” and how she handled herself after her disappointing finish, he said.
The big-hitting Floridian, who would have become the youngest player to win an LPGA event had she prevailed Sunday, shared the third-round lead but began her last day with a bogey on the par-4 fifth. Things did not get much better from there, as Thompson ended the round with a bogey and posted back-to-back doubles on the 14th and 15th.
“It’s difficult for her to look right now at the good that came from the end of her finish,” he said. “She’s learning she’s not the first person to do this as a professional and she won’t be the last.”
Noting that Thompson was, indeed, just 16, Kreusler said his client may not have the experience to “look at the big picture” just yet.
“It was a difficult lesson and not one she wanted to learn or be taught,” he said. “She doesn’t understand that she played great for three days and 13 holes. She only looks at the last [five].”
Even so, Thompson gave a live interview to Golf Channel shortly after Sunday’s round and then signed autographs for 45 minutes. “That showed me a lot,” Kreusler said. “I’m not sure I could have done that.”
Thompson made the decision to speak to the media and greet her fans.
“I genuinely respect and admire her for doing that,” Kreusler said. “She took a moment to compose herself and handled herself like a mature professional under very difficult circumstances.”
(Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. Check her out on the Waggle Room, Boston Golf Examiner, National Golf Examiner, and GottaGoGolf websites. You may also follow Kay on Twitter @golfexaminer.)
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