LEXI SAYS SORRY AS PRACTICE POLEAXED
LEXI THOMPSON has issued a wholehearted apology after misplacing her passport and disrupting the practice of around 40 fellow players ahead of the AIG Women’s British Open. As is common practice when back-to-back events are played in Europe, some players chose to ship their clubs overground from last week’s Evian Championship in a van driven by Ian Wright, a former caddie to Seve Ballesteros. However, Wright was around two hours into his journey on Sunday evening when he received a phone call telling him that Thompson’s passport was in her golf bag and she needed it to fly from Geneva.
Wright was asked to pull over and wait while the American’s caddie took a taxi to meet him and retrieve the passport, the ensuing delays meaning Wright missed his scheduled ferry to England, then encountered rush-hour traffic and only arrived at Woburn at 5pm on Monday. By then the course was closed to allow groundstaff to continue their preparations for the final major of the year, which begins today. Among those affected was Ariya Jutanugarn, champion the last time the event was played at Woburn in 2016. Thompson, whose own journey was delayed by a cancelled flight, said: ‘I didn’t realise that I was going to cause so much delay in the bags for all the players and I’m very sorry about that.’ England’s Georgia Hall, who revealed earlier this week that her replica trophy had been stolen from her car recently, will defend the title she won at Royal Lytham last year, while compatriot Charley Hull is seeking to make the most of playing at her home club as she seeks a first major title. ‘I’d love to win a major, especially at home. It would be great. But I’m just going to go out and enjoy it,’ said Hull.