Thompson’s power can’t overcome putting woes
Lexi Thompson unleashed a big, angry swing on her final hole of Friday’s round. Thompson had made two consecutive bogeys, and her simmering fury translated into a massive tee shot on No. 9.
The ball sailed straight and true, about 40 yards beyond the drives of fellow competitors So Yeon Ryu and Nelly Korda. This was an impressive display by one of the LPGA’s longest hitters.
Power rules. Thompson’s distance off the tee vaulted her into prominence in women’s golf, and will keep her there for years to come. It just couldn’t erase her putting struggles Friday at Lake Merced, where she shot 3-over 75. Thompson will begin play Saturday at even-par, nine strokes off the pace in the LPGA Mediheal Championship.
Still, make no mistake: The world’s finest women’s players are becoming more and more like their male counterparts. They like to mash the ball, sending majestic tee shots into the stratosphere.
Forget the old stereotype of ladies gently poking the ball down the fairway. The LPGA is just like every other sport on the 2018 landscape, as Juli Ink-
ster — a Hall of Famer with abundant experience — can attest.
“They don’t show the hitand-run, they show the long ball,” Inkster said, referring to television highlights. “They don’t show the bounce pass, they show the slam dunk. Everything is power . ...
“That’s what everybody likes to see. How long do they hit it? What’s their swing speed? That’s kind of where the game is right now.”
Thompson, 23, offers a vivid illustration. She’s ranked No. 3 in the world, with nine victories (including one major championship) in her burgeoning career. And the strongest element of her game is power.
She has finished in the top four in driving distance in each of her six full seasons on tour. Thompson posted a career-best average of 277.4 yards in 2016.
Last week, during the event at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, Inkster watched as Thompson pounded shot after towering shot over the net on the far end of the practice range. Inkster laughed as she recalled her own modest, feeble-bycomparison shots.
“It’s just a different ballgame,” she said.
Thompson stands 6 feet tall, with a lithe, lanky frame like many long hitters on the PGA Tour. Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson use their strength and flexibility to smack the ball crazy distances, and Thompson does much the same.
She makes a pronounced shoulder turn, creates serious swing speed and almost lunges or dips at the ball just before impact. The sound of clubhitting-ball is striking.
On this day, though, Thompson’s 36 putts overwhelmed her power. Lake Merced is an atypical LPGA course, not terribly long (6,551 yards) with tight tree-lined fairways and small, challenging greens. That tends to expose the weaknesses in a player’s game.
Thompson three-putted No. 8, her next-to-last hole, and then missed a straightforward 18-foot birdie attempt on No. 9. So she wasn’t in an agreeable mood afterward, declining an interview request by saying, “It’s not been a good day,” as she marched away.
Maybe someone needs to tell her the story of Dennis Eckersley answering waves of questions after he allowed Kirk Gibson’s home run in the 1988 World Series, a far bigger stage than any LPGA event.
At any rate, Thompson counts as one of the most popular players on tour. (She did stoically sign several autographs after Friday’s round.) She’s the highest-ranked American, and most fans love the long ball, as Inkster succinctly put it.
Ryu, a five-time winner and the world’s No. 4 player, fully understands the obsession. She played alongside Thompson the past two days at Lake Merced.
“I would say no matter what kind of course, there’s a benefit if you hit it long,” Ryu said. “A lot of par-5s out here, they move up the tees to make sure everybody has a chance to reach in two shots.
“Lexi struggled with her putting a little today. Even when you hit it really long, you don’t get the benefit when you struggle with your putting. That was unfortunate.”
Power still matters more than ever — and that’s why Thompson figures to enjoy a long, lucrative career.