‘I Had A Feeling Yesterday’ - Why Stacy Lewis Made Last-Minute Lexi Thompson Call
Stacy Lewis revealed that Lexi Thompson's stellar play in the practice rounds saw her elevated to leading America off in the foursomes
Lexi Thompson has only made 11 starts this year on the LPGA Tour and she failed to make the weekend in eight of them.
But the 28-year-old has played in five previous Solheim Cups and her captain Stacy Lewis had the ultimate faith in her by sending her out in the morning foursomes, with Thompson hitting the opening shot of the competition.
Alongside Megan Zhang the Americans got the better of Swedish duo Maja Stark and Linn Grant as the visitors enjoyed a clean sweep of the morning matches.
What is even more revealing is that Thompson and Khang weren’t even down to be paired together until a last-minute switch by Lewis as Thompson was added to the foursomes set-up.
“I had a feeling yesterday (Thursday), she wasn’t in my line-up that I’ve had for a couple of weeks. The way that the last four days have gone, the way that she seems mentally I had a good feeling about it and Megan has been playing amazing obviously the last month or so,” Lewis told Sky Sports.
“I literally went to them with about three holes left in the practice round and said ‘hey, can you figure out some golf balls’ and fortunately they managed it and got the win.”
After the victory Thompson added that the pairing was 'last minute' though her partner had every confidence in the partnership.
Get the Golf Monthly Newsletter
Subscribe to the Golf Monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest tour news, equipment news, reviews, head-to-heads and buyer’s guides from our team of experienced experts.
"That was new but I think she knew that we would have no problem playing together and we had fun out there."
Lewis also revealed on the day before the matches had started that the numbers coming from Thompson’s practice rounds had played a huge part in her leading off the visitors.
“You know, we started the week and I had a couple people, kind of within our team, between caddies and helpers, come up to me and just say, ‘You know, she’s hitting it really good.
“And then it’s kind of every day there’s been more and more people telling me this, and with the data and the analytics that’s we have, I actually have their Strokes Gained from the practice over the last two days and she’s off the charts right now.”
The Americans made the perfect start by winning the first three holes and, while the hosts got it back to all square with five holes to play, Thompson rolled in a birdie putt at the 15th and it was all over when Grant missed a short one at the 17th.
This is Khang's third Solheim Cup and it was her first foursomes win at the fourth time of asking.
Mark has worked in golf for over 20 years having started off his journalistic life at the Press Association and BBC Sport before moving to Sky Sports where he became their golf editor on skysports.com. He then worked at National Club Golfer and Lady Golfer where he was the deputy editor and he has interviewed many of the leading names in the game, both male and female, ghosted columns for the likes of Robert Rock, Charley Hull and Dame Laura Davies, as well as playing the vast majority of our Top 100 GB&I courses. He loves links golf with a particular love of Royal Dornoch and Kingsbarns. He is now a freelance, also working for the PGA and Robert Rock. Loves tour golf, both men and women and he remains the long-standing owner of an horrific short game. He plays at Moortown with a handicap of 6.
-
LIV Golf Singapore Prize Money Payout 2024
There’s another eye-catching prize money payout available at the second LIV Golf event in a week at Sentosa Golf Club
By Mike Hall Published
-
Nike Air Max 1 '86 OG G Golf Shoe Review
Nike produce a wide variety of golf shoes and, in this piece, Matt Cradock takes the Air Max 1 '86 OG G to the course to find out what the performance is like
By Matt Cradock Published
-
Making The Cut's Not Enough - LET Pro Details How Finishing Outside Of The Top-25 Can Actually See Players LOSE Money
Hannah Gregg has described how even making the cut can see her lose money for a tournament week due to the worrying lack of prize funds on the LET
By Paul Higham Published
-
JM Eagle LA Championship Prize Money Payout 2024
There’s a record purse for a regular-season LPGA Tour event at Wilshire Country Club
By Mike Hall Published
-
Two-Time Major Runner-Up Amy Olson Announces Retirement Aged 31
The LPGA Tour pro, who has been on maternity leave since last year, made the announcement on social media
By Mike Hall Published
-
Angela Stanford’s Pursuit Of 100 Consecutive Majors Could End Painfully Short After Two Huge Blows
The 46-year-old had been hoping to make a 99th successive Major appearance at the US Women's Open, but a double blow means her options are slimmer than ever
By Mike Hall Published
-
Nelly Korda's Fifth Straight Win Helps NBC Record Most-Watched Chevron Championship In Over A Decade
There was a peak TV audience of almost two million on Sunday evening as Korda picked up the second Major of her career
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
‘Exhausted’ Nelly Korda Puts Bid For Sixth Successive Title On Hold With JM Eagle LA Championship Withdrawal
The Chevron Championship winner has opted to skip the next LPGA Tour event despite initially confirming she would be in the field
By Mike Hall Published
-
'Hopefully Keep The Streak Alive' - Nelly Korda Shows No Signs Of Stopping As World No.1 Targets Sixth Straight Win
After her fifth successive victory, Nelly Korda is eyeing a place in the history books
By Mike Hall Published
-
How Nelly Korda And Scottie Scheffler Have Amassed 9 Wins And Almost $20 Million In Prize Money Over Their Last 10 Starts
The World No.1 pair are on quite the tear right now, as both Korda and Scheffler added yet more silverware to their cabinets after their respective victories
By Matt Cradock Published