'It Was Pretty Much Impossible' - Lexi Thompson On Final Hole Shank At Solheim Cup
Thompson hit a dreaded shank to lose the final hole and the match on Friday afternoon at Finca Cortesin
Lexi Thompson led Team USA out in the Friday morning foursomes at the Solheim Cup, hitting the opening tee shot at Finca Cortesin before delivering a point for Stacy Lewis' side.
From the highs of the start of the day, it ended on a sad note for the experienced American after a dreaded shank came at the worst possible moment.
Watch Lexi Thompson's shank:
From shank to superb for Lexi Thompson 😅 pic.twitter.com/v7J0zIl1PlSeptember 22, 2023
Lexi Thompson was greenside in two on the par 5 18th hole with her and Lilia Vu all square versus Leona Maguire and Georgia Hall. It looked as if USA were going to seal a victory, or at least a halve, before the match - and potentially the entire 2023 Solheim Cup - was turned completely on its head.
Leona Maguire hit a stunning chip shot struck perfectly, which checked up and began edging right before dropping into the hole for the most incredible of birdie finishes.
Watch Leona Maguire's 18th hole chip-in:
LEONA MAGUIRE!! pic.twitter.com/uWMGcptcjKSeptember 22, 2023
The pressure was then piled on Lexi, who needed to get up-and-down to halve the match.
What happened next can only be described as unfortunate.
The 28-year-old proceeded to hit an unlikely shank from just off the green, with her ball rolling all the way back down one of the huge banks at Finca Cortesin to leave her considerably further away than when she started. That sealed USA's fate, with Thompson having to hole an unlikely pitch shot or her partner Vu needing to roll in a long birdie effort.
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Neither happened and Europe won the match, although Lexi's stunning pitch shot that followed was commendable.
On the shank, Thompson didn't want to comment when asked about it post-round.
"I don't need to comment on the chip," she said. "It was a bad lie, and I didn't hit a good chip, but it was pretty much impossible, so..."
Thompson was only picked as USA's lead player late on Thursday afternoon, when US captain Stacy Lewis decided she wanted her and Megan Khang to play together.
“I had a feeling yesterday (Thursday), she wasn’t in my line-up that I’ve had for a couple of weeks," Lewis said.
"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.
“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.”
Thompson and Khang once again play together in the Saturday morning foursomes.
Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!
Elliott is currently playing:
Driver: Titleist TSR4
3 wood: Titleist TSi2
Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1
Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Ball: Srixon Z Star XV
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