Lexi Thompson Playing 18th-Consecutive US Women's Open Prior to Her 30th Birthday

Back in 2007, a 12-year-old girl called Alexis Thompson made history at the US Women's Open by becoming the youngest-ever qualifier at the time. Since then, Lucy Li took over the most-junior entrant mantel, aged 11 in 2014. 

But almost two decades on from her own record-breaking week, not only is she set for another crack at the event, but it will be Thompson's 18th championship in a row - coming in the week Lexi Thompson announced her retirement from pro golf at the end of 2024.

A lengthy and successful career on the LPGA Tour means Thompson has not relied on qualifying very often since her debut, but a US Women's Open title does continue to elude the World No.49 - even after breaking her Major duck in 2014 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, days on from her 19th birthday.

Thompson was the second-youngest women's Major champion when she won what is now the Chevron Championship - one of 15 professional victories.

While she failed to make the cut on debut, or in the subsequent season, Thompson's breakthrough would arrive in 2010 - the same year she turned pro. 12 months after recording a very respectable T34 result as a 14-year-old, the Florida-born talent finished just inside the top-10 as a 15-year-old.

Since then, Thompson has gradually improved on her highest-ever position multiple times, scoring T7 as a 19-year-old in 2014, clinching T5 in 2018, and ending T2 in 2019.

Yet, perhaps the closest Thompson ever came to lifting arguably the most prestigious trophy in the women's game arrived in 2021 when she ended solo third.

Thompson was five clear midway through the final round of the 2021 championship at The Olympic Club before slipping back into the pack and finishing bogey-bogey to miss out on a playoff. Yuka Saso ended up defeating Nasa Hataoka on the third hole of a sudden-death shootout to claim victory.

Meanwhile, in 2023, Thompson's 17th US Women's Open saw her miss the cut at Pebble Beach as eventual champion, Allisen Corpuz battled to nine-under in California.

The 11-time LPGA Tour winner described the iconic course as "hard" following a first-round 74 last year in which playing partner and now World No.1 Nelly Korda shot 76.

Thompson said: "It always plays difficult. Tee shots are hard, and bunkers have a lot of sand and the rough is up really thick. It's definitely a Major championship golf course."

A second-round 79 spelt the end of Thompson's week at an event where several huge names also crashed out early. Jin Young Ko, Madelene Sagstrom, Danielle Kang, Megan Khang, and Georgia Hall all failed to sit at better than six-over on Friday night.

Overall, the Floridian has made the cut 12 times, with one second-place, two other top-fives, and a couple more top-10s.

If the 29-year-old is to stand in the winner's circle once again, though, she will have to reverse a concerning trend regarding her recent form. In Thompson's past five events, she has missed the cut four times - with the only exception arriving via a T3 result at the Ford Championship four starts ago.

Her previous four appearances in 2024 generated a further missed cut, a T42 finish at the Aramco Ladies International, an 11th-place result in the Aramco Team Series in Tampa, and a T16 at the LPGA Drive On Championship in what was her season-opening event.