15-year-old golf phenom Alexis Thompson may sue LPGA to play on women’s tour

Alexis Thompson may sue the LPGA if the women’s professional golf tour does not waive its age requirement and let the 15-year-old phenom play as a member in 2011.

Distant option. Legal action against the LPGA “is only a far-off distant option,” Bobby Kreusler, Thompson’s manager at Blue Giraffe Sports, told Waggle Room in October. “We have to see how the situation progresses.”
Thompson, who turned pro this year and will be 16 in February, won $336,472 in six LPGA events she played with sponsors’ exemptions. Arguing that her winnings would place Thompson 29th on the LPGA money list, Kreusler said his client would likely petition the tour for 2011 membership.

LPGA regs allow non-members to apply for affiliation if they finish as top-80  money makers, a criterion Thompson easily met. She does not, however, qualify under the rule that requires members to be at least 18 years old.

Exceptions prove the rule? Exceptions to that prohibition allowed Morgan Pressel, Aree Song, and other under-18 amateurs to gain eligibility at LPGA Qualifying School. Thompson’s request would differ significantly, Kreusler argued, because of her professional status.

Thompson’s quest was “absolutely totally different,” said Kreusler. “Lexi easily earned enough money to earn a full card.”

Kreusler also believes Thompson deserved commissioner Michael Whan’s blessing, which he may grant to golfers between 15-years-old and 18 if they prove they meet their “professional and financial responsibilities,” according to tour bylaws.

Ready to play. With her LPGA playing partners attesting to Thompson’s competitive, social, and emotional grit, it was clear she was ready to play, said Kreusler.
“If Lexi can’t satisfy those criteria,” he observed, “I don’t know who could.”

Limited schedule. Another determining factor may be Thompson’s plans to play only 17 or so events next year. The home-schooled high school sophomore wants time to participate in homecoming and other activities typical of a 15-year-old girl, Kreusler said.

While Thompson had yet to file an official petition by Thanksgiving, Kreusler wanted the issue finalized before the end of 2010.

“We have talked [with the LPGA] early in the year,” said Kreusler. “We are entering into a more formal stage of how we will progress and/or if we will seek legal action.”

LPGA officials, who must privately yearn for the attention the long-hitting American star would bring to the tour, had no knowledge of a potential lawsuit.

“I had not heard that,” Heather Daly-Donofrio, LPGA director of media relations, told Waggle Room.

Each petition unique. Noting that each petition was unique, Daly-Donofrio said the tour could not address Thompson’s issues until it received the request.

"It was great to have Lexi with us on Tour for several events this season,” she said. “She played well, endeared herself to the fans and demonstrated that she has a bright future in professional golf. Whether  she is ready at such an early age is a decision that will ultimately be made by Commissioner Whan."

Hectic travel plans. In the meantime, Thompson will earn a golf bag full of frequent-flyer miles in the next several months. She was scheduled to play at next month’s Omega Dubai Ladies Masters in the United Arab Emirates the Australian Women’s Open in February, and the ANZ Ladies Masters in Australia in March.

To stay in competitive shape, Thompson has played in local men’s tourneys like the recent Minor League Golf Tour event in Florida, in which she finished in a three-way tie for second. The only woman in the field, Thompson teed off from about 6,800-yard yards compared with the men’s 7,100 yards, and fell a birdie putt short of forcing a playoff with winner David Schuster.

Won’t mimic Wie. Kreusler stressed that Thompson played such events to “hone her skills for her next event,” and that she would not follow Michelle Wie’s much-criticized footsteps to the PGA Tour.

Thompson also appeared to be driving down a different fairway from that of another highly touted amateur, Mariah Stackhouse. The 16-year-old Georgia native, whom the American Junior Golf Association recently tapped as the first African American to serve on its board as the 2011 player representative, has said she planned to go to college following her stellar amateur career.

Talented youth. Win for win, it’s difficult to distinguish between Thompson and Stackhouse, who was the sole amateur (and favorite of @TheChristinaKim) in the LPGA’s inaugural Mojo 6 event earlier this year, and sits 19th in the Polo Golf Rankings.

In 2007, at the age of 12, Thompson was the youngest golfer to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open. That year, she also won the Aldila Junior Classic and was the youngest player to win the Junior PGA Championship.

Though she missed the cut at the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open (as she did the year before), Thompson earned the U.S. Girls Junior Amateur title. The following year, she was South Atlantic Ladies Amateur champ and low amateur at the LPGA’s Kraft Nabisco Championship and made the cut at the Women’s Open.

Thompson turned pro immediately after posting a 4-0-1 record in the 2010 U.S. Curtis Cup and leading her team to victory. She notched three top-20 finishes this year, including a T2 at the Evian Masters.

Stackhouse stacks up. How does Stackhouse stack up (c’mon; you knew that was coming)? At 13, she was the youngest player to win the Georgia State Women’s Match Play title in 2007 and successfully defended her title the next season. She earned the Women’s State Amateur championship in 2009 and ’09. Stackhouse’s record and honors could fill a book, but you may check them out on her website.

Thompson, by the way, had three top-20 finishes this year, including a T2 at the Evian Masters.

-- Emily Kay