Blame Thyself, Lexi: No Excuses for Closed Door to the Open
by Ryan Ballengee on Jul 27, 2010 12:50 PM EDT
in Pro Golf
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PrintLife is full of choices. Later today, I'm going to make a choice between peanut butter & jelly or a salad. A few weeks ago, Lexi Thompson made the choice to turn pro at age 15. Without much challenge left in the amateur ranks, Lexi wanted to chase pro golf in the footsteps of Michelle Wie.
By deciding to turn pro - without LPGA membership and too young to earn it outright - Thompson gave up some things. Primarily, she ceded any rights and exemptions that she had as a result of being on the 2010 Curtis Cup team. The spoils of participating were a pass to the finals of qualifying for the Women's British Open this week at Royal Birkdale.
Like others before her in the male and female game, she turned in significant exemptions into major championships in order to start making paychecks. She has done just that. An impressive Sunday comeback at Evian catapulted her to a runner-up finish. Thompson was in contention to win the US Women's Open before finishing T10.
If she were a member of the LPGA Tour, her $314,842 would be 18th on the money list. Curiously, that would place her just ahead of Stacy Lewis - another amateur whose timing of her pro turn could not have been worse.
By turning pro the week before the US Women's Open at Interlachen and finishing third, she made $84,977. Unfortunately, prize money from that championship bizarrely does not count toward non-member qualification for the LPGA Tour. Lexi's $72,131 for her T10 at the USWO doesn't count either.
Again, this is just another of the caveats and conundrums created by turning pro in the middle of a season. Exemptions are lost, money doesn't count. They're known risks for a player who makes this heavy decision.
Thompson could have waited until after the Women's British Open to turn pro. Sure, she wouldn't have made $300K+ in two tournaments (a third was a missed cut in Atlantic City), but she could've had a chance to play at Birkdale.
Instead, Lexi took the cash and knew that she would miss the pre-qualifying round the day after the US Women's Open at Oakmont. The Logistics majors at the Ladies Golf Union were absolutely stupid to schedule their pre-qualifying tournament that way (or mad geniuses intent on keeping middling LPGA Tour players out of the Open). Still, the schedule had been published. Thompson knew that when she made her call to forgo amateur status.
The British press and Thompson's people, though, have a convenient firecracker for their argument that Lexi should have still had her exemption. Of course, it's Michelle Wie. Wie got the same treatment in '05 before turning pro that October. She was a member of the '04 Curtis Cup team.
The Ladies Golf Union - again, real people of genius - gave Wie an even sweeter deal than what she had. They let her into the tournament outright. She finished third, conveniently at Birkdale. Shona Malcolm, the LGU’s CEO, compounded the controversial move from five years ago when basically stating that the uproar from that move was what prevented them from repeating it with Lexi Thompson.
Back in '05, the Ladies Golf Union made an error in judgment. They never should have given Wie the free pass into the final major. They were absolutely slammed for doing it.
The LGU made the same mistake that the LPGA Tour made that year when they pressured McDonald's into giving an invented-from-thin-air "sponsor exemption" into the LPGA Championship - an event only for professional members of the LPGA Tour.
Thompson didn't get into that in 2010. She shouldn't get any special treatment into the Women's British Open now.
Is it disappointing? Obviously it is for everyone involved. Thompson could have played well, who knows. The Women's British Open field would have been enhanced if she qualified. Fans would have won. Unfortunately, two parties made mistakes to prevent that from happening. Thompson turned pro, killing her exemption into the final stage of qualifying in lieu of making money. The Ladies Golf Union made two mistakes - setting a precedent then bemoaned, but not cited, and apparently scheduling qualifiers on the Mayan calendar.
In the end, though, both sides blame the Ladies Golf Union. The parties involved should both point the blaming finger at each other.
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Yikes...
..talk about an out of the blue post. I swear there must be something on that GWAA card that is affecting your logic cells. Is there something in the GWAA handbook that requires regular articles playing the blame game ?
RB, Lexi hasn’t said a word about not being in this year’s Women’s British. No complaints. No whining. No demands for special treatment. Especially no finger pointing. Nothing. Where did this article come from ?
She’s 15. She’s enjoying herself. She’s collected a couple of really nice checks. She knows that in a little over 2 years, she’ll have that LPGA card and will be ready to go full time…after high school.
Wie got her sweetheart invitation because she was the center of a lot of publicity…it may have been because she was famous for being famous – but she drew attention to the tournament. Thompson isn’t the media creation that Wie is, which has to play in her favor since she’ll be able to be a golfer first and let the media take care of itself. Wie didn’t have that chance.
The Thompsons have their collective head screwed on straight. They have set aside 6 weeks for the LPGA each year for the next few – no expectations outside of them. If she has to go through qualifying, she will do that without a complaint.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Actually, she has. Through her family and her management, she has said she is disappointed in the decision and wished she would have been given the pass through to final qualifying. There are several pieces quoting that info.
She missed qualifying, which was on Monday.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jul 27, 2010 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Re-read your article. You make it sound like she was making a federal case out of it. What you are pointing at is a single sentence that she didn’t say. (neither did her family, by the way) It came out of her manager and it was an innocent line not pointing fingers at anybody.
Even if she had said it, what’s wrong with being disappointed ? It happens all the time.
These finger pointing exercises are tedious at best. They are definitely cliche, and definitely not reality based. They have gotten into every area of the media, and almost never have any basis in reality.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
If anyone related to Lexi makes a statement, it’s on her behalf and expresses her opinion. Her family tried to skirt around the rules by getting the LGU to let Thompson get into the final round of qualifying after their daughter turned pro. She knew the consequences.
There is fault – as I said – on both parties: Thompson and her people, and the LGU.
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by Ryan Ballengee on Jul 27, 2010 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Asking for an exemption is “skirting the rules” ? Since when ? (or is it skorting ? we’ll have to ask Heather) :-)
If she had entered the field as an amateur, she couldn’t then turn pro and still play. She was out. She knows that. So does the family and so does Blue Giraffe. Just goes with the territory.
There is no fault – it is what it is. Nobody is blaming anybody…except you.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Just go to Google News, search Alexis Thompson. See how many articles have been written on this in the last 30 hours. And then see how many blame the LGU for not giving Thompson the Wie Treatment.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jul 27, 2010 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions
lol – the number of articles has nothing to do with what was said – and it doesn’t matter who or what a “journalist” blames. It’s not the place of a “journalist” to assign blame – but it happens all the time for the purpose of making a splash.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
You have an opinion, right? So why can’t someone who writes about the subject?
Speaking of opinion, check out this Sports Pickle piece on talk show hosts. HILARIOUS.
http://www.sportspickle.com/article:1105/the-10-commandments-of-sports-talk-radio-hosts
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jul 27, 2010 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions
one word – PROFESSIONAL. It’s not the job of a reporter to make value judgements. That is left to Op-Ed writers.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I know we’ll argue this point til kingdom come, but that line is disappearing quickly from most journalism and practically gone in golf.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jul 27, 2010 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions
We could – you’re right – but ask yourself this – should you do something wrong just because someone else comes along who refuses to do it right ?
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
but what makes it wrong?
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jul 27, 2010 6:26 PM EDT up reply actions
seriously ? a reporter’s job is to report. an op-ed writer’s job is to convey opinion. when you blur or even erase the line, you break down the difference between fact and fiction. if you can’t tell fact from opinion, then you get into an area where the news can (and will be) skewed.
check the journalism department at UM sometime. what you’ll find being taught is that professors (who generally have never held a real job) are teaching future journalists that it is their job to “change the world”. not the job of a reporter.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Someone still teaches journalism????......I thought
Journalists were extinct……go figure!
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
good job, CG
You have succinctly defined the Faux News business model. All you have to do is change your parenthetical to: (and has been) skewed.
"(I)f you think you've got an inside track to absolute truth, you become doctrinaire, humorless and intellectually constipated." Saul Alinsky
Sean Martin at Golfweek wrote in his column…
“Thompson’s camp asked the LGU for such an invitation, but was denied, even after Thompson’s impressive performance at Oakmont.”
To me that sounds like they were requesting a special consideration which is a different than merely being disappointed in a decision. While they may not be standing on the courthouse steps yelling “No justice, No peace.” there are others in the golfing media that are making the federal case in the court of public opinion.
Lady golfers played qualifiers for the U.S. Open the day after an LPGA event this year. It was inconvenient, but they played. Considering Lexie Thompson missed the cut in her last LPGA event before the U.S. Woman’s Open her parents might not have considered playing the qualifier to a qualifier worth the effort. After the results of the Open and Evian, her parents probably thought playing the Ladies British Open was suddenly a much better option, but by then it was too late.
There was a considerable commotion last year when Michelle Wie (and others) failed to qualify for the U.S. Woman’s Open. Many argued she should have received a special exemption after failing in the qualifying tournament. Michelle Wie had had much more sucess in majors at an even earlier age than Thompson but this time she did not receive a special exemption (from the USGA). This year she didn’t have to worry about qualifing because she got a spot based upon her tour win, place on the money list, and world ranking. When Thompson wins, earnings and world rankings increase, she won’t have to worry about qualifying tournaments.
How do you get from making a request to “different than merely being disappointed” ? Tournaments receive request for special exemptions every week.
Are you saying that you think the USGA should have given (professional golfer) Michelle Wie a special exemption into the US Open AFTER she failed to move on through qualification ? And what do Wie’s exploits as a 13 year old amateur have to do with the play of a 20 year old professional, or a 15 year old pro ?
The people running the Women’s British are saying that they couldn’t give Thompson a pass into the final stage of qualifying because of all the heat they took for giving Wie an exemption last year. Doesn’t make much sense, but that’s their reasoning. At least Thompson is playing well. I’m not sure I understand not giving Thompson a spot in qualifying – they didn’t ask for a direct entry into the tournament – they just asked for a chance to qualify.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I'm saying the Thompson camp asked for special consideration, the LGU said no, and the Thompson camp said they were disappointed.
I believe the LGU made a mistake in 2005, I believe the USGA was correct last year in not extending a special consideration to Michelle Wie. I also think the LGU acted correctly in not giving Lexie Thompson special consideration this year.
by sports medic on Jul 27, 2010 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions
wow – “disappointed” – golly gosh – how dare anybody not get everything they want. Don’t they know this is the era of Obama ? Or is it the Age of Aquarius ? Something like that. :-)
I agree with you on ‘05 and last year. And I could have gone either way on Thompson’s request. All they asked for was a spot in the qualifier – not the actual tournament. It’s just a qualifier, but it seems like they could’ve asked a few weeks ago when they got into the Evian. I’m sure she’s disappointed – but it’s not the end of the world.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
If they ask before the Evian, I don’t think her T10 performance in the U.S Women’s Open would have been enough to sway the committee. It was being tied for the lead on the 18th hole at Evian that elevated her stock. She made the most of her opportunity. It’s a bit of a slippery slope to give special consideration based on performance in an event she received special consideration to get in. While she is asking for a free pass into the final qualifier and not the actual event, I believe those that played through the prequalifier would not be too pleased. Don’t forget that Lexi Thompson also had the chance of qualifying by being in the top 5 of the non-qualifiers after 36 holes at the Jamie Farr. That was a qualifying opportunity available to her at an LPGA tour event offering a million dollar purse that she chose not to pursue. Ji Yai Shin, Paula Creamer and Na Yeon Choi all manage to play the Jamie Farr and do well in the U.S. Women’s Open the next week.
Because Lexi Thompson did not take full advantage of qualifying opportunities available she should not receive special consideration for the Ricoh Women’s British Open. I don’t think this will cause her many sleepless nights or cause irreversible damage.
Next we can have the debate over weather Lexi should be a captain’s selection for the Solheim Cup.
by sports medic on Jul 27, 2010 7:28 PM EDT up reply actions
While I really liked your article...
Your headline is over the top.
Hahahaha, I laughed hard at that.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jul 27, 2010 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Fair enough. So long as the substance is decent. I need a good headline writer :)
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jul 27, 2010 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Yes you do Mr. Ballengee...
A good headline would include both Alexis Thompson and Michelle Wie’s name, and include the words “catfight” and “naked ambition”. You’ll get more than twice as many hits.
You can also try "Lexi Thompson won $200,000 in a French golf tournament....
and needs your bank account number and routing number to bring it to the U.S. In exchange for your help, she will share half her winnings with you."
be sure to Include obvious spelling and punctuation errors.
by sports medic on Jul 27, 2010 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions
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