Lexi Thompson , America’s own teen phenom, is thoroughly enjoying the last event of the 2013 LPGA season. And why not? She’s had a terrific year on the Tour. In addition to 7 top-10 finishes, she’s capped off her year with late season wins at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia in October and the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in November. Rolex Ranked No. 10 Thompson has banked slightly more than a million dollars in 2013, and there’s still one event remaining.
Thursday’s first-round of the CME Group Titleholders looked as if it could have been a Thompson family reunion as Lexi Thompson’s family members filled the gallery to cheer on the two-time LPGA Tour winner.
“My mom, my dad, my dad’s parents, my mom’s mom, my mom’s brother, Nick’s actually coming in tomorrow,” said Thompson of her family members in attendance on Thursday, “and I have my agents here, and I have a few ‑‑ my godparents are coming in and a few members from my golf course are coming in.”
While the majority of Thompson’s family remained outside the ropes, she had a familiar face on the bag during the opening round. Thompson’s brother, Curtis, returned to the Sunshine State this week from Louisiana State University (LSU) to step-in as caddie during her 6-under 66 opening-round.
“We read a lot of good putts today,” said Thompson. “We were off on a few, but he is a great green reader. Giving me the confidence over the shots when I say I’m going to hit this shot, hit a little draw in, he was like yeah, that’s perfect. That’s really all you need out there is that little confidence boost going into a shot.”
The duo worked together to climb near the top of the leaderboard as Thompson focuses in on notching her third victory this season. The 18-year-old has had a memorable sophomore season and is beaming with confidence at this week’s $700,000 season-ending event.
“Yeah, I definitely have a good amount of confidence coming off of last week, but I knew my game was close coming into the final stretch going over to Asia, but I’m just continuing to work hard and I have to be patient with my game,” said Thompson. “I knew it was close.”
Thompson is paired today with Shanshan Feng and Sandra Changkija . They tee off at 10:50am under partly cloudy skies and light winds. With thunderstorms threatening in the late afternoon, they should be able to complete their round before the weather worsens.
Golf Channel will begin live coverage at 1:30pm ET, so if you’re following the Titleholders from the comfort of your living room you’ll be able to follow Thompson and her brother make their way around the Tiburón Golf Club today.
