Thursday, June 14, 2007

Alexis Thompson-The next big thing in Women's golf?

While most 12 years old try and find a way to grapple with their new found adolescent status(and that also includes their travails with Algebra) not many would expect them to be on the golf course mastering their swing. So if last week someone asked Alexis Thompson what were her plans for the week, not many would have taken her seriously when she would have told them "I intend to qualify for the U.S. Women's open". She may be a good golfer but to qualify for a major on the LPGA tour surely is no child's play. Think again. Alexis Thompson, a 12 year old qualified for the U.S. Women's Open, one of the four majors on the women's tour in a sectional qualifier in Florida.


At the age of 12 years, 4 months and a day she achieved the distinction of the youngest qualifier by pipping the previous record holder Morgan Pressel by nearly 8 months. Is this possibly an indication of the lack of depth in women's golf or is this girl a special talent? While the jury is still out on that one, she may well be a special talent looking at the achievements of the previous record holder Morgan Pressel. Before Alexis Thompson, Morgan Pressel had become the youngest qualifier when she qualified for the U.S. Women's Open in 2001. This year, in the first major on the LPGA Tour, the Kraft Nabisco championship, Morgan created a sensation by becoming the youngest player to win an LPGA major and a cool cheque of 300,000 dollars to boot! It could have been even earlier when she came close to winning the U.S. Women's open in 2005 but had to settle for a tied second place finish.


Now all eyes will be on Alexis Thompson when she tees off at the U.S. Women's Open. There will definitely be great expectations from her in the future and it is left to be seen how she deals with the pressure. This young girl who lists dancing as one of her hobbies can do just that for the time being. Sterner tests lie ahead.

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