A Champion's Dedication

Since coming on the golf scene, 14-year-old Alexis Thompson has proven that she can win and that the sky’s the limit

By David Shefter, USGA

Coral Springs, Fla. – The sun has yet to rise above the horizon on the southeastern coast of Florida and already there is a bustle of activity inside the home of Scott and Judy Thompson.

And it’s not just the three omnipresent cats prowling the premises.

The family matriarch, who awakes at 4:30 a.m., has long since departed for her dental office job.

By 6:30 a.m., Alexis Thompson already is doing her schoolwork online. (John Mummert/USGA)

Meanwhile, the youngest of the couple’s three golf-crazy children is about to be jolted by a 6 a.m. wake-up call. Bleary-eyed and still exhausted from the previous day’s vigorous regimen of golf, school and physical training, Alexis Thompson would love to pound the snooze button for a few extra minutes of sleep. The temptation is palpable.

But the reigning U.S. Girls’ Junior champion understands the value of time management. Every wasted minute translates to a precious loss of practice time. And when you are a 14-year-old eighth-grade phenom driven to become the game’s next great player, sleep deprivation is easily trumped by prioritization.

For the precocious Thompson and her 16-year-old brother Curtis – a solid junior golfer who will graduate in 2011 – that means a quick shower and a two-hour date with the family computer, where both take their classes online as part of being home-schooled. Alexis’ spring semester courses included algebra, U.S. history, science, language arts and life skills management, a class that teaches such necessities as how to properly balance a checkbook. She tackled one subject each day for approximately 120 to 150 minutes. That included any reading materials or required state-mandated exams. Online instructors are always available via e-mail correspondence.

These days, home-schooling has become a popular educational alternative, especially for aspiring golfers and tennis players who travel and compete year-round. “It’s much easier [for my golf],” said Alexis, who maintains an ‘A’ average. “I’d much rather do [it] this [way]. It’s better than being in school for like seven hours.”

By 8:30 a.m. – or the hour most “regular” students are heading for first-period classes – Alexis has completed her school work, eaten breakfast and headed to the practice range at the TPC Eagle Trace. The travel time is short. Living on the golf course makes practicing and playing quite convenient. Mornings are reserved for the range and putting green. After a quick lunch and lifting a few weights at home, Alexis heads back to the course to play 18 holes.

	Winning the U.S. Girls' Junior last year vaulted Alexis Thompson into new heights. (John Mummert/USGA)

Most might tire of this mundane process. Not Thompson. In a spirit that would make Ben Hogan blush, Alexis loves spending hour upon hour practicing. It’s no wonder she has hastily risen to become one of the country’s elite amateurs.

“The main thing was she had a determination that you could see in a few minutes, even when she was young,” said noted golf instructor Jim McLean, who has worked with Alexis for the past two years. “You could always see she was a very special talent all the way from the beginning.”

McLean is no stranger for spotting young talent. Among his stable of past and current students are 2007 U.S. Women’s Open champion Cristie Kerr, former USA Curtis Cup team member Liz Janangelo and past USA Walker Cup participants Erik Compton and Webb Simpson.

Could Thompson be that next big star?

Her ever-growing résumé is beginning to scream major success.

At 12 years, 4 months, Thompson became the youngest to ever qualify for a U.S. Women’s Open, surpassing the mark of 12 years, 11 months established in 2002 by fellow south Floridian Morgan Pressel, who later claimed the 2005 U.S. Women’s Amateur and won the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship at 18 years and 313 days to become the youngest women’s major champion. That same summer, Thompson proved qualifying for the Women’s Open wasn’t a fluke by reaching the second round of the U.S. Girls’ junior and becoming the youngest quarterfinalist in the illustrious history of the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

A year later, Thompson, having added 5 inches to her 5-foot-10 frame and at least 25 yards of distance, again qualified for the Women’s Open, then answered any critics’ doubts by becoming the second-youngest winner – Aree Song Wongluekiet was 13 years, 2 months in 1999 – of the U.S. Girls’ Junior, posting a 5-and-4 triumph over fellow 13-year-old Karen Chung at Hartford Golf Club. Now her name is permanently inscribed on a trophy with the likes of LPGA Hall of Famers JoAnne Gunderson Carner, Nancy Lopez, Amy Alcott and Mickey Wright.

Never one to rest on her laurels, Thompson began 2009 by claiming two amateur titles in Florida: an impressive 13-stroke romp at the South Atlantic Ladies Amateur (SALLY), where she was the lone player under par (5-under 283), and the Ione D. Jones/Doherty Championship, a match-play competition at Coral Ridge C.C. in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Thompson crushed Scotland’s Kelsey MacDonald in the final, 5 and 4.

A couple of weeks later in Hilton Head Island, S.C., she posted a three-hole playoff victory at the Verizon Junior on the same day Curtis also went three extra holes to win the boys’ title, making the Thompsons the first brother-sister tandem to win the tournament in the same year. On April 12, they repeated that feat at the 54-hole Laredo (Texas) Junior at Traditions, with Curtis earning a four-shot win and Alexis triumphing over 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur semifinalist Erynne Lee by seven strokes. Alexis carded a course-record 66 in the final round.

“I think she’s the real deal,” said seven-time USGA champion Carol Semple Thompson, who was paired with Alexis for the first three rounds at the SALLY. “I thought her whole game was pretty sound. She hits the ball a long way for her age.”

Just prior to winning the Verizon, Alexis received an e-mail from the Kraft Nabisco Championship that she was one of five amateurs selected to participate in the LPGA Tour’s first major of the season, where she earned co-low-amateur honors with reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links champion Tiffany Joh. Thompson carded a final-round 69 on the Mission Hills Country Club’s challenging Dinah Shore Course. In early June, Thompson beat past Curtis Cup member Virginia Derby Grimes, 4 and 3, to claim the Southern Amateur in Albany, Ga. Then, on June 15, she qualified for her third consecutive U.S. Women’s Open, earning medalist honors at Plantation Bay Club with a 4-under 140 total.

At Saucon Valley, she was in the top 10 heading into the weekend, but shot rounds of 78-73 for an 11-over 295 total and a share of 34th.

Needless to say, 2009 has been a whirlwind.

A kid at heart, 14-year-old Alexis Thompson loves to cuddle with the family's trio of cats. (John Mummert/USGA)

But Thompson is also still a kid at heart. There’s her passion for stuffed-animal ladybugs. She can still cuddle up with the family’s three cats. At night, she’s comfortable baking brownies or cooking chicken and rice before settling in for an episode of American Idol. And she enjoys creating blankets for friends and decorating her plethora of visors with sparkles – she calls them ‘bling-bling.’

“I just try to girly them up,” she said with a smile, exposing her braces.

She went on to add: “I’m obsessed with ladybugs.  They’re lucky. I have a ladybug anklet on my golf bag.”

On the course, however, she’s more lion than ladybug. Similar to Tiger Woods, a competitive fire churns inside.

That characteristic can also be found with her 26-year-old brother and role model, Nicholas, who is in his third full season on the PGA Tour. According to Scott Thompson, both are “grinders.” Nicholas earned his place with plain-old hard work over natural talent. Long-hitting Curtis is slowly getting there as well.

With two older brothers, Alexis has a built-in support system to push her to greater heights. Both can out-drive her, but she can overcome the physical deficiencies with a deft short game.

“That gives her a real competitive edge,” said Semple Thompson of having talented older siblings. “That makes a big difference.”

Especially when she goes up against veteran players like the one-day, 36-hole qualifier against 69 fellow amateurs and pros in Orlando for the now-cancelled LPGA Tour Ginn Open at Reunion. Alexis shot 146 in uncharacteristically chilly weather and 40-mph winds. And in a mid-March tune up for the Kraft, she finished second to LPGA Tour player Kris Tamulis at the Florida Women’s Open.

“Just in the year that I’ve watched and played against her, she’s gotten longer and straighter,” said Meghan Stasi (formerly Bolger), a two-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion and 2008 USA Curtis Cupper who beat Alexis in the quarterfinals of the ’08 Doherty and coached for six years at the University of Mississippi. “She knows her game. You see the pure love and pure competitiveness. You can’t teach that. When somebody naturally has that, it’s a beautiful thing.”

Raising A Prodigy

There is no die-cast blueprint for raising a young golf prodigy. Nobody hits Google and expects to see the right answer pop up. The formulas that worked for Earl Woods or B.J. Wie might not for Scott Thompson.

Scott admitted he’s never read anything about how Earl Woods developed his only son into one of the best golfers in history, even though there are published books on the subject. But he’s certainly seen enough good players rise and fall in Florida. Morgan Pressel, Brittany Lincicome and Kerr are three positive examples. He’s also witnessed the struggles of former junior prodigies Beth Bauer and Ty Tryon.

Then again, Scott never envisioned golf would be his children’s sport of choice. He was a baseball player and his two sons each spent a lot of their early childhood on the diamond.

But when Scott saw how mean-spirited some Little League parents could be, the fun and joy of youth baseball ended. Nicholas turned to golf and Curtis, 10 years his junior, followed suit. A move in 1996 to Eagle Trace, where the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic was played from 1984-1991 (and once more in 1995), altered the course of history for all three Thompson kids. The community’s golf course became their playground.

	To take her mind off golf, Alexis will often bake with her mom, Judy. (John Mummert/USGA)

“It was a blessing for me,” says Scott of the move to Eagle Trace and the switch from baseball to golf.

Nicholas qualified for the 1999 U.S. Amateur at 16 and enjoyed a successful college career at Georgia Tech, where he helped the Yellow Jackets to a runner-up finish in the NCAA Division I Championship in 2002 as a freshman and was selected to the 10-man USA Walker Cup team following his senior season in 2005. He earned his PGA Tour card in his first attempt, successfully navigating all three stages of Q-School.

Curtis, meanwhile, is just starting to receive interest from colleges. He recently tied for fourth at the Azalea Amateur and has qualified for two U.S. Junior Amateurs (missed match-play cut).

But it’s young Alexis who is garnering the most headlines.

Fortunately for Scott Thompson, he learned the nurturing process from his days with Nicholas, who is 12 years older than his baby sister. Initially drawn to soccer, Alexis quickly gravitated to golf because of her brothers. At first, her game was awful and Scott wondered subconsciously if she would ever amount to anything. Her game slowly evolved and by the age of 9, she was showing enough aptitude to compete against and beat players older than her.

Then in 2005, Scott did what was thought to be unthinkable – he entered Alexis into U.S. Women’s Open qualifying at 10, making her the youngest to file an entry. Some questioned his motives. Even Alexis wondered if she was ready.

One of her fellow competitors during the local qualifier in Florida, Fort Meyers, Fla., pro Dede Cusimano, went as far as to publicly comment on how it was inappropriate for a 10-year-old to be in the field. This despite the fact Thompson carded a respectable 78 and missed advancing to sectional qualifying by a couple of shots.

“She’s cute, and she’s definitely going to be a good little player,” Cusimano told reporters afterward, “but I think players need to be a little older to try this because of the level of maturity. The first six holes, she was crying and stomping off greens and that’s a distraction.”

The comments stung Scott Thompson, who caddied for Alexis. “That’s too bad,” he said at the time. “I was worried on the front nine because Lexi did get upset. She has to grow up a little bit. We’re working on that.”

His foresight proved to be 20/20. Scott Thompson felt this was the best way for Alexis to get battle-tested. But he has never rushed Alexis into LPGA Tour qualifiers or boasted about her playing against boys, unless it was friendly matches at home with her two brothers. Scott had a game plan and he was sticking to it.

“As far as pushing, you try not to do that,” said Scott. “We strongly encourage her in different ways, especially practice. There is a strategy to it.”

By 2007, Alexis got her breakthrough when she surpassed Pressel as the youngest Women’s Open qualifier. But in all the euphoria, an entirely new set of issues arose. Now the media wanted a piece of Alexis and Scott quickly went into a prevent defense.

Even though his cell never stopped ringing on the return drive from the sectional qualifier, Scott chose to ignore the inquiries. The press vilified Scott for his truculent stance.

The coups de grace came at the prestigious American Junior Golf Association Tournament of Champions near Denver. From the moment she stepped onto the premises, officials requested her in the media center. Never mind that she had yet to play a practice round. Scott did not acquiesce and drew further criticism, including a scathing column in one of the major golf publications.

Alexis Thompson might only be 14, but she has racked up her share of golf titles, including the 2008 U.S. Girls' Junior. (John Mummert/USGA)

“They tore me apart,” said Scott.

Scott Thompson was being portrayed as the evil golf dad, which he was not. The tension between Scott and the media only grew as the Women’s Open approached. USGA officials worked with Scott to assure him that a press conference would ease matters and keep eager reporters from chasing her around Pine Needles.

Scott was understandably worried how Alexis would handle the added scrutiny. He in no way wanted this to become a distraction. To his surprise, Alexis relished the extra attention. Nicholas helped with some media training, but Alexis came off as a fun-loving pre-teen who wanted to enjoy every moment of the experience. She willingly signed autographs for adoring fans and answered questions with aplomb.  While there, Alexis briefly chatted with Pressel and got to say hi to Annika Sorenstam as the two were heading opposite directions from the media center. Although she missed the cut by 10 strokes (76-82), Alexis never wanted to leave Pine Needles.

But more than anything, she discovered that her game stacked up quite favorably. She wasn’t in awe of the world’s best, even though her nerves and lack of championship experience ultimately led to missing the cut.

“In my mind, I thought I could compete,” said Alexis. “It just didn’t work out. That’s golf.”

Later that summer, Thompson qualified for match play at the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur, where she made a surprising run to the quarterfinals. At that point, her confidence was in the stratosphere. And the changes that McLean was making with her grip were starting to take shape. Thompson had a strong grip that led to a sweeping hook. Despite some reluctance, Thompson agreed to weaken her grip, which has eventually led to more consistency and straighter shots.

“She kind of has the whole package,” said McLean. “Right now we’re trying to work on her short game. That’s going to be the final piece of the whole puzzle; to be a world-class putter and chipper. When you hit the ball as good as she does, you have so many opportunities [for birdie] and you start thinking that you are not that good of a putter. You just have to put things in the right perspective. Nobody makes every putt.”

In a way, Thompson, who also qualified for last year’s Women’s Open in Minnesota and missed the cut by two strokes, could be following the same path as McLean’s other female prodigy: Kerr. Prior to making the 1996 USA Curtis Cup team, Kerr won 22 of 25 tournaments and was considered the top junior in the country. She eschewed college scholarships to turn pro and it took several years before Kerr became one of the LPGA Tour’s premier players, which has included the 2007 Women’s Open title.

When Alexis won the Girls’ Junior at 13 last July, her progress became accelerated. It also placed her into an entirely different role, which she discovered in a first-round loss to unheralded Jennifer Hirano at the Women’s Amateur at Eugene (Ore.) C.C. Thompson didn’t give any excuses, but she was mentally fatigued after competing for five consecutive weeks.

This year, Scott has carefully arranged Alexis’ summer schedule to avoid any burnout. He’s also replacing a few junior events for amateur events with a keen eye toward the 2010 Curtis Cup Match, which is scheduled for next June at Essex County Club in Manchester, Mass.

“Based on how well she’s played for the last year, I would certainly think [the USGA Women’s Committee] would be looking closely at her,” said Semple Thompson, who captained the past two Curtis Cup squads and played on a record 12.

	Alexis and her 16-year-old brother, Curtis (right), both will be at Trump National G.C. to compete in the U.S. Girls' Junior and U.S. Junior Amateur, respectively. (John Mummert/USGA)

Should Alexis be chosen, she and Nicholas would join Trip and Kelli Kuehne and Brock and Paige Mackenzie as the only brother-sister tandems to participate in a Walker and Curtis Cup.

Juggling schedules is arguably Scott’s toughest task. He sold an electronics business five years ago to spend more time with the kids, but that hasn’t made his job as a parent any easier. He must be sensitive to Curtis, who is entering a critical year in terms of college recruiting, while also making sure somebody can travel with Alexis. Scott and Judy also want to squeeze in time to watch Nicholas compete on the PGA Tour, which they did during the Florida swing in March.

Logistics shouldn’t be a problem with the 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior since the championships are at the same venue: Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., from July 20-25.

Alexis is exempt and Curtis recently qualified for his third consecutive Junior Amateur.

Alexis’ summer push began with the Kraft Nabisco Championship in April, followed by the  AJGA’s Thunderbird Invitational in May. She was medalist at her  U.S. Women’s Open qualifier on June 15 and will also cmpete in the Girls’ Junior and the Women’s Amateur in St. Louis (Old Warson C.C.). To be better rested for the Girls' Junior, Thompson withdrew from next week's North and South Women’s Amateur in Pinehurst. She still plans to play the PGA Junior, where a win would guarantee her a spot on the 2010 Junior Ryder Cup team. She played in the 2008 version in Kentucky prior to the Ryder Cup at Valhalla.

Her summer campaign ideally would conclude by making the Junior Solheim Cup team, where 12 girls from the U.S. compete against European counterparts in a two-day event in Chicago prior to the real Solheim Cup competition.

Other than the Kraft and Women’s Open, Scott doesn’t envision Alexis playing in any other professional events. At the moment, he doesn’t feel it’s appropriate for Alexis to be chasing sponsor’s exemptions into LPGA Tour events, despite potential fan appeal. Perhaps in a few years he’ll change his tune. Right now he’s content with his current strategy.

“They’re a very grounded family,” said McLean, who sees Alexis about two times a month. “The thing is she’s been winning and hoisting a lot of trophies. She wins a lot and I think that’s really important.”

Plenty Of Competition

Any visitor to the Thompson’s home can quickly see it’s morphed into a mausoleum of trophies, plaques and treasured pictures of the three children’s exploits. Front and center are the recent accomplishments of Alexis. Judy Thompson said there is no longer room to display all but the important trophies. Many sit in boxes collecting dust.

That doesn’t mean Alexis doesn’t thirst for more hardware. But she also knows the competition is stiffening.

A glance at the landscape of girls’ golf illustrates an explosion of talent over the past decade. Not only has the game seen the likes of Michelle Wie, Morgan Pressel and Paula Creamer, but the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open featured 13 contestants under the age of 18. That list included the last three Girls’ Junior champions: Thompson (won in 2008 after the Open), Kristen Park (2007) and Jenny Shin (2006), all of whom are eligible for the 2009 Girls’ Junior. It also included 15-year-old Floridian Jessica Korda, whose final-round-low 69 on Sunday earned her a tie for 19th and a spot in this year's Women's Open field.

Erynne Lee, a 15-year-old from Washington, who advanced to the semifinals of the Women’s Amateur in August, also qualified.  And 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links semifinalist Tiffany Lua, 17, of Rowland Heights, Calif., made the cut.

“That’s amazing,” said Semple Thompson when hearing the astounding number of young players who qualified for the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open. “I think it takes maturity to play so well. They’ve got the psychology going for them and they’ve got the physical ability and they are working hard.”

Certainly nobody can predict the future, but recent developments suggest there are more prodigies on the way from all corners of the world, especially Asia, South America and Europe. Yuerr Cindy Feng, a 13-year-old from the People's Republic of China, qualified for the 2009 U.S. Women's Open.

That’s why Scott Thompson can’t reasonably answer if Alexis will someday enter college or simply follow Kerr, Pressel, Wie, Creamer and Vicky Hurst and turn pro out of high school.

Many believed 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Kimberly Kim, who won that event at 14, would turn pro after high school. After a tough 2008 campaign, where she missed the cut at the Women’s Open and missed the match-play cut at the Women’s Amateur, Kim decided attending college was the appropriate next step. She recently committed to attend the University of Denver this fall and was the runner-up at last month's WAPL after winning the Rolex Girls Championship in California.

“Do you have a crystal ball?” Scott Thompson asked. “If you do, I might change a few things. She could hit a little speed bump. You never know. Everybody doesn’t think she will [go to college]. If she keeps progressing the way she is, there’s no chance. But if she hits a little speed bump, you never know. There’s a lot of time. A long time.”

That’s why Alexis continues her vigorous daily routine. School, practice, weight training, lunch, more golf and then bed with a few non-golf activities sprinkled in to maintain balance. Her close friends are golfers. Her summer vacations revolve around golf tournaments.

To be a champion, one must train like one.

Even if it means a 6 a.m. wake-up call.

David Shefter is a USGA Digital Media staff writer. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.