Deep Blue: Thompson was in imperious form on Thursday.
Teenage phenom Lexi Thompson is two ahead of the chasing pack at the halfway mark of the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters after carding a flawless 66 in Thursday’s second round.
The 16-year-old, whose youth and power (driving average: 275 yards) have made her an immediate hit with spectators this week, is bidding to become the second-youngest winner in Ladies’ European Tour history (after Amy Yang, who was also 16 when she claimed the 2006 ANZ Ladies Masters).
Thompson’s nearest challengers, all-round class act Sophie Gustafson– who’s over twice the leader’s age!– and Italy’s Margherita Rigon, both lie on six-under-par, a shot shot ahead of Becky Morgan and Julieta Grenada.
Michelle Wie, who is among a group of players tied on four-under-par, recovered impressively from a poor opening round (73) to shoot 67 and remain on the periphery of contention.
Conor Nagle
December 15th, 2011 on 2:32 pm
Lexi should be a force in 2012. Very nice kid. Nice parents also. It actually took her a bit longer to win than I thought it would. It’s very true what you said about Sophie. She has a lot of class and grace- not to mention the courage she showed at the Solheim this year.
December 15th, 2011 on 9:51 pm
“It actually took her a bit longer to win than I thought it would.”??? That seems like an unfair expectation. As a professional, playing on sponsor exemptions, she was only able to play 6 LPGA tournaments in 2010 and won in her 8th tournament of 2011. Stacy Lewis had about 50 professional tournaments before her first win; the talented Brittany Lang still hasn’t won.
To win an LPGA tournament, you usually have to take down some combination of Yani Tseng, Na Yeon Choi, Suzanne Pettersen, Cristie Kerr, and 100 other pros. With apologies to Nancy Lopez (9 wins her rookie season when she was 21), what Lexi is doing is unprecedented. Golf is global now, the talent pool is much deeper, and at 16, she already shows the heart and killer instinct of a champion.