LPGA superstar Lexi Thompson is one of the most prominent golfers currently on the Tour. But in a shocking turn of events, she announced on Tuesday that this will be her final season of professional golf.
On Tuesday, 15-time winner Lexi Thompson revealed that she is stepping away from professional golf at the end of the year, citing mental health as one of the reasons she is walking way from the game.
“I think we all have our struggles, especially out here,” Thomspon said Tuesday at the Women’s U.S. Open according to Fox News. “Unfortunately, in golf you lose more than you win, so it’s an ongoing battle to continue to put yourself out there in front of the cameras and continuing to work hard and maybe not seeing the results you want and getting criticized for it. So, it’s hard.
“I’ve struggled with it. I don’t think there’s somebody out here that hasn’t. It’s just a matter of how well you hide it, which is very sad.”
Thompson went on to explain just how much of an emotional and mental toll being a professional athlete puts on a person.
“It can get lonely,” Thompson added, fighting back tears. “I just think, especially with what’s happened in golf, a lot of people don’t realize … what we go through as a professional athlete. I’ll be the last one to say ‘throw me a pity party.’ That’s the last thing I want. But we’re doing what we love. We’re trying the best every single day, and we’re not perfect. We’re human, words hurt and it’s hard to overcome sometimes …
“I think it’s a lot for everybody out here or for (people) in any professional sport. A lot of people don’t know what we go through, the amount of training and hard work that we put ourselves through. It’s a lot, and I think we deserve a lot more credit than we get.”
Thompson is one of the most accomplished active women’s golfers on the planet.
[Fox News]
