October 10 marks the second chapter of the LPGA Tour’s Asian Swing. The four weeks of no-cut limited field events have drawn a handful of LPGA’s bigwigs. Rose Zhang, Danielle Kang, Alison Lee, Minjee Lee, Ruoning Yin, and others will tee off at the Qizhong Garden Golf Club. However, Lexi Thompson is among a bunch of stars who will give it a miss.
The field doesn’t include Thompson, Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, and even Lydia Ko. As for Thompson, the one-time major winner has never teed off in the Shanghai event. But since this is likely her first full season in the top-tier of women’s professional golf, many were eager to see if her schedule goes through an overhaul.
However, after the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, the 11-time LPGA Tour winner announced that she would take a break from golf. Thompson has been playing every week since the Solheim Cup. After three back-to-back weeks of traveling from Seattle to Mainville to Arizona, Thompson’s wrist flared up.
Lexi Thompson, meanwhile, is managing her other commitments. The 29-year-old has teed up at Blind Brook Club, as seen on her Instagram story. From the LPGA schedule, it’s evident that the Solheim Cup champion only has two tournaments left this year.
When will Lexi Thompson play next?
LPGA Tour’s Asian Swing will go on for a month with four stops crisscrossing across Asia. The ANNIKA Driver by Gainbridge on November 14, where Caitlin Clark is slated to tee off in the pro-am, marks the return of the LPGA Tour to the States. Last year, Lexi Thompson netted a T7 at the Pelican Golf Club.
However, unlike last year, Thompson looks primed to tee off at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. Only top-60 and ties in the Race to CME Globe are eligible in the final tournament of the LPGA calendar year.
Last year, Thompson finished at 79th. She made only 6 cuts from 14 tournaments. However, this year, the Florida resident is tied at 33 and unlikely to fall behind beyond 60 even if she doesn’t tee off in the Asian Swing events. Thompson has booked a weekend spot in 11 of the 16 tournaments. Her last MC was at the US Women’s Open back in May.
The 29-year-old wrote on her Instagram post, “Being my third week in a row, it’s been a bit rough on my hand again, so I’m happy to have these next 4-5 weeks off to get some rest, make sure I’m 100% to finish the year, and put in the work as usual.”