Lexi Thompson accepted as a full time LPGA member

[glock35ipsc]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/othersports/golf/16-year-old-lexi-thompson-to-become-full-time-member-of-lpga-tour-next-year/2011/09/30/gIQAldkKAL_story.html

Makes me wonder.... if they are going to waive the age rule for her, should they lower it to 16, keep it as-is, or do away with the age rule all together?

[indybuckeyefan]

if you can win by 6 strokes on tour

you can get a card

thats my approach

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by indybuckeyefan

if you can win by 6 strokes on tour

you can get a card

thats my approach

Then I hope you don't have a daughter under 16 who is good at golf.

[indybuckeyefan]

how many girls have the mental and physical capabilities under 16 to

win by 6 strokes?

i would imagine if they can do this over a 4 day tournament they would have

the fortitude to handle it.

she qualified for the womens us open at 12,13,and finished around 30th at 14.

if my daughter could accomplish what she has,i would allow her to be rewarded for

her hard efforts.

[newtogolf]

Why?

Originally Posted by Shorty

Then I hope you don't have a daughter under 16 who is good at golf.

[x129]

Winning on the golf course is easy. Handling the rest of it is much harder. See pro tennis for the list of teenagers who could handle the court but not the rest of life. But a lot can be said for striking when the iron is hot. Would Wie have gotten as much cash going pro at 20 as she did at 16?

Originally Posted by indybuckeyefan

how many girls have the mental and physical capabilities under 16 to

win by 6 strokes?

i would imagine if they can do this over a 4 day tournament they would have

the fortitude to handle it.

she qualified for the womens us open at 12,13,and finished around 30th at 14.

if my daughter could accomplish what she has,i would allow her to be rewarded for

her hard efforts.

[indybuckeyefan]

to me tennis is not the same mentally.

in tennis you only play who you are paired against.

in golf you are competing with many things simultaneously.

she handled it and i think she will be fine.

she seems to have a good support system around her.

i do see the concerns though,just think she can handle it.

[indybuckeyefan]

btw

winning certainly isnt easy

[iacas]

Originally Posted by glock35ipsc

Makes me wonder.... if they are going to waive the age rule for her, should they lower it to 16, keep it as-is, or do away with the age rule all together?

Why should they?

They've made an exception for an exceptional golfer.

Right move by the LPGA.

[Sing Golfer]

I suspect they'll continue to do it on a case by case basis if someone asks for an exemption.  There is no upside to lowering it. You could wind up getting the female version of Sean O'Hair with a knucklehead Father grinding them into the ground.

I also suspect that there won't be too many exemptions granted. Michelle Wie's record pre 18 wouldn't have been good enough to get an exemption so I can't imagine anyone else getting one for quite some time.

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

Why?

Because you can have a  situation where someone burns out and can have no golf career and no education.

Lexi Thompson is an exceptional player and I support the move, but imagine if there were suddenly a dozen 13 year old Koreans (or whatever) on tour because they are good enough. They don't all make it, then what?

[xxsoultonesxx]

Good for her and good for the lpga. Don't forget hetrb rother is a nationwide tour player and this is their families way of life.

[goob3r]

I'm happy for her. She earned her way in, in my opinion.

[ghalfaire]

As  IACAS said, good move for the LPGA.  Time will tell if it was a good move for Lexi @16.  She is an exceptional golfer but if you've ever had a 16 year old daughter you have to worry that she is not mature enough for this yet.   Look at what happened to Jennifer Capriati on the Women's Tennis Tour.  Capriati was clearly was not mature enough to handle the success and it ruined her life for years. Being able to play golf and being able to deal with life at 16 do not require the same level of maturity and if she were my daughter she would have had to wait for LPGA membership.

[dhanson]

Originally Posted by Shorty

Because you can have a  situation where someone burns out and can have no golf career and no education.

Lexi Thompson is an exceptional player and I support the move, but imagine if there were suddenly a dozen 13 year old Koreans (or whatever) on tour because they are good enough. They don't all make it, then what?

they use the hundreds of thousands (possibly millions) made in endorsements and tournament winnings to go to school. i don't know if young players are skipping HS or not, but i would assume that they're doing something.

[newtogolf]

I understand your point.  I hope her parents know her well enough to offer her guidance and discuss the options she had along with all of the pro's and con's.   Without some sort of guaranteed money that could potentially set her up for life or minimally be put aside for her education should she do poorly or get burned out I'd probably encourage her to enjoy her youth as an amateur athlete.

Originally Posted by Shorty

Because you can have a  situation where someone burns out and can have no golf career and no education.

Lexi Thompson is an exceptional player and I support the move, but imagine if there were suddenly a dozen 13 year old Koreans (or whatever) on tour because they are good enough. They don't all make it, then what?

[GaijinGolfer]

Just goes to show you how desperate the LPGA is.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I understand your point.  I hope her parents know her well enough to offer her guidance and discuss the options she had along with all of the pro's and con's.   Without some sort of guaranteed money that could potentially set her up for life or minimally be put aside for her education should she do poorly or get burned out I'd probably encourage her to enjoy her youth as an amateur athlete.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shorty

Because you can have a  situation where someone burns out and can have no golf career and no education.

Lexi Thompson is an exceptional player and I support the move, but imagine if there were suddenly a dozen 13 year old Koreans (or whatever) on tour because they are good enough. They don't all make it, then what?

There are many cases of athletes peaking at an early age. It's commonplace in tennis and gymnastics and maybe, just maybe, it's happening with Ms. Thompson. Why not allow her to make hay while the sun shines. She's already home schooled, so her teenage experience is a little bit different from the mean already, and based on how she looks physically, it looks like she's aged 10 years since last summer. Maybe 10 years from now she'll be done with golf and enjoying her gazillion dollars on a beach somewhere.