Lexi Thompson accepted as a full time LPGA member

[deasy55]

Do any of the mens tours have a rule like this? Certainly haven't come across it myself if there is.

I'm glad she is allowed play the tour, just wouldn't have been right if it was refused.

[tristanhilton85]

Originally Posted by iacas

Why should they?

They've made an exception for an exceptional golfer.

Right move by the LPGA.

I had the same thought.... in general the rule is solid, but like most things there are exceptions... Lexi is one of them and the LPGA made the right move.

[x129]

Tennis is much harder mentally. In golf you compete against a course. In Tennis and other sports your opponent actively working against you. There are also a crap load more fans and TV cameras than on the LPGA. The tennis majors also are extended over a much longer period. But that is an opinion and it really doesn't matter.

The basic point was handling competition is the easy part. Handling life is harder.  Fame and fortune at an early age can be hard to deal with. Given her situation (family members on tour) I give her a better than average chance but it is still going to be hard. As far as golf developmental wise, I don't know enough about woman's junior golf. Would she have been pressed in us open amateurs like Tiger was or would they have been cake walks? There is something to be said to learning how to win when your the favorite but I tend to lean towards the camp that says play the best competition possible and when your good enough you will win.

Originally Posted by 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.

[Sing Golfer]

Originally Posted by x129

Tennis is much harder mentally. In golf you compete against a course. In Tennis and other sports your opponent actively working against you. There are also a crap load more fans and TV cameras than on the LPGA. The tennis majors also are extended over a much longer period. But that is an opinion and it really doesn't matter.

The basic point was handling competition is the easy part. Handling life is harder.  Fame and fortune at an early age can be hard to deal with. Given her situation (family members on tour) I give her a better than average chance but it is still going to be hard. As far as golf developmental wise, I don't know enough about woman's junior golf. Would she have been pressed in us open amateurs like Tiger was or would they have been cake walks? There is something to be said to learning how to win when your the favorite but I tend to lean towards the camp that says play the best competition possible and when your good enough you will win.

Tennis is much harder mentally?  You have to be kidding!

The key reason you can take a 13 year old tennis prodigy and predict they will be top 100 in the world - and usually be right is because there isn't the mental challenge to get in the way.  Simply look at the results of the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy Vs David Leadbetter (or any other academy).

For every tennis choke (Jana Novotna) there are a thousand golfing examples - the reason? - mentally significantly harder. It is just too easy to get in your own way with minutes between shots relative to tennis.

I know this is off topic...but please.

[x129]

Those minutes between shots also give you a ton of time to get your brain on track. In a sport likes tennis you have a 5 min mental lapse and you lost your set. In golf, you might not have hit your next shot yet.  Does golf require more strategic thinking than Tennis? Without a doubt. Is the mental pressure harder. Not on my experience. It is easier to just think about what you need to do and not also having to worry about what your opponent does. As I said before YMMV.

As far as junior success versus senior success, it is a huge leap to suggest the reason is mental. Often time the 13 year old prodigies are just that because of early maturity. When their classmates catch up things even out. Now with 13 year old woman prodigies, they are right at the edge of being 100 in the world (Wie made a LPGA cut, Lexi quailified for the US open at 12). I haven't looked it up but I am guessing if you look at the top 10 13 year olds in any sport, very few of them percentage wise end up top 100 in the world.  There is just too much stuff that happens

Quote:

Tennis is much harder mentally?  You have to be kidding!

The key reason you can take a 13 year old tennis prodigy and predict they will be top 100 in the world - and usually be right is because there isn't the mental challenge to get in the way.  Simply look at the results of the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy Vs David Leadbetter (or any other academy).

For every tennis choke (Jana Novotna) there are a thousand golfing examples - the reason? - mentally significantly harder. It is just too easy to get in your own way with minutes between shots relative to tennis.

I know this is off topic...but please.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Originally Posted by Shorty

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

This is why I think an additional requirement should be that the player have first earned an accredited high school diploma before being allowed to join the tour.