“We are going to rely on her BTS” - Stacy Lewis sheds light on ‘concerns’ regarding Solheim Cup-bound Lexi Thompson’s form

US Solheim Cup team captain Stacy Lewis was in a tough spot regarding her captain’s picks. Having made some big calls, the skipper has now shed light on Lexi Thompson, who gained automatic qualification to her squad. Lewis openly admitted that there are concerns about Thompson’s current form.

Thompson made Lewis’ team as one of the two highest Americans in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings alongside Rose Zhang. Opening up on the 28-year-old golfer’s current situation, Lewis said that there are “definitely some concerns.”

However, Lewis stated that Thompson was “not going to quit.” The skipper even stated that Thompson’s experience means she could be relied on behind the scenes at the cup event.

Speaking about Lexi Thompson in a conference call with reporters earlier this week, Stacy Lewis was quoted as saying by Golf:

“There are definitely some concerns about her game, 100 percent. Talking to her, though, she’s been handling all this remarkably well. I’ve said it before, but you see her off the golf course, and you would never know she’s struggling like she is right now. She is not going to quit, and she is not going to give up on the golf course, and sometimes I think that’s the most important thing in Solheim Cups and team events.

"We are going to rely on her behind the scenes, too, to help in the team room and be in a different position than she’s been in the past because she probably is the most experienced of anybody on the team. We are just going to rely on her differently and hopefully over the next month with her work that she’s putting in that she gets some things figured out.”

It is pertinent to note that Lewis’ dilemma with Thompson is similar to US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson's regarding his captain’s picks. Johnson on Tuesday, August 29, announced his picks which featured Justin Thomas. The US side skipper was under scrutiny by fans for favoring the out-of-form golfer over the likes of Keegan Bradley and Lucas Glover.

Similar to Thomas, Lexi Thompson will now have to prove her place on the in-form squad.

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Lexi Thompson confident despite bad run of form

Thompson is arguably in her worst-ever slump. The golfer slid to 26th in the world. If not for the automatic qualification, Lewis would have had to reconsider putting the 28-year-old on her Solheim Cup squad.

However, Thompson was on a decent run in 2022. Despite not winning an event, she missed only four cuts in 18 starts and had eight top-10 finishes.

Opening up on her ‘22 season, Lexi Thompson was quoted as saying by Golf:

“It’s been a good year. I’ve just been trying to improve on my game on and off the golf course; the mental side as well. I feel like I’ve played consistent golf, and I’m slowly picking at it and improving on the things that I’ve needed to improve on, and slowly getting more and more consistent. So that’s really all I want. I know the wins will come.”

Having just made the final team, it’ll be interesting to see how Thompson fares in Spain.