Lexi Thompson has been a constant presence in the United States team at the Solheim Cup since making her debut as an 18-year-old at the 2013 edition in Colorado.
She will be making her fourth appearance in the contest at Gleneagles after qualifying for Juli Inkster’s team as the highest placed player on America’s Solheim Cup points list.
The youngest ever player representing the stars and stripes to appear in the biennial matchplay battle, Thompson’s first taste of the Solheim Cup did not go to plan.
She lost her first two fourball matches alongside Stacy Lewis and Paula Creamer, respectively, but she bounced back to win her singles match 4&3 against Caroline Masson.
One of only two wins by USA players on the Sunday, Thompson’s impressive display was not enough to rescue the match as Europe completed a historic first win on American soil.
However, her performance suggested great things to come and she did not have to wait long for her chance to get revenge, qualifying automatically qualifying for the 2015 event.
Now a major champion after winning the 2014 ANA Inspiration, Thompson enjoyed a perfect start at St. Leon-Rot in Germany with a foursomes victory alongside Cristie Kerr.
She never looked back after that first success in the format and finished the 2015 Solheim Cup with an unbeaten record of two wins and two halves from her four matches. Her three-point haul was crucial in helping USA complete a stunning comeback triumph as they overhauled Europe’s 10-6 overnight lead by winning 8.5 points in the singles.
And having tasted Solheim Cup victory for the first time, Thompson was never going to miss the chance to be part of the team that defended the title at Des Moines in Iowa.
A stellar season on the LPGA Tour, including one victory and five runner-up finishes, saw her qualify automatically for Inkster’s team at the top of the American points list.
Reuniting her successful partnership with Kerr, the pair found themselves dormie-2 in their opening foursomes match before staging a last-ditch comeback to halve the match.
They followed that up with two victories from two matches in the Saturday foursomes and fourballs to give America a commanding 10.5-5.5 lead going into the singles.
Thompson then halved her final match in a Solheim Cup classic against Anna Nordqvist to finish unbeaten once again and help secure a comfortable 16.5-11.5 victory for the hosts.
