Dubai: Omega Dubai Ladies Masters defending champion Alexis Thompson is not letting the weight of expectation burden her ahead of this year’s edition of the tournament at Emirates Golf Club this week.
Thompson, now 17, made history here last year when she became the youngest professional winner of a Ladies European Tour (LET) event aged 16 — just three months after she had become the youngest winner of a Ladies PGA Tour (LPGA) competition, The Navistar Classic.
Following her cross-Atlantic double in 2011, her follow-up year hasn’t been as eventful for the American. She failed to defend her Navistar crown but is looking for salvation from her return to the UAE.
“I have my own expectations for myself so I’m not thinking about anybody else’s,” said Thompson ahead of the Dubai event, which runs from Wednesday to Saturday. “I’m going into the event with the same attitude [as last year] and I’m just going to have fun.
“This year I was trying to improve on little things in my game and play consistently. Overall I accomplished my goal; I had two top 10s, a second and a fifth.
“I still have one more event to get a win. That’s my goal going into every event. But it’s golf. It’s the hardest sport in the world. I just go into every event trying to do my best and that’s really all I can do.
“I‘m not really thinking about a score, I’m just focusing on one shot at a time and not getting ahead of myself. I’ll just focus on my routine and stay into it.”
Speaking of the par-72, 6,425-yard Majlis Course, where she won by four strokes at 15 under par last year, Thompson added: “I know how to play this course pretty well. It’s my third year. I’m pretty confident going into every tee shot, and winning last year brings back a lot of good memories.
“Hopefully I’ll remember that and some of the holes. It definitely brings a lot of motivation to me coming into this year.
“Probably my biggest memory is coming up the 18th green on the last day, all of the fans and walking up to the green with my dad [her caddy] was an amazing memory for me to have.
“I’m going to remember that every time I walk up to the 18th green. And just teeing off on the first hole, it’s an amazing memory for me. Anywhere you win you have amazing memories.”
Asked if she was finding it hard to live up to early hype surrounding her career, Thompson said: “What I achieved at a young age, I had worked extremely hard for. That’s what I’ve done all my life, with my two older brothers [fellow golfers Nicholas and Curtis] who have made me so much better.
“I’ve practiced hard my whole life and that’s what I’m going to continue to do because I know that that’s what it takes to be great at the game.”
