Michelle Wie was touted as the savior of women’s golf. Just one problem: It took her more than six years to win a professional tournament, and it became clear Wie didn’t have the competitive desire to match her unparalleled talent. The quality that Wie lacked, however, appears in abundance in 16-year-old Lexi Thompson. In September, she became the youngest player to win a LPGA event. This weekend, Thompson became the youngest professional to win on the Ladies European Tour as she captured the Dubai Masters.
It has been an eventful few months for Thompson, who was granted a waiver from the LPGA’s minimum age requirement and will become a full-time member of the tour in 2012.
Good looks had something to do with the too-much, too-soon rise of Wie. The 5-foot-11, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Thompson has similar appeal. But her most important quality — the one that will ultimately determine whether she can save women’s golf ?– is whether she indeed has the heart of a major champion.
– Kevin Dunleavy
