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The Bitter End rarely looks pretty in golf. But at least for most, The Bitter End looks the same: A walk up the 18th fairway at the season-ending tournament, a chance to wave the fans off one last time, a final putt and a last-ever ovation.
On Sunday at the CME Group Tour Championship, this was the cause of frustration for retiring star Lexi Thompson. In what may very well be her final LPGA event — at least her last as a full-time player — she wanted the chance to send her career off in the traditional way, to see the 18th hole the way she had likely spent the better part of the last several months envisioning. But when she left the course on Saturday evening and received the following day’s tee times, she confronted an odd bit of news. In order to fit the LPGA’s broadcast window with NBC, the tour decided to split the weekend tee boxes, sending half of Sunday’s 60 players off on the first tee box, and half off on the 10th.
Given that Thompson found herself in the bottom half of Sunday’s field, the news meant her professional career would end in a harumph. The ninth green, not the 18th, would welcome her last-ever ovation, and fewer fans would be there to witness it all.
“Pretty sad when you’re at -4 in the season-ending event, which could easily be the last CME of your career and you won’t even finish on #18 because they decide to double tee on the final day due to TV coverage window,” Lexi posted in an IG story on Saturday evening, voicing her displeasure. “Bummed I won’t be able to embrace all the incredible fans on 18 tomorrow as I finish. Hopeful some will be out there on #9. But just know I’m grateful for you all.”
The post raised eyebrows almost immediately in the LPGA world, but not for the reasons one might have thought. For one thing, the LPGA has long maintained the practice of splitting tees on tournament Saturday and Sundays in the fall — a function partially driven by glacial pace of play, dwindling daylight hours, and broadcast windows that the LPGA would do well to complete its events within. For another, Thompson’s finish on the ninth green at the CME Group Tour Championship would happen only about 30 yards from the 18th green amphitheater, giving fans ample access to move from one site to the other to send Thompson off properly. And for a third thing, Thompson only finished on the ninth because her 54-hole score of 4 under was more than 10 shots off the lead.
In other words, Thompson’s complaints might have been substantiated (split Sunday tees are still unusual on the PGA Tour), and she might have been rightfully emotional about the end of her professional career, but her complaint was leaving out a lot of relevant context.
