Lexi Thompson calls for more mixed team events in golf: 'It will be great for the game'
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Published 08/12/2022 at 18:26 GMT
The QBE Shootout gets underway at Tiburon Golf Club on Friday and there will be interested eyes on Lexi Thompson and Nelly Korda, as two of the stars of the LPGA Tour will tee it up alongside players from the PGA Tour. Thompson is excited about the challenge, and the major champion wants to see more mixed events featuring on the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour,
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Lexi Thompson has called for more mixed tournaments in golf, following reports that the QBE Shootout will be a co-sanctioned event by the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour from 2023.
Thompson and world No. 2 Nelly Korda are in the field for the QBE Shootout this week, where they will be in a field alongside 22 players from the PGA Tour.
The QBE Shootout is a team event, with Korda partnering Denny McCarthy, and Thompson alongside Maverick McNealy.
News of the return of a mixed event is a positive for Thompson, and brings it back on the PGA Tour schedule for the first time in over 20 years.
“Golf being such an individual sport, we want more team events but definitely mixed women’s and men’s,” Thompson said. “I think it will be great for the game of golf.
"I think team events bring a lot bigger fan base. I think people absolutely love watching us play and fist pump and just be there for each other.”
The last time there was a co-sanctioned event was in 1999 when John Daly and Laura Davies won what was known as the JCPenney Classic.
Max Homa is the top-ranked man in the field at No. 16 in the world, and it remains to be seen if some of the bigger names in the sport can be lured to compete in the mixed event in 2023.
This week’s QBE Shootout will see Thompson and Korda hitting from the back tees, and the former is relishing the challenge.
Speaking about her experiences as a junior when playing from forward tees, Thompson said: “I wanted to play from all the way back with the guys. I was like, ‘I don’t want to play forward, let’s just give myself a challenge’. I get to hit driver on every single hole, which I absolutely love. I don’t get that opportunity very much when I play, so I love bombing it off the tee and hitting mid- to longer irons.”
The QBE Shootout is played over three rounds at Tiburon Golf Club, with a scramble format on Friday, modified alternate shot on Saturday and fourball on Sunday.
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