No trophy presentation. No final-round handshakes. Lexi Thompson marked the end of her 16th LPGA season from somewhere far quieter — an Instagram post that peeled back the polished surface of professional golf and revealed a year of silent battles, medical decisions, and emotional reckonings most fans never saw coming.

“Year 16 on tour is officially over!” Thompson wrote on December 16, 2025. But the exclamation point masked a year that tested her in ways scorecards could never capture.

The 30-year-old revealed she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease mid-year — an autoimmune thyroid condition that runs in her family. Then came a harder decision: embryo freezing.

“Realizing with those results, I should do embryo freezing for when I want to start a family because that is the most important thing to me,” Thompson wrote.

She underwent two cycles in three months while balancing a limited tournament schedule. The first failed.

“With the first cycle not being successful at all it was pretty devastating. But we decided to do it again and ended up getting some better results.”

The physical and emotional toll was immense. “Going through all this emotionally and putting my body through it for months wasn’t easy but it was well worth it in the end.”

Thompson’s 16-year career stands among the most decorated in American women’s golf. She turned professional at 15 in June 2010, joined the LPGA Tour at 17 after receiving a waiver, and never looked back. Eleven victories followed, including the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship — her lone major title. She also finished runner-up in four other majors: the 2022 Women’s PGA Championship, the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open, the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open, and the 2015 Evian Championship.

Career earnings crossed $15.5 million, placing her ninth on the LPGA’s all-time money list. By modern standards, where players routinely step back in their late 20s or early 30s, 16 years represents rare longevity. So Yeon Ryu, for comparison, retired at 33 after a similarly lengthy career.

Through it all, Thompson leaned on fiancé Max Provost, whom she got engaged to on New Year’s Day 2025 in Whistler, British Columbia. “Biggest thank you to my family and Max for loving me throughout everything, you are my rock.”

The results reflected her priorities. But even on a reduced schedule, Thompson showed flashes of her competitive edge.

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Lexi Thompson’s 2025 season reflected a deliberate step back

Thompson played just 13 events in 2025, down from her typical 18-25 tournament seasons. She made nine cuts, missed four — including the U.S. Women’s Open and The ANNIKA — and earned $759,710.

Her season-best finish came at the Meijer LPGA Classic, where she tied for fourth. At the majors, she posted a T14 at the Chevron Championship — the site of her lone major victory in 2014 — and a T12 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She closed the year with a T19 at the CME Group Tour Championship.

She also took a five-week break in summer 2025, missing the AIG Women’s Open for the first time in seven years. After the Dow Championship, she explained she would be taking personal time off at home.

“Even though going into the year, I knew I wasn’t going to play a lot, I still worked extremely hard for the tournaments I did play,” Thompson wrote. “It was a year of a lot of ups and downs on and off the golf course, but I’m very proud of myself for how I pushed through.”

Now, she looks ahead. Time off for the holidays. Wedding planning with Max, with a March 2026 date set. And a question that remains unanswered.

“Then decide what 2026 has in store for me.”

Sixteen years in, Lexi Thompson isn’t chasing trophies. She’s chasing something harder to win — balance.