Four years is a long time to wait for a clean scorecard at a major. Lexi Thompson finally broke that streak on Saturday, April 25, shooting a bogey-free 66 in the third round of the 2026 Chevron Championship at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston. It was her first flawless major round since the final round of this same tournament in 2022. Now at −6 and inside the top ten, she has one round left at the only major she has ever won. The people cheering her on were all familiar faces.

“It means the world to me that my inner circle, that’s how I got to where I’m at today. I’m very blessed and very grateful for them, and also all the fans out here,” she said.

Her husband, Max Provost, was in the gallery, along with Leo, her dog, and her parents and family friends. This was the full inner circle she mentioned right away when asked what their support meant at this point in her career. Thompson married Provost on March 7 at a private estate in Florida, just seven weeks before this round. The Chevron is only her second LPGA start of 2026, and she missed the cut at the Ford Championship in her season opener. But on Saturday, none of that seemed to matter.

Thompson’s return to competitive golf is not just about her scores. When she left the full-time LPGA schedule after 2024, she was clear about the personal cost. In her letter, she described how hard it was to keep up appearances while dealing with her own struggles. At her retirement press conference at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open, she did not hide the reality, adding:

“Being out here, it can be a lot. It can be lonely. I’ve struggled with it. I don’t think there’s somebody out here who hasn’t. It’s just a matter of how well you hide it, which is very sad.”

Now, Thompson competes on a selective schedule. US Solheim Cup captain Angela Stanford has stated that Thompson’s record of seven Solheim Cup appearances justifies her continued consideration for the team. She has a history of consistent performance under pressure, a challenge she has addressed over the past two years.

In 2014, she won the Dinah Shore Trophy and secured her only major title at age 19. But the tournament became the source of a controversy that has followed her since 2017.

Lexi Thompson’s complicated history with the Chevron Championship

Lexi was leading by three shots at the ANA Inspiration, the tournament’s name at the time, heading into the final holes. An official stopped her between the 12th green and 13th tee after a TV viewer emailed the LPGA about a ball-placement mistake from her third round. Officials issued her a four-stroke penalty during the round, erasing her lead before she reached the next tee. She made three birdies to force a playoff with So Yeon Ryu, but lost on the first hole, all because of a one-inch mistake she did not realize she had made.

In 2021 at the U.S. Women’s Open, Thompson led by five shots after 54 holes but shot 41 on the back nine in the final round and lost her lead. Her record in major championships shows that closing out these events has been a consistent challenge, and one strong round does not change that history.

Her score of 66 on Saturday does not change her past results. It adds another chapter to a career defined by both success and setbacks. This time, those who supported her were present to watch her performance.