Lexi Thompson entered the 2025 season with more than just her swing under scrutiny. Once one of the LPGA’s most consistent and popular players, Thompson has played a reduced schedule in her final full-time season—just six starts so far—but still found herself increasingly at the center of slow play controversies. From Erin Hills to Frisco, the spotlight has shifted from her scorecard to her pace, as fellow competitors and fans begin to lose patience. Thompson, now ranked No. 50 in the world after a T4 finish at the 2025 Meijer LPGA Classic, has three top-15s this season, including a solid T14 at the 2025 Chevron Championship. Yet despite flashes of strong form, the dialogue around her rounds is often dominated by timing and tempo.

At this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, held at Fields Ranch East in Frisco, Texas, the two-time major contender opened with rounds of 72 and 70. Her two-under total after 36 holes left her just two shots off the lead heading into the weekend. The Donald Hanse-designed course is playing firm and wind-blown, and through two rounds, scoring has been difficult across the board.

But the real talking point came on Friday. “It’s tough, but it happens”: Thompson addressed slow play concerns at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship press conference. After being put on the clock on the par-4 13th hole during Round 2, Thompson didn’t dodge the question when asked how it affected her closing stretch. “It’s not ideal, especially on a golf course that is pretty difficult,” Thompson expressed, taking accountability, yet showing understandable frustration. “And then with the wind, because it gets gusty, and you want to back off the shots and you are on the clock so you don’t think you should. It’s tough, but it happens. We need to pick up the pace a little bit, but did what I could.”

Her comments came in the wake of increased scrutiny across the LPGA for slow play, particularly as the tour adopts stricter pace-of-play policies. According to reports, Thompson’s group fell behind after multiple gust-related delays, leading to the timing warning. Yet this wasn’t an isolated incident—it’s part of a growing pattern that some players are no longer willing to overlook.

Charley Hull and Lexi Thompson at the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open

This isn’t the first time Thompson has found herself in a slow play storm,  and Charley Hull’s reactions haven’t gone unnoticed. Just three weeks ago at the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills, Thompson’s grouping with Hull and Nelly Korda drew attention when cameras captured Hull sitting on a tee box while waiting for Thompson to finish putting. The clip went viral, and speculation flared that Hull’s patience had worn thin.

Thompson addressed that week in a lengthy Instagram post, saying her group “waited on every single hole” and was never out of position or warned. “I’ll be the first to say I’m not as fast as my playing partners,” she admitted, but added, “I’m also the last person who wants to be out there for six hours.” Hull, meanwhile, has become one of the LPGA’s most vocal critics of slow play. She has publicly called for two-stroke penalties and even the potential loss of tour cards for repeat offenders. Although Hull hasn’t directly criticized Thompson by name, her actions, including that now-infamous tee box sit, speak volumes.

At the same time, Thompson’s slow pace has also been noted during recent LPGA events like the 2025 Chevron Championship and the 2025 Meijer LPGA Classic, though no formal penalties have been issued. Her response this week at the KPMG suggests she’s aware of the issue, but whether she sees it as her fault remains unclear.