The final green at the Kroger Queen City Championship turned into the most uncomfortable stage in golf this season. Jeeno Thitikul, world no. 1 and the picture of calm all year, stood 50 feet away from a title-clinching eagle. What followed was a tragic misstep that cost her 6th LPGA victory: a four-putt that included misses inside five feet. Charley Hull, who had bogeyed 17, suddenly found herself tapping in for birdie to steal the win. For Thitikul, everything changed at that instance. Cameras caught her at the back of the green, shoulder slumped, her caddie’s arm around her as if to hold her upright. Later, she did what has always been an irksome topic in sports. She skipped the press conference. Something Lexi Thompson has been known for doing.

This discussion found its way into the recent episode of The Mixed Bag podcast. Meg Adkins pointed out how unusual it was of Thitikul. Someone who is known for her bubbly personality and who doesn’t dwell on bad rounds, it was out of the ordinary to see her walk away without a word. She narrated the entire scene. “They had that look to her. Like, they panned her back of the green. She looked like the wind got taken straight out of her sails. It didn’t look good,” Adkins says in the podcast. To this, Matthew Galloway brought in a perspective as to how maybe once in a while players deserve a pass.

The reaction to Thitikul’s silence stood in stark contrast to what Lexi Thompson has faced. When Thompson lost a five-shot lead at the 2021 US Women’s Open, she did attend the press conference. But she was on the verge of a breakdown, her eyes brimming with tears. She answered just two questions before leaving. The media didn’t like it, with many calling it gave her a “bad look.” Later that year, when she skipped media entirely after another loss, the backlash was even harder.

Thompson has often said that her relationship with the press has been complicated. When she announced her retirement from the game (which she later modified as a retirement from full-time golf), she didn’t hesitate in calling them out. “You haven’t always been easy on me, or fair, for that matter.”

On the other hand, this time when Thitikul skipped the media, there was literally no backlash. In fact, the hosts of The Mixed Bag are offering a sympathetic shoulder to her. Their reason does make sense, though. “I’m not defending players by skipping media. I think it sounds, sometimes in golf, it’s a little too quick, and you need players to go, like, decompress in a locker room for an hour, an hour and a half, then come back,” says Galloway.

And this isn’t just the story of golf. The same incident finds echoes in tennis, when Naomi Osaka refused to attend post-match pressers at the 2021 Roland Garros, citing reasons such as anxiety. She was given a warning and then later fined for her decision. She eventually withdrew from the tournament, announcing an indefinite break from tennis. So yeah, the mental health of players does come up as a reason. And now with so many golfers taking a proper stand for their emotional well-being, it could be a reason why not many questioned Thitikul’s decision to avoid the media overall.

The same reasons have been echoed from the other side of golf as well.

PGA pros push back on post-round media obligations

In golf, skipping media duties after a brutal finish has all of a sudden seen a trend among players. Rory McIlroy has been the most high-profile example, walking past reporters multiple times, including at the 2025 PGA Championship. Unwilling to dissect his rounds on demand, McIlroy has defended himself by saying he has “earned the right” to skip such pressers. “Look, every other athlete whether it be in the NBA or NFL, they are obligated to speak to you guys after a game, and we’re not.” His stance is clear: as long as the PGA Tour doesn’t put this as a regulation, he will keep doing it from time to time.

He isn’t alone. Collin Morikawa drew heat when he bypassed interviews after coughing up a lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, bluntly saying “he didn’t owe anyone anything” and needed space instead of immediate scrutiny. Shane Lowry has voiced similar frustrations, calling for a cooling-off period like in tennis, where players get time before media sessions. “I think I need half an hour now to sit there and gather my thoughts. I can’t be coming to talk to you guys straightaway. It shouldn’t be happening. I don’t agree with it.”

This stance is forcing golf to confront an awkward question: should golf tighten its media rules like other pro sports, or accept that players sometimes need silence to take the heat off?