DUBAI: Last year, it was a chat with the stars from the “Twilight” franchise. This year, it’s a meeting with Tiger Woods and a role in his popular golf video game.
Life keeps getting more surreal for American teenager Lexi Thompson, who is in the United Arab Emirates to defend her title at the Dubai Ladies Masters, which begins tomorrow. She won the tournament in 2011 at 16 to become the youngest winner on the LPGA and European Tour. She then lost her LPGA record to Lydia Ko, a 15-year-old amateur from New Zealand who won the Canadian Women’s Open in August.
Along with Thompson, the field includes Michelle Wie and LPGA Championship winner Shanshan Feng.
Thompson hasn’t won a tournament this year but four top-five finishes on the LPGA Tour has ensured her star continues to rise and with it the perks of celebrity. She got to meet the 14-time major champion Woods at the Notah Begay Challenge in August.
“I’ve always looked up to him so it was great to meet him and talk to him,” Thompson said. “And he said, ‘I’ll play golf with you any time’, and that means a lot coming from a person at that level.”
Just as good was being invited to play a role in Woods’ video game. Thompson wore sensors on her body, head and shoes to ensure the game was as realistic as possible and is looking forward to the result.
“I’ve seen some of the pictures of my animation and it looks so real,” Thompson said. “It will be interesting to play (against) me in the video game. It will be pretty weird but it will be awesome.”
Feng, the first major winner from China, has also emerged on the tour from a breakout season in 2012. Along with her first major victory, she has had eight top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour. She also won the Japan Open.
“It feels really good after I won all the tournaments, and it makes me feel like a star,” Feng said. “I still have space to improve and hope I can do even better.”
The 23-year-old Feng said she hoped her success can further raise the profile of golf in China. The country already hosts several high-profile men’s tournaments including the HSBC Championship and BMW Masters and this year produced Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old boy who will be playing in the Masters next year. But the sixth-ranked Feng said the popularity of golf still trails far behind sports like table tennis and badminton.
“I would say in China we focus more on the sports that are in the Olympics,” Feng said. The 2016 Olympics offer the chance to show that “Chinese can be good in golf and we can get medals.”
Despite all the young golfers coming up, 49-year-old Laura Davies — a seven-time Ladies European Tour money title winner — dismissed retirement talk.
“(49-year-old) Vijay (Singh), I don’t think he’s being asked when he’s going to retire. (53-year-old) Freddie Couples, he’s older than me, no one is asking him when he’s going to retire,” she said. “Every time I win a tournament, someone says ‘when are you going to retire?’“
Davies had an Achilles injury from playing in a celebrity football match and dropped to 174th in the rankings. But she insists the passion is still there, with a top 10 finish at the Indian Open last week.
“I haven’t won in two years, but I know I can still win and I know I’m still good enough,” Davies said. “It’s just a matter of putting it right and doing it when you need to do it.”
