Lexi Thompson Brings Team Golf and a More Deliberate Training Plan to WTGL

Lexi Thompson’s next competition will put more of her personality on display—and give her something she rarely gets in golf: teammates to consult between shots. She’ll represent Motor City Golf Club when WTGL, the women’s team league from TMRW Sports and the LPGA, begins play Nov. 8 at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

For Thompson, the appeal is as much about the format as the venue. Having watched TGL nearby, she came away interested in the way the team setting can bring fans closer to the players behind the shots. That added visibility comes at a time when she’s also rethinking how she prepares her body for the long demands of professional golf.

Team play offers a different view of Thompson

Thompson has competed in team settings at the Solheim Cup, the International Crown and the Olympics. WTGL gives her another chance to share decisions with fellow players, a change from the solitary pressure of standard tour golf. She turned professional at 15, and has spent much of her career owning every result on her scorecard herself.

“I love team events in general,” she said. “Golf is so individual, so to be able to have teammates and talk strategy behind each and every shot, I think that’s what also is so great about this.”

The league’s on-course microphones and real-time analytics are designed to show more of that decision-making. A shot clock adds another constraint, putting a limit on the time players can spend weighing options. Thompson sees that pressure as useful, even beyond WTGL.

“The shot clock is definitely something that’s very different, and I actually think it would be good in normal golf, too,” she said. “Sometimes we don’t really think about how much time we’re spending on each and every shot.”

The format may also capture parts of Thompson that traditional broadcasts tend to leave between the lines. She says she’s more bubbly and sarcastic around people she knows well, and credits her two older brothers with helping her develop a taste for trash talk.

“I’ve learned to trash talk quite a bit,” she said. “We’ll see if that gets brought out here, but I think it’s just great for the fans to see all our personalities.”

That audience connection is central to her interest in the league. “It’s something different, and it brings out a different fan base that we need as well,” Thompson said. “A lot of people don’t get to see our personalities. They only get to see what we do on the golf course.”

Training for the swing, not the weight room

Thompson’s approach to fitness has shifted from chasing heavier lifts to building strength that carries over to golf. Early in her professional career, she noticed fatigue during rounds and brought in a trainer to improve her conditioning. The routine soon became something she enjoyed enough to plan her day around.

“I got addicted to it,” she said. “I love fitness and working out, and I plan my day around getting at least 30-45 minutes, if not longer, of a workout in.”

She’s expecting her first child, and her current workouts reflect that stage of life. She still makes movement a daily priority, with spinning, incline walking, core exercises, flexibility work and resistance training among her regular activities. She’s favoring lighter weights and more repetitions now.

The goal is to support the rotational force and control required by her swing. Thompson says power comes largely from the core and lower body, while flexibility remains essential. Her sessions include resistance bands and movements that echo golf’s rotation and explosive actions, with attention to speed and technique so the work transfers to the course.

That emphasis marks a change from periods when she treated lifting heavier as a goal in itself. “I probably lifted a lot more weights than I do now,” she said. “I went through spans where I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to try to hit the highest weight of my life, and it was just like, ‘I don’t know really why I’m doing this.’”

Experience has also made Thompson more attuned to how her body responds. Earlier in her fitness work, trainers helped identify weaknesses she hadn’t recognized. Now she can often spot when a muscle isn’t activating as it should, or when soreness signals that something is off.

“My body tells me a lot more,” she said. “’Oh, this is weaker. I’m not seeing this part of my body firing,’ or like, ‘This is sore. This is hurting. Something’s lacking.”

Recovery is part of performance

Golf’s physical demands can disappear from view during a television broadcast. Thompson points to repeated practice swings and ball striking, long days on the course, and the strain that rotation places on the back and lower body. A round can involve walking seven miles, followed by several hours of practice—often in Florida heat.

“I think the normal viewer doesn’t realize how hard it is day in, day out,” she said. “It’s a lot of time out practicing, a lot of hitting balls, rotating, putting our lower body and our backs through a lot of twisting and turning.”

She says those demands make recovery a practical necessity. Her routine is straightforward: stretching and foam rolling after workouts, occasional massages, and preparation for the next day. Sleep has taken on a bigger role, too. Thompson once thought four hours was enough to function; now she aims for at least seven.

“Sometimes it’s just hard to really shut the brain off and get a good night’s sleep, especially with the quick turnarounds with tee times and everything,” she said. “But I think it’s a huge priority because then your mind doesn’t function the way you need it to, and neither does your body.”

Before a round, activation work prepares the muscles used in her swing, while breathing exercises and meditation help settle her focus. Afterward, the aim is to lower the intensity and give both body and mind a chance to recover.

“Being able to shut down your body and being able to let it recover is huge, because you don’t realize what you’re putting your body through for that amount of hours,” she said. “Meditation doesn’t hurt after, just to shut off the mind. That’s a part of the performance as well.”

Thompson’s measure of a productive workout has become less about personal records and more about being ready to play and train again. After years in golf—she’s been playing since age five—that shift reflects a longer view of performance: strength matters when it serves the swing, and recovery matters when it keeps the next day possible.

“Of course, waking up not having my body hurt helps,” she joked.

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