Wins second major of season

Thompson, the 13-year-old phenom from Coral Springs, started the new year with a runner-up finish at the Dixie Women’s Amateur, then cruised to a 13-stroke victory at The Sally.

“She doesn’t play like a 13-year-old, the way she swings, the way she carries herself,” said Candace Schepperle, who narrowly held off Thompson to win the Dixie. “She’s impressive.”

On Sunday, she capped a ferocious run through the match play bracket of the Jones/Doherty Women’s Amateur at the Coral Ridge Country Club, topping Scotland’s Kelsey MacDonald 5 & 4 to take the title. It was Thompson’s second victory on the Orange Blossom Circuit, the first coming at The Sally. The culmination of the four-event circuit, the Women’s International Four-Ball, starts Jan. 26th at the Orangebrook Golf Course.

After a dicey start to the tourney that saw Thompson need to rally to pull off a one-stroke victory over Tama Caldabaugh, she dispatched here next opponents without having to see the 16th hole.

MacDonald, the Scottish Junior Ladies' champion and Stirling University golf team member, was familiar with Thompson's game before hand, having been paired with her in the final grouping of The Sally, where she finished in third place.

Thompson, who now sits atop the amateurgolf.com Women's Rankings topped defending champion Isabelle Lendl, daughter of former tennis great Ivan Lendl, in the semifinals 6 & 5.

"My ball-striking and putting have been pretty good," Thompson told the Miami Herald after the semis. "I still have my off days where I'm just a little off. You can't hit it good every day. But I've been pretty happy with the way I've been hitting it and putting it."

After two straight years of semifinal ousters, former U.S. Senior Women's Amateur champion Carolyn Creekmore topped Anna Schultz 2 & 1 for the Jones/Doherty Senior title.