Lexi Thompson Says She 'Expected the Negativity' from Male Golfers on PGA Tour: 'Have to Block out Everything'

"You just have to block out everything and believe in yourself and go after what you want," Thompson said of her naysayers

Lexi Thompson has her eyes on the prize.

The 28-year-old female golfer became the seventh woman to compete on the PGA Tour, and she's shaking off the hostility from some of her male opponents.

“All I know is that it would definitely be at the top of my accomplishments if I could make the cut,” Thompson told Yahoo Sports, adding that it "an honour to get this chance.”

The first bout of negativity, which Thompson said she "expected" during the tournament according to Yahoo, came when former Tour winner Peter Malnati accused the tournament of needing to "resort to gimmicks" by inviting Thompson to participate.

Malnati, 36, shakily attempted to walk back his comment, saying, "I shouldn't have said that. I don’t know that having Lexi play is a gimmick, but I don’t think the tournaments are going to have to go to those kind of lengths to drum up interest and get storylines that they can sell because I think these events are actually going to have a lot of meaning," per Yahoo Sports.

Thompson, ranked 25 in the world, isn't phased, however. “It’s all good. I mean, I expected the negativity,” she told the outlet.

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Instead of letting the naysayers get in her head before the tournament, Thompson said she's standing tall on the course to set an example and send a message.

"I’m out here playing with the men to leave a message to the kids that I’m following my dreams and to go after what you want with a positive mindset and don’t let anybody’s comments or reaction get in the way of that," the golf star told Yahoo.

“If I can leave here inspiring others, and especially the kids, the Shriners kids, that’s what it’s all about and what this tournament is about,” she added. “Of course, I want to play good. But that’s a whole other story. There is more to life than performing well.”

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Speaking to BBC. she said, "Playing golf and being a woman golfer, a top woman golfer, I want to inspire people in general," she said. "[In a] male-dominated sport, I guess I just want to show that anything is possible and that I am following my dreams."

Thompson said she's been living in the "spotlight" since she was 12 years old, so she's familiar with handling the pressure. "You just have to block out everything and believe in yourself and go after what you want."

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Before Thompson's appearance, the only women on the Tour in the past 70 years of the tournament has only seen Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie West, Suzy Whaley and Brittany Lincicome, according to the tournament's website. In 1935, Babe Didrikson Zaharias was the first woman to receive a sponsor exemption.

Thompson won the major at the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship, now Chevron Championship, and has won 11 LPGA Tour titles to her name.

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