Golfer Lexi Thompson, who competed in the U.S. Women's Open at 12, is "seemingly on the cusp of that coveted crossover from burgeoning LPGA star to mainstream endorser and celebrity," but the "delicate balancing act between being everyone's kid sister and being an adult ... may be the biggest challenge of all," according to Melissa Isaacson of ESPNW.com. LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan "is not averse to seeing his players become stars." However, the tour's stance when talking about the subject of promoting its golfers has "generally been along the lines that it needs to sell the LPGA and not the players." Blue Giraffe Sports CEO Bobby Kreusler, who reps the now 20-year-old Thompson, disagrees. He said,"I don't think it's ever a bad thing to let the world know that these are amazing athletes, powerful, strong, athletic but also beautiful." Isaacson noted Thompson's team last year "embarked on a new, grown-up marketing plan." There was a Puma commercial with a "bikini-clad Thompson in a candlelit hot tub" alongside Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, as well as a GolfPunk magazine photo shoot that "again featured Thompson in swimwear and in glamorous poses in September." Marketing Evaluations Exec VP Henry Schafer, whose company publishes Q Scores, said that Thompson's score of 16% awareness among sports fans "is relatively low," though her 37 "positive Q score is the highest of any golfer, male or female." Schafer said Thompson "has the same Q score" as Broncos QB Peyton Manning. He added, "If she grows in her awareness and can grow in her Q score, then she is certainly demonstrating potential for significant impact." Isaacson noted Thompson's philosophy on "breaking into the marketing mainstream is to be expected from someone on the tail end of the millennial generation," and with approximately 80,200 Twitter followers, she is "no amateur." She counts Cobra Puma Golf, Red Bull, Rolex, EA Sports and Zurich Insurance as sponsors (ESPNW.com, 3/31).
COVER GIRL: Thompson this morning announced on her Twitter feed that she will appear on the cover of Golf Digest's May issue, which is its "Fitness & Power Issue." Thompson appears topless except for a strategically placed towel (THE DAILY). ESPN N.Y.'s Jane McManus wrote on her Twitter feed, "Here's how I imagine that conversation. 'So, if we have to put a woman on the cover, can she at least be topless?'" Vice Sports' Patrick Hruby wrote, "Oh look Golf Digest thinks it's Vanity Fair."
