By Pete Pappas

GolfWRX Staff Writer 

Lexi Thompson was the youngest golfer ever to play in the U.S. Woman’s Open at the tender age of 12.

And four years later her victory at the Navistar LPGA Classic made the 16 year-old sensation the youngest ever champion in LPGA Tour history.

“This has been my dream like my whole life,” Thompson said at the time.  “It’s the best feeling ever.”

It shouldn’t come as a surprise then with the brightest stars on the LPGA Tour playing in the Sybase Match Play Championship this weekend the now 17 year-old prodigy once again did the amazing.

Lexi went to prom instead.

Not Your Typical Prom

Thompson met her date one day before prom.  She’s planning on giving him a few golf lessons.  He’s going to teach her how to shoot a rifle.

Sounds like a typical high school prom weekend right?

OK maybe not typical.  But nothing about Thompson has ever been typical.  Everything she does is extraordinary with high energy and a big heart.

And that makes being around Thompson a lot of fun both on and off the golf course.

Thompson used a video on her Facebook page to conduct a nationwide search for her prom date. In the video she said she was looking for a military man between the ages of 18 and 20 who’s part of the Wounded Warriors group.

She ultimately found that person when she chose U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Mark Scott.

“Everybody that shared their story with me was an amazing person, I read pretty much every story about ten times,” Thompson said.

More than 100 servicemen sent in their videos to be Thompson’s date for the Coral Glades High School prom.  But there was something extra-special to Thompson about Scott.

“Mark’s story stood out to me and I’m honored to be taking him,” she said.

Scott is the recipient of a Purple Heart in Afghanistan and he sounded pretty honored to be escorting Thompson as well.

“I saw it as a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Scott said.

Thompson and her family have long had a special place in their hearts for military veterans and the Wounded Warriors in particular.

Thompson had a group of Wounded Warriors caddy for her in the Honda Classic Pro-Am this past March.  And she also donated $20,000 of her winnings at the Navistar to Wounded Warriors.

“It’s definitely a way of saying thank you to everybody who devoted their life to serve for our country,” Thompson said.  “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

The moment wasn’t lost on Scott either.  “A lot of times as a veteran you kind of feel forgotten,” he said.  “This sheds light on the situation and lets us know that people actually are out there and that people do care.”

For two people not even old enough to drink their level of maturity and poise is profound.  But perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise either as both are exceptional human beings who excel in their daily lives in everything they do.

So what about Thompson teaching Scott to golf and Scott teaching Thompson to shoot a gun?

“Yes, that’s the plan, Scott said.”  “I’ll be in my comfort zone and I’ll show her a few things.”  Scott continued, “And then I’ll be taken right out of my comfort zone and she’s gonna bring me into her neck of the woods.

And how does Scott feel about Thompson missing the star-studded Sybase Match Play for the glitz and glamour of her high school prom?

“I can’t wait to see Lexi in her dress and I just want to see how beautiful she looks,” Scott said.

Kids.

The Decision

Thompson’s decision to attend her high school prom caused a bit more controversy than she might have expected.  And it became an immediate focal point for debate.

Her Facebook page attracted more than 750,000 unique visitors since she aired her prom video.  Hashtag #Lexi Prom was tweeted more than five-million times.  And E! Entertainment Television camera crews followed Thompson and Scott around on Friday to air their prom festivities on the cable network this Monday.

Many called it a public relations ploy. Others said it was a premeditated publicity stunt. And some even claimed an exploitation of Thompson by her parents and agent.

Thompson is a teenager of course.  But she’s also a professional athlete, an entertainer and a celebrity.  And ask two-time Olympic medal winner Jennie Finch just how easy it was getting a date when she was a 17 year-old 6-foot 1-inch tall softball pitcher at Mirada High School.

While PR isn’t something that normally comes into play in the lives of most teenagers, Thompson clearly isn’t “most teenagers.”

Granted, certain things should remain sacrosanct from the spotlight of advertising stunts, from reality TV.  And certain events publicized in these manners will always run a risk of sideswiping backlash and judgment (particularly when the stench of insincerity exists from the start: Kim Kardashian’s wedding to NBA player Kris Humphries comes to mind).

But even the most cynical of cynics can’t possibly see any insincerity with Thompson just trying to have as much fun as possible for her prom, can they?

Taking to Facebook to find her prom date was fun for Thompson and for Scott, for the military men of the Wounded Warriors who wooed her with their videos, and for those who followed the feel-good story.

It’s made thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people happy, and at least one person’s dream come true.

Maybe when people called her decision “creepy” what they really meant was a lot of fun and good times for everyone involved?

Thompson was able to make her prom fun in this extravagant and unique way precisely because she’s a celebrity athlete.  Why not take advantage of that?  Where’s the harm in that?

People have preconceived notions of what teenagers should or shouldn’t do in an adult world.  They say the harm is young people lose their childhoods.

But maybe an increasing number of young people doing adult things (and successfully at that) is changing the landscape and meaning of “adult things” and “the adult world” rather than the other way around?

One thing’s for sure.  Thompson’s third in greens-in-regulation and fifth in average driving distance on the LPGA Tour this season took a well deserved break so she could just be a “kid” this weekend.

And I bet she was amazing at that too.

You can follow Pete on Twitter @TheGreekGrind

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