Story highlights
- Lexi Thompson has won two tournaments in 2017
- She was instrumental in Team USA's Solheim Cup win
(CNN)It has been quite a year for Lexi Thompson.
The 22-year-old golfer has been through sport's highs and lows and endured difficult times away from the golf course too.
In the season's first major, the ANA Inspiration in California, the Florida native held a two-shot lead when she was told in the closing stages of the final round that she would be penalized four shots for an infraction that a TV viewer had spotted from the previous round.
The Evian Championship and Lexi Thompson 22:31
Her composure on the course -- she rallied to force a playoff which she eventually lost in sudden death to South Korea's So Yeon Ryu -- earned her new fans and social media was awash with indignation.
But during a challenging year -- in May her mother was diagnosed with cancer while her grandmother died in September -- Thompson has remained consistent on the course.
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In 2007, at just 12 years of age, Lexi Thompson became the youngest golfer to qualify for the US Women's Open. She failed to make the cut but her record stood for seven years, before Lucy Li surpassed her in 2014.
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A year later, Thompson went on to win the US Girl's Junior championship and again qualified for the US Women's Open -- with her brother, PGA TOUR player Nicholas Thompson, there to help. She again failed to make the cut, but it would be a case of third time lucky ...
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With her dad as caddy in 2009, Thompson qualified for her third successive US Women's Open, this time making the cut and finishing an impressive tied 34th.
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For the first half of 2010, Thompson continued competing as an amateur and her results only got better. At the Women's Australian Open, she finished T16, before going on to play a crucial part in Team USA's Curtis Cup victory.
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In June, Thompson announced she would be turning professional, just in time for her fourth consecutive US Women's Open. Thompson recorded her best ever finish at the tournament, tying for 10th and scooping her first professional paycheck -- a cool $72,131.
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In 2010, Thompson recorded her best Tour finish, tying second at the Evian Masters and finishing just one shot behind eventual winner Jiyai Shin. Thompson received $242,711 for her efforts ... not a bad pay day for a 15-year-old!
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Thompson claimed her first ever LPGA Tour victory at the 2011 Navistar Classic. At the age of just 16, she became the youngest ever winner on the LPGA Tour. However, Lydia Ko would surpass her record 11 months later.
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After winning the Navistar Classic, Thompson successfully petitioned for a waiver which saw the LPGA allow her to become a Tour member, despite not yet being 18 years old. In 2013, Thompson won her second Tour event, the 2013 Sime Darby, and the third, Lorena Ochoa Invitational, followed soon after.
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Thompson won her first major a year later, famously jumping into the lake with caddie Benji Thompson (no relation) after victory in the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship.
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Still only 23, Thompson has gone on to win nine LGPA Tour titles in total, the latest coming at the 2017 Indy Women in Tech Championship.
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'A regular 22-year-old'
Now ranked No.3 in the world, the major winner has won two tournaments in 2017 and enjoyed nine top 10 finishes, while in August she was instrumental in Team USA retaining the Solheim Cup.
But despite the successes and travails, the American maintains that she is still a "regular 22-year-old girl."
Reflecting on being one of her sport's biggest names, Thompson told CNN's Living Golf: "It's something I've just kind of gotten used to. I don't see myself as famous in that way.
"I just play golf professionally for a living. I guess it's a lot different than the normal 22-year-old, but it's great to see just the amount of fan support that I do get and it's part of a professional athlete. That's what comes with it."
September's Living Golf: The senior game 22:29
Over the years, the golfer has regularly posted pictures of herself on Instagram in the gym and it is her dedication to training which has been one of the factors behind her success, with her fitness regime leading to, she said, "dramatic" improvements in her driving distance.
She enjoys showing fans a different part of her life, though the golfer posted on her Instagram page last month that she would step away from social media following the death of her grandmother to "focus on my family and nothing else."
Thompson, whose career earnings exceed $7 million, said: "When I do get home, I do like to spend a lot of time with my family since I don't get to see them very often but there is a lot of practice involved and a lot of training.
"I'm definitely addicted to the whole training part of it.
"I love working out. It's kind of like my outlet; just run. I put the ear buds in and just blast music and just get away.
"But I think it's very important for golf because, I mean, we have very long days. We're out on the course for five hours and then with our warm up it's another hour or two so it's important to be in good shape to be able to get through the day. it's a lot easier and to feel better about yourself.
World no. 1 Dustin Johnson speaks to CNN 01:25
"Ever since I've got into working I've seen dramatic changes in my golf swinging distance.
"Obviously by just the way I look and I think, that's what kind of got me addicted to it, but I think it's a big part of the lifestyle out here.
"A lot of the girls do work out and stay in shape and their either foam rolling, stretching or working out, making sure they stay in good shape because we're 10 weeks on the road sometimes."
