RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- She has had nightmares about it. Admittedly, sometimes she still does.
Lexi Thompson's four-stroke penalty during the final round of the 2017 ANA Inspiration -- an assessment that was enacted following a TV viewer inquiry about a possible rules infringement -- is still mentioned "basically every week" one year later, she said.
It gets old. It still hurts a little. She is "always kind of reminded" of the incident by well-intending people at pro-am parties.
But just as she turned that midround gut punch last spring into a roaring comeback, in which she ultimately lost the championship in a playoff to So Yeon Ryu, Thompson is typically upbeat following such a public disappointment.
"I've relived it for a while," said Thompson, 23, who enters this week's ANA Inspiration ranked No. 2. "That night was extremely rough. I was screaming, crying ... [I] just had to let it go and let time pass."
As it did, what Thompson has been able to focus on is the quality of her maturing game. She always felt she had the shots. She also never lacked tenacity.
"I think overall throughout the whole year, I learned how strong I was as a person on and off the course," she said. "... and that I could get through anything that I was faced with if I just go through it with a positive attitude and move on."
Move on she did.
In that memorable Sunday final round, Thompson went from holding a two-stroke lead on the second nine holes at a major championship to trailing by two shots. Thompson could be heard in the telecast asking LPGA rules official Sue Witters, "Is this a joke?"
Witters had the task of intercepting Thompson on her way to the 13th tee and informing her that she was being penalized two shots for violating Rule 20-7c for incorrectly marking her ball on the 17th green during Saturday's third round. Thompson was also being penalized two additional strokes for violating Rule 6-6d for signing an incorrect scorecard.
The violation occurred on the 17th green in Saturday's third round when, on a one-foot putt, Thompson replaced her ball an inch away from its original position.
While visibly shaken and incredulous after the decision, Thompson hammered her next drive and birdied the 13th hole. Less of a player would have completely fallen apart, but Thompson continued to make birdies and contend for a title.
"I had to dig really deep," Thompson said in her Tuesday news conference at Mission Hills Country Club. "Basically, every tee shot, there was water in my eyes."
Less of a player also would not have rebounded from such an incident last year with two tournament wins, six runner-up finishes, a spot on the winning 2017 U.S. Solheim Cup team, 61 of 79 rounds played under par, a career-best No. 3 finish on the LPGA's season money list or the Vare Trophy for the tour's lowest season scoring average, at 69.11.
"She took a really tough situation, handled it extremely well and bounced back," Brooke Henderson said. "It seemed like Lexi was in contention almost every week after that."
Having grown closer as teammates on the U.S. Solheim Cup team, Michelle Wie said she was "extremely proud" of Thompson for weathering the calamity of the 2017 ruling and its ensuing fan and media rants on social and mainstream media.
"It does suck, and it's awful," Wie said of the ruling. "I've had my fair share of penalties, and I was just glad she didn't get disqualified. She was fortunate she had a chance to finish.
"But it's a new year, and whatever happened in the past is the past. It happens, and you just have to move forward from it. And now the rule has changed."
Indeed, sofa-sitting golf rules officials got the boot last December when the United States Golf Association adopted a new set of protocols for video reviews of televised competitions. The revisions involve a number of new steps, including "no monitoring or review of communications from TV viewers."
The USGA stated that "reviewing these 'viewer call-ins,' no matter how well intentioned they are, will not be part of the process of applying the rules." Among numerous reasons to disallow viewer intervention, the USGA allowed that the previous practice of allowing public input "create[d] an unhealthy perception of random, inconsistent and/or improperly motivated outside intervention in applying the Rules."
Two-time ANA champion Brittany Lincicome had a simpler explanation when asked to weigh in on the topic of viewer call-in rulings and how they affected her fellow Floridian.
"I feel like if you know a player is cheating on purpose, that's a problem ... but she could have hit that putt with her eyes closed," Lincicome said. "So if it's something as silly as that ... yeah, I'm happy [the rule has changed.]"
When asked how it feels to have affected a change in golf that has daunted tour players for years, again Thompson shrugged and opted for the high road.
"I don't look at myself that I changed the rule," she said. "I'm just happy the rule changed so nobody else can be put through what I was put through last year."
Thompson undoubtedly earned character points all around last year as she wiped her eyes, gritted her teeth and attempted a rally on a course she describes as "still my favorite place." Tweeting on her behalf that day were golfers and sports fans around the world, including Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake. Fans lining the fairways at Mission Hills chanted her name, urging her on.
While some of her peers wonder if last year's ruling adds a little more incentive for Thompson to avenge such an emotional loss, the 2014 ANA Inspiration champion assured questioning media that there is no pit in her stomach as she returns for this week's ANA Inspiration.
"It's the past. It's 2018, and I'm ready for a new year," said Thompson, who already has two top-10 finishes in four starts this season, including a tie for second. "And everybody needs to just let it go."