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From USA Today

By Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY

EDINA, Minn. — At 12 years and 4 months old, Alexis Thompson was a smiling, 5-foot-3 whirlwind of fun at last year''s U.S. Women''s Open, where she became the youngest player in the event''s History.

Since then, she''s grown up — literally and figuratively.

As she played a practice round Monday at Interlachen Country Club in preparation for this week''s 63rd Open, her strides along the hilly, rolling terrain were longer than just 12 months ago, thanks to a 5-inch growth spurt. The extra inches in height have her beaming, as they are a big reason she''s added 20 yards to her drives and now averages about 260 yards off the tee (which is longer than some of the pros this week). She''s hitting all of her irons longer, too, and has the strength to produce more quality shots out of the rough.

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