Topless LPGA golfer causes outrage

Golf Digest magazine – one of the oldest, most widely-read and well-respected sporting publications in the world – has decided to sprinkle a touch of casual nudity into its pages for the sake of its circulation figures.

The magazine managed to get LPGA Tour golfer Lexi Thompson to pose topless for its latest issue.

Lexi is officially the ninth-best female golfer on the planet, the youngest ever tournament winner in LPGA history, and winner of the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship – which is the first Major of the year on the women’s circuit.

She has nothing to prove – yet the 20-year-old decided to strip off for the cameras.

It’s a stunt that the magazine has tried in the past : Paulina Gretzky, daughter of NHL legend Wayne and partner of PGA Tour star Dustin Johnson, was on the magazine in a provocative pose last year.

The Thompson cover seems to have pushed things far further – and a backlash began immediately:

Is it an overreaction?