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It’s the ultimate juggling act, being a professional golfer and a mother. Even at club level, some mothers set the pause button on their golf game in order to bring up kids. Family or golf? Should we really have to choose?
Back in the 70s mothers on tour were a rare breed. Judy Rankin relied solely on volunteers and sometimes had to withdraw from events if she couldn’t secure someone to take care of her daughter. In the same era, multiple major winner Susie Maxwell Berning managed to juggle motherhood with pro golf. It was doable but it was tough.
Stand-out examples of professional golfers that have won on the course and in the mother stakes include Hall-of-famers and multiple major winners Nancy Lopez and Juli Inkster, while Catriona Matthew won the HSBC LPGA Brazil Cup while 5 months pregnant with daughter Sophie, and shortly after went on to win the Women’s British Open just 11 weeks after giving birth.
However, the yearning to raise a child has seen greats leave the game. Lorena Ochoa was at the peak of her career, having held the World No 1 spot for a record number of weeks, but aged 28 she decided to retire to start a family and is now a mother of three. New mother Michelle Wie retired after the 2022 US Open saying, “Playing golf it’s just you, it’s a pretty selfish sport. I used to play for just me, now it’s the opposite. I play golf with my daughter.”
Former World No1 Lorena Ochoa retired to start a family
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Annika Sorenstam reached dizzy heights in her incredible career and retired in 2008 to focus on starting a family. Now a mother of two, she returned from retirement in 2021 to win the US Seniors Open. Playing in front of her children, she wanted to show them what she could do and what she did so immaculately.
These women chose to step away from golf to concentrate on life away from the course, but for those that choose to have a family while still competing, this can still be a barrier to continuing a golfing career. When former Women’s Open champion Karen Stupples announced she was pregnant in 2006, she was dropped by her sponsors, which convinced the British player that she couldn’t have a child and be a professional golfer. Many sportswomen struggle through the years when considering returning to competitive play. I spoke to hockey superstar and Olympic Gold Medallist Alex Danson about maternity pay and childcare for professional sportswomen. Alex believes things are improving in…
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