THE WOODLANDS, Texas – So Yeon Ryu spends a lot of time with her therapist these days talking about her passions in life. She took up golf at age 8 and played professionally for 16 years. At age 33, Ryu can’t imagine her life without golf.
But when she thinks about when she’s happiest, it’s in the moments immediately after she wakes up – from her own bed – and goes to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.
It’s not the same in a hotel room.
Ryu didn’t realize how much she missed living in South Korea until a global pandemic forced her to move back home for nine months and she thought: This is a real life.
“I never knew it,” she said. “I never knew I could have that kind of stable life.”
Not that tour life was bad. Not that she’d go back and pursue another passion. It’s just time to move on.
Ryu flew came back to the Chevron Championship, an event she won in a playoff against Lexi Thompson in 2017, to say a proper – and grateful – goodbye. A rusty Ryu opened with a 5-over 77 at the Chevron, and it’s possible that Friday afternoon will be her final round on the LPGA.
So Yeon Ryu of South Korea prepares for a shot on the 13th hole during the first round of The Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods on April 18, 2024 in The Woodlands, Texas. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Many of Ryu’s contemporaries have already retired. Her best friend, Inbee Park, is back home in South Korea on maternity leave.
It will likely be a quiet farewell to a player who has been nothing but first-class from the start.
Ryu believes her biggest accomplishment was rising to No. 1 in the world, a position she held for 19 weeks. At age 33, Ryu might seem young to retire, but she’s hardly the first No. 1 to leave the tour well before age 40.
Two years ago Shanshan Feng, a pioneer in Chinese golf, retired at age 33. Ai Miyazato said goodbye in 2017 at age 32. In 2010, LPGA Hall of Famer Lorena Ochoa went out on top at age 28.
Going back home wasn’t the only factor for Ryu. This one might strike people as kind of funny, she said, but she’s never been very good with competition.
“I don’t think I was born with the competitiveness,” said the two-time major winner.
She loved the game, and pushed through those feelings because her God-given talent was so great, but she found the whole experience exhausting.
So Yeon Ryu of South Korea speaks to the media after her win in a playoff against Hee Kyung Seo of Korea during the final…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golfweek…