Lexi Thompson announced her shock retirement this week at the age of 29 – but is it really that much of a surprise?
The 11-time LPGA winner, Major champion and six-time Solheim Cup player joins a growing list of big-name stars in the women’s game to hang up their clubs around the age of 30 and still within the peak of their powers.
Lexi came out on tour very young, playing in the US Open at the age of 12, turning pro at 15, and winning on tour at 16. She plays in her 18th-consecutive US Open this week, where she announced that she will no longer play a full-time schedule from 2025.
So, which other players retired from LPGA Tour life early?
Annika Sorenstam
Annika Sorenstam with the US Women’s Open trophy after her 2006 win
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Sorenstam is regarded as one of the best female golfers of all time but she bowed out early at the age of 37.
The Swede won 72 times on the LPGA Tour, including ten Majors, but left the sport due to a lack of motivation and the desire to start a family.
She now has her daughter Ava and her son William, who she has played with in the PNC Championship. In her post-retirement career, she captained the European Solheim Cup team after three assistant captaincies, designed golf courses and set up her ANNIKA golf academy.
She returned to playing as a senior and won the 2021 US Women’s Senior Open by eight strokes. She has also made sparing appearances on the LPGA Tour in recent years, too.
Lorena Ochoa
Lorena Ochoa on the Swilcan Bridge with the trophy after her 2007 Women’s British Open win
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Ochoa spent 158 consecutive weeks as World No.1 in her career that featured 27 LPGA Tour titles, including two Majors.
She won the Women’s British Open at St Andrews in 2007, a year in which she won eight times and became the first woman to earn more than $4m in a single LPGA season.
The Mexican retired at the age of 28 in 2010 to spend more time at home with her family and to work on her Foundation.
“It wasn’t a shock to the close people,” Ochoa told Golf Monthly.
“My sponsors knew and it was the best time. I keep saying that I was so lucky because I made the decision because of the right reasons – I wanted to start a family and spend time with Andres, with my girlfriends, with my relatives.
“Golf was not my priority…
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