Former US Women’s Open champion Michelle Wie West says she is “stepping back” from the LPGA tour.
The 32-year-old will compete in next week’s US Women’s Open and at Pebble Beach in 2023, but does not plan to play any other tournaments.
Wie West has won five times as a professional with her sole major triumph coming at Pinehurst in 2014.
The American rose to prominence at an early age and was once tipped to become the Tiger Woods of women’s golf.
“I’m so grateful for the past 14 years I spent on tour, traveling the world and competing against the best in the game,” Wie West wrote on Instagram.
“Excited to spend more time now on projects that I always wanted to do but never had time for and to continually work to help golf become a more diverse and inclusive space.”
After more than 20 years in the spotlight, Wie West, who gave birth to daughter Makenna in 2020, also stressed that her body now struggles to cope with the rigours of professional golf.
“At times, if I do play a lot of golf I’m just in bed [afterwards],” Wie West told Golfweek. “Or I can’t lift Makenna up, and that scared me.”
Wie West turned into a household name by becoming the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship at the age of 10.
She was also the youngest to win an adult USGA championship at 13, and the youngest to make the cut at an LPGA major in the 2003 Kraft Nabisco, aged 14.
The following year Wie West was given a sponsor’s invitation to the Sony Open in her home state of Hawaii and missed the cut by a single shot following a second round of 68, the lowest round ever by a woman in a PGA Tour event.
She subsequently turned professional just before her 16th birthday and signed deals with Nike and Sony worth millions of dollars.
However, while she has finished in the top three in four other majors, her overall record has been hampered by many injuries during her career.
