American golfer Lexi Thompson announced Tuesday that she will retire from the LPGA tour at the end of the 2024 season.
Thompson, 29, is an 11-time LPGA tour winner, a major champion, a two-time Olympian and a six-time US Solheim Cup team member.
“While it is never easy to say goodbye, it is indeed time. At the end of 2024, I will be stepping away from a full professional golf schedule,” said Thompson on social media.
“I will always look for ways to contribute to the sport and inspire the next generation of golfers. And of course, I look forward to a little time for myself.”
The announcement comes just days before the start of the US Women’s Open, in which Thompson will compete for the 18th consecutive year.
The Florida native turned professional in 2010 at the tender age of 15 and one year later won the Dubai Ladies Masters Championship on the Ladies European Tour (LET), becoming the youngest professional to win on the tour.
Perhaps the crowning moment of her career came in 2014 when she won her only major, the Chevron Championship (then named the Kraft Nabisco Championship).
LPGA tour commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan paid tribute to her: “Lexi’s impact extends far beyond the golf course… (her) remarkable career and the way she has conducted herself both on and off the course have inspired countless girls around the world to pursue their goals with passion and perseverance.”
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