American golfer Lexi Thompson, a former major champion and two-time Olympian, will retire from full-time competitive golf following the 2024 season, the LPGA announced on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old Thompson, an 11-time winner on the LPGA Tour, will be making her 18th consecutive start in a US Women's Open when she tees off at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania on Thursday.
"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," Thompson said in a video on Instagram.
"I'm excited to enjoy the remainder of the year as there are still goals I want to accomplish. I'm looking forward to the next chapter of my life."
Thompson made a remarkable entrance into the golf world in 2007 when, at just 12 years old, she became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open, a record later broken by Lucy Li, who qualified at age 11 in 2014.
Thompson continued to set records, becoming the youngest winner of an LPGA event by securing victory at the 2011 Navistar Classic at the age of 16. In 2014, she became the second youngest woman to win an LPGA major, achieving a three-shot triumph at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California.
Throughout her career, Thompson has amassed over $14 million in earnings. Her most recent LPGA Tour win was in 2019. Additionally, she is a six-time Solheim Cup participant and represented the U.S. in the 2016 and 2021 Olympic Games.
(With Reuters inputs)
