Entertainment

Saying goodbye: 10 notable LPGA players who are retiring in 2024

Published

6 days ago

December 10, 2024

The announcements trickled out over the course of the year, each greeted with a tinge of surprise followed by as appreciation for their accomplishments. That’s what happens when successful LPGA players reveal they are stepping away from the game.

Yet as 2024 rolled on, the numbers doing the revealing started to accumulate. Among them were tour stars, major champions and some of the great personalities in the women’s game. Some have said they’re merely retiring from playing full schedules on tour, so a few of the names will still be seen at LPGA events to come. But it is still the end of an era, as a wave of great golfers say farewell.

Here are 10 notables names taking a step back from the competitive game, several sharing a common reason for their goodbyes:

Lexi Thompson

Age: 29
Rookie Year: 2012

Don’t let her age deceive you; Thompson has already had a long career. Remember, she did play in her first U.S. Women’s Open as a 12-year-old in 2007. Over her decade-plus time on tour, Thompson claimed 11 LPGA wins, including a major, while becoming one of the most popular and recognizable players in women’s golf. (As she walked down her penultimate hole at the CME Tour Championship last month, fans were chanting her name.) Thompson expressed a desire to see what else there is to life, after devoting so much to golf. That said, her retirement is from playing full seasons on the LPGA Tour, so we are likely to see her on-course again in 2025.

Brittany Lincicome

Age: 39
Rookie Year: 2005

Playing via a special exemption at the Annika driven by Gainbridge last month, Lincicome was able to finish her career as a full-time LPGA player (she too says she’ll still play in a handful of events moving forward) about an hour from her home in Florida. Her dad was on the bag for the final hole (see photo above), and her husband and two children followed her throughout the tournament.

Lincicome leaves having won eight times on the LPGA and having played on six consecutive Solheim Cups for Team USA from 2007-2017. She even ventured onto the PGA Tour for one event, the 2018 Barbasol Championship, where she shot one-under in the second round.

Of what she’ll miss on the LPGA Tour, she said: “Probably just the competition. Being in contention on a Sunday, there is really nothing like it. The feeling that you get through your bones. But I’m a mom of two now, I can’t wait to just be a stay-at-home mom and maybe volunteer a little bit at the school. It’s a new chapter in my life so it’s going to be great.”

Ally Ewing

Age: 32
Rookie Year: 2016

Ewing played college golf at Mississippi State before turning pro in 2015. Many fans were introduced to her when she was called up to the 2019 Solheim Cup team at the last moment after Stacy Lewis had to withdraw due to an injury. The next year, Ewing won her first LPGA tournament and went on to win twice more while also playing in three more Solheim Cups.