Michelle Wie West on Impending Retirement: 'I Really, Really Wanted to Play Longer'

Michelle Wie West's career as a professional golfer will come to an end after the 2023 U.S. Women's Open this weekend.

A five-time winner on the LPGA Tour, Wie West explained to ESPN's Paolo Uggetti why now is the right time to walk away even though she did hope to keep playing:

"I really, really wanted to play longer. I really wanted to—especially after having Makenna and her being a girl, I really wanted to play longer. In an ideal world I wish I was still out on tour and playing. Unfortunately it's just I had to make a hard decision with my body. It is hard. It is hard to be a mom out here. You have to make a lot of sacrifices. I just had to make a hard medical decision and also a personal decision."

Wie West gave birth to her first child with husband Jonnie West on June 19, 2020. Shortly after announcing her pregnancy, she told Beth Ann Nichols of USA Today she hoped to play in front of her daughter.

"I really want her to see me play," Wie West said in January 2020, "and I want her to see me be a strong woman."

Wie West has played on the LPGA Tour sporadically since giving birth. She competed in six tournaments during the 2021 season and twice in 2022. Her most recent appearance was at last year's U.S. Women's Open when she missed the cut.

One reason Wie West was unable to regularly play was due to injuries. She said on the No Off-Season podcast in August 2022 (h/t Max Schreiber of GolfChannel.com) she used to hide her injuries from the media "just because I didn't want to feel weak."

Wie West has arthritis in both of her wrists and had surgery on her right hand in October 2018 after being diagnosed with a small avulsion fracture, bone spurring, and nerve entrapment.

The 33-year-old originally joined the LPGA Tour in 2009. She won five professional tournaments during her career, including the U.S. Women's Open in 2014 for her only major title thus far.

Wie West also played in eight PGA Tour events from 2004 to '08. She is one of six women in history who have competed in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.

The 2023 U.S. Women's Open will begin on Thursday at Pebble Beach.