Michelle Wie West Says Emotional Goodbye to Pro Golf at U.S. Women’s Open

Wie West’s 17-year-long career in the spotlight came to an end Friday at Pebble Beach.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Michelle Wie West was holding back tears long before she sank a seemingly magical 31-foot par putt to close the book on her professional golf career at the 78th U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach. 

But shortly after her ball fell so gently over the left edge of the cup on Pebble’s iconic 18th green, the emotion came pouring out of the 33-year-old. 

“Well, the putts definitely didn’t drop all week, and the game is a funny game, and making that long putt on 18 definitely was a sweeter sendoff,” Wie West said. “It just was such an emotional day starting from 1 tee. I’ve definitely held back tears the entire round. It was fun. It was great to have my last round here at Pebble Beach. It definitely feels surreal right now.”

Finishing in style! @MichelleWieWest gives the gallery one more memory. #USWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/DADSgBGXuA

— U.S. Women's Open (@uswomensopen) July 8, 2023

Wie West and 10-time major champion Annika Sörenstam—who played what will mostly likely be her final U.S. Women’s Open this week—both received flowers from USGA CEO Mike Whan as they walked off 18. 

Moments later, Wie West’s LPGA peers Marina Alex and Jodi Ewart Shadoff came running in for a congratulatory hug, and that’s when the real waterworks began.  

Wie West’s 17-year-long professional career, which saw numerous highs as well as a fair share of lows, had finally come to an official end. The 6-foot-tall phenom from Honolulu, who pushed the boundaries of the women’s game and inspired a generation of female golfers, had taken her final strides inside the ropes. 

“It feels [like] nothing has changed and everything was changed all at once. It’s definitely a strange and surreal feeling right now,” Wie West said. 

Wie West has lived in the limelight of the golf world since she became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public links at just 10 years old. She made the cut at a major championship at age 13, played in a PGA Tour event at age 14, and turned pro just six days before her 16th birthday. 

Despite the early spotlight that never seemed to fade, Wie West’s greatest career accomplishment came years later after a series of injuries that plagued her game. In 2014, she won the U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst, which was ultimately the star of her five career wins on the LGPA Tour. Wie West was intentional in choosing the USGA’s premier championship at Pebble Beach as her send-off site. 

“I really, really wanted to play longer,” Wie West said at the beginning of the historic week in Carmel, Calif. “... 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 body decision and also a personal decision.”

As tough as Wie West’s choice was, she couldn’t have been happier with the setting for her farewell. It all unfolded in front of her parents, her husband (and caddie for the week) Johnnie West, her three-year-old daughter, Makenna, and a hoard of media looking to somehow capture the bittersweet goodbye. 

“Honestly, the thing that stands out the most for me was having my husband on the bag. He's my partner in life, and to have him walk down 18 with me this week, to have him there by my side the whole week just meant everything to me, to have my family out here, to be at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Everything was just incredible,” Wie West said. 

Battling a shaky putter all week—until her 36th hole, apparently—the former child prodigy finished Friday’s round at 14 over par for the tournament, eight shots outside the cutline.

Walking off the 16th tee, Wie West gave a perfectly relatable hand signal to her agent on the sidelines in response to her poor play: We’re drinking tonight. The on-course rust wasn’t all that surprising, as Wie West hadn’t teed it up in a competitive event since last year’s U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles. 

Wie West claims she won’t bat an eye when she sends her clubs home with the golf bag shipping company “Ship Sticks,” but she’ll always miss the incomparable rush and companionship that stems from the professional game. 

“I’m definitely going to miss the adrenaline, the feeling that you get when you’re so nervous and you pull off the perfect shot. There’s nothing that can replicate that,” Wie West said. “I think my friends on tour and traveling with them every week and the camaraderie of that. It was great to see Jodi and Marina at the end. Definitely going to miss the people for sure.” 

Just because Wie West won’t be grinding over putting drills week to week, doesn’t mean she won’t play a consistent role in the LPGA community going forward. 

Now that she’s stepping away from the professional game, Wie West will continue on her mission to grow women’s golf, only without a club in her hand. 

“We continually have to keep pushing the boundaries, keep creating uncomfortable situations and pushing through it, so that women and corporations can follow along,” Wie West said on Tuesday. “I think we have to lead by example, and yeah, I hope I can be a part of that.”