In April 2024, Amy Olson decided to retire from professional golf at the age of 31. Expecting her first child, she was eager to start a new chapter in life.
That same year, other golfers like Lexi Thompson, Mariajo Uribe, Marina Alex, Ally Ewing, and So Yeon Ryu also chose to step away from the sport for various reasons. Lydia Ko might be thinking about retirement too.
For men in golf, leaving the game so young is rare; however, it’s a common choice among women players.
Header Text: The Challenges Female Golfers Face
In an exclusive chat with Golf Monthly, Olson shared why she retired early and how many women face an inevitable career end date despite their skills. She said some women don’t dream of marriage or kids but for many others, it’s always on their minds as athletes. They often wonder if they should stop playing to have children before time runs out.
Olson noted that not everyone wants kids or marriage. For those who do become pros early on, constant travel can be exhausting. Fans might think it’s tough balancing personal dreams with professional ones.
When you hit the pro level in LPGA with around 32 events annually and most players participating in about 25-26 tournaments per year—travel becomes intense! Unlike PGA events clustered geographically like Texas cities (Dallas-Fort Worth-Austin-Houston), LPGA players hop across continents—from Australia to Korea then California back east again—the miles add up fast!
The relentless travel means being away from family frequently; professional success alone doesn’t fulfill everyone because relationships matter too! This realization led Olson towards focusing entirely on motherhood after retiring from competitive play.
Now expecting her second child by 2025 alongside her husband whom she married back in 2014—they’ll soon expand their family unit further still! Some LPGA members juggle motherhood while competing but Olson couldn’t imagine doing both simultaneously without compromising either role significantly enough personally speaking…
She had always planned having children around age thirty-one which aligned perfectly when daughter arrived right after turning thirty-one years old herself—a timeline designed specifically allowing different life chapters unfold separately rather than overlapping everything all once together chaotically instead!
Watching fellow moms tour alongside little ones amazes yet sometimes leaves them wanting more unable fully embrace dual roles due lack sufficient hours day provide necessary balance between parenting responsibilities versus athletic commitments required succeed professionally within sport itself ultimately choosing focus solely one path over another given circumstances presented themselves accordingly…
With nearly $3 million earned during career plus twice finishing runner-up major championships—Olson praised LPGA’s efforts increasing prize money recent years helping top-100 earn decent living compared earlier days where only top-80 managed break even financially speaking overall situation improved somewhat though disparities remain evident especially between male/female tours regarding financial support afforded traveling families accompanying players competitions worldwide today still present challenge many aspiring female athletes face navigating careers successfully long-term basis alike…
What do you think about these challenges?
