Lydia Ko Follows in Lexi Thompson's Footsteps to Drop Retirement ...

After giving 17 years of her youth to the game of golf, Lexi Thompson made a seismic decision to leave the greens forever. As per her announcement, the 2024 season would be the last professional season played by her. Although the plan seems imminent, Thompson has revealed that nothing is permanent just yet.

Following a similar path, another prodigy of the LPGA Tour might be retiring in a year. The former world no. 1 Lydia Ko gave a slight hint in her press conference after playing in the first round of the Amundi Evian Championship. The Kiwi native was asked in the press conference if she is excited about upcoming golf events. The 27-year-old replied that she was “super excited” as it would be a long summer.

Ko further explained that whenever it’s Olympics season, it gets congested. The last time, was in 2021 and Ko won a Bronze medal for New Zealand. The next two months would be surly hectic for the LPGA Tour pros as they would travel around the European greens for the three biggest events. Starting with the Evian Championship at the Evian Les Bains, France, the prominent golfers would find themselves, in Paris for the Summer Olympics.

via Imago

Then, the European stretch would conclude at the AIG Women’s Open in St Andrews, Scotland. Nonetheless, it would be tiring and might be the last one for Lydia Ko as she further divulged why it was a hectic yet fun stretch important for her.

To overcome the stress of taxing mid-season on the LPGA Tour, the 20-time LPGA Tour winner relayed that she has been giving herself frequent good breaks to feel “refreshed and energized going into each event.” And that could happen during the long European stretch as well. Ko might choose to play only the three events, as going back and forth might be too much.

But one thing is for sure. The conclusion at St. Andrews would be pretty exciting and special for Ko. She revealed that her family would probably accompany her at the Olympics and her husband, Jun Chung would be at the AIG Women’s Open. Well, it would be more enthralling because Ko revealed whenever the next Olympics (in 2028) might be, she may not be there to represent her country and experience it.

The LPGA star cheerfully said, “I’m really excited. I don’t know how long I’m going to play golf for. Could be five years, ten years, could be one year. I have no idea.” So, as the reason stands, Ko has explained that she would enjoy these opportunities, as they would get shorter in the next few years. Previously, Ko has shared she might retire by 30 but then extrapolated that she may retire by 28 or even 35.

Although no specific dates come into Ko’s mind, the 27-year-old would play as long as she is healthy and fit for it. Nonetheless, if the retirement does come next year, it would not be one but two stars would be missing from the LPGA Tour in the 2025 season.