Anna Nordqvist has announced her retirement from professional golf after this week’s FM Championship in Boston. Her Solheim Cup story, however, is far from over: the Swede leads Team Europe into battle at Bernardus Golf next month.
Anna Nordqvist has announced she is retiring from playing professional golf, with this week’s FM Championship in Boston set to be her final tournament after 20 years on tour.
The three-time Major winner broke the news on Instagram on Instagram posting a video in which she reads a letter looking back over her career while highlights play behind her.
Nordqvist’s playing career is ending, but her Solheim Cup commitments are not. She of course remains Europe’s captain for this September’s contest against the United States at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands.
A Career Built On The Big Stages
Nordqvist turned professional in 2008 and won her first Major the following year at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship, aged just 21. Two more Major titles followed: the 2017 Evian Championship, claimed in a play-off through driving rain and hail, and the 2021 AIG Women’s Open. She also lost a play-off at the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open, and finished her LPGA career with nine tour wins to go alongside five Ladies European Tour titles and reported career earnings of more than $14 million.
Her Solheim Cup record stands apart even within that résumé. Nordqvist made her debut for Europe in 2009 and went on to play in nine editions without a break, finishing with a 17-15-3 record, one of the most-capped playing careers in the event’s history.
(Photo Credit: Liu Shang/LET)
Why Now
Nordqvist told reporters at her pre-tournament press conference in Boston that the decision had actually been made earlier in the year, and that the demands of preparing for the Solheim Cup captaincy alongside her own playing schedule had taken a toll.
In her letter, she described arriving in the United States two decades ago with little more than a golf bag and a dream, and thanked those who had supported her along the way. “It’s with a grateful heart I am retiring from playing professional golf”, she said in the video, adding that this would be her last week competing inside the ropes.
She has also spoken previously about health setbacks in recent years, including surgery to remove a benign cyst, and said the retirement decision was made in part to allow her to focus on her health and her family.
The announcement drew an immediate response from within the women’s game. Compatriot and 10-time Major winner Annika Sorenstam was among those to pay tribute to Nordqvist’s career on social media.
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