Michelle Wie West is back in golf. Three years after walking away, the 2014 US Women’s Open champion has returned to the game on her own terms — driven by family, a new equipment venture and a course that meant too much to pass up.
Wie West retired from competitive golf after the 2023 US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach, stepping away from a career that began when she turned professional just before her 16th birthday. The 36-year-old built her comeback around her own priorities rather than a return to the weekly grind.
The 10-year exemption from her 2014 win at Pinehurst No. 2 would not have reached the 2026 US Women’s Open, but an extended maternity exemption — granted after the birth of her son Jagger in 2024 — handed her one final year of eligibility, and one specific opportunity she could not turn down.
That opportunity was Riviera Country Club, hosting the championship for the first time and carrying personal weight for her family: her father-in-law, NBA great Jerry West, was a member there before his death in 2024. “If it wasn’t at Riviera, I don’t think I would have played,” she said. She announced the decision on Instagram in March, committing to two events — the Mizuho Americas Open, which she hosts, and the US Women’s Open.
Why she came back
The motivation was rooted in family and timing. When Wie West walked away at Pebble Beach, her daughter Makenna was two and too young to remember it; at nearly six, Makenna would now carry lasting memories of watching her mother compete.
Able to play pain-free again after the physical toll that shaped her retirement, Wie West spent months practising out of the spotlight before making any announcement, treating it as a chance to share the experience with her daughter rather than to chase a result.
A new chapter with McLaren
The return coincided with a fresh commercial venture. In late April, Wie West signed with McLaren Golf as both an ambassador and an investor, joining England’s Justin Rose and Ian Poulter as the Formula 1 marque moved into equipment manufacturing. The brand launched its first irons — the Series 1 blade and the Series 3 players-distance model — with the trio of player-investors central to their development. Wie West put the clubs in play at the Mizuho Americas Open in May.
Still pushing the women’s game forward
Competing again is only part of the picture. Wie West is set to feature in the WTGL, the LPGA-affiliated indoor team league launching in the 2026-27 winter, and has long pointed to growing the game and connecting with the next generation as the work she cares about most. Alongside hosting the Mizuho Americas Open, she has expanded into golf course design. Her motivation at Riviera was personal more than competitive — she has spoken about trying to live by the advice she gives her daughter, that effort and attitude matter more than the scoreline.
A full-circle week at Riviera
Wie West played her two rounds at the US Women’s Open with her husband, Jonnie, on the bag and daughter Makenna, almost six, watching from the gallery. She opened with a 75 that included two birdies before a second-round 74 left her short of the weekend. The result was never the point.
Makenna ran onto the green to hug her mother as she finished, and Wie West summed up the week with a smile: “As soon as I hugged her, she was like, ‘Can I go to daycare?’ I’m glad I did all this for her.”
With her eligibility now spent, Riviera likely marks her final US Women’s Open — a fitting close for one of the most recognisable figures in the women’s game.
