What happened to Michelle Wie West? Why golf phenom is retiring from LPGA Tour at age 33

Michelle Wie West is gearing up for what is perhaps the final tournament of her famed golf career this week.

The 2023 U.S. Women's Open is, for now, the last LPGA event of the golf star's storied career. It's a place of historical significance for the 33-year-old Wie West, who has been the face of the women's game over the past two decades.

In that sense, Wie West's final tournament is something of a historic moment for women's golf. She became the youngest player to ever qualify for a USGA amateur championship at age 10, then became the youngest ever qualifier for an LPGA event, at age 12. With the Stanford alumna's retirement, the sport will lose one of its biggest all-time stars.

"I really, really wanted to play longer. I really wanted to — especially after having (daughter) Makenna and her being a girl, I really wanted to play longer," Wie West told ESPN on Tuesday. "In an ideal world I wish I was still out on tour and playing. Unfortunately it's just I had to make a hard decision with my body. It is hard."

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While Wie West has expressed a desire to play golf for longer — she hasn't fully closed the door on returning for individual events — it seems as if she is putting her career aside for the sake of her family.

Here's everything you need to know about Wie West's impending retirement:

Why is Michelle Wie West leaving golf?

Wie West announced her decision to retire from the game of golf in May 2022. She told Golfweek at the time that she would play one more event — the 2023 U.S. Women's Open — and that her daughter Makenna, born June 2020, was central to her decision to step away.

"At times, if I do play a lot of golf, I'm just in bed," Wie West told Golfweek. "Or I can’t lift (Makenna) up, and that scared me."

Wie West has struggled with injuries for much of her career, which did not change upon giving birth to her daughter. Golfweek reported in 2022 that Wie West didn't want to sacrifice time that could be spent with her daughter on rehab and practice.

Wie West told Golfweek in 2022 that she isn't fully closing the door on her playing career — "I’m definitely not ruling anything out," she said — but described the leadup to this week's tournament as "emotional."

"It's definitely an emotional week for me," she told ESPN. "I just realized everything I'm doing, I'm doing for the last time. The putting drills that I'm doing, you'd best believe I'm not going to do another putting drill for the rest of my life if I don't need to. So all that stuff I'm doing for the last time, the last practice rounds, getting the line, writing in my yardage book.

"I've been doing a lot of reflecting, and incredibly blessed for the journey that I have and the family that I've built," Wie West added. "It's just a really cool week to be here."

Michelle Wie West career wins

Wie West has five career victories on the LPGA Tour, though she has not won an event since March 2018. To date, her best LPGA Tour was in 2014, when she won two events. Here is a rundown of each of her victories.

How many majors has Michelle Wie West won?

Wie West has one major victory to her name: the 2014 U.S. Women's Open Championship, held that year at Pinehurst Resort (N.C.). She won by two strokes over runner-up Stacy Lewis.

Below is a rundown of her best finishes at the other women's majors, including the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, Women's British Open and Evian Championship.

• Chevron Championship: Second place (2014)
• Women's PGA Championship: Second place (2005)
• Women's British Open: Tied for third place (2005, 2017)
• Evian Championship: Tied for 16th place (2015)

Michelle Wie West career earnings

According to her official LPGA bio, Michelle Wie West has made $7.28 million in official tour earnings. Here is a year-by-year breakdown (with earnings first reported in 2006):