Oct 13, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Lexi Thompson smiles during an interview after completing the second round of the Shriners Children's Open golf tournament at TPC Summerlin. Mandatory Credit: Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports/ File Photo
(Reuters) - American Lexi Thompson, a former major champion and two-time Olympian, will retire from full-time competitive golf following the 2024 season, the LPGA announced on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old Thompson is an 11-time winner on the LPGA Tour and will be making her 18th consecutive start in a U.S. Women's Open when she tees off at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania on Thursday.
"While it is never easy to say goodbye, it is indeed time. At the end of 2024, I will be stepping away from a full professional golf schedule," Thompson wrote on Instagram.
"I'm excited to enjoy the remainder of the year as there are still goals I want to accomplish. I'm looking forward to the next chapter of my life."
Thompson burst on to the scene in 2007 when, at age 12, she became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open, a record since broken by Lucy Li who was 11 when she qualified for the 2014 edition of the tournament.
The American went on to set a then-record as the youngest winner of an LPGA event when she won the 2011 Navistar Classic at the age of 16.
In 2014, Thompson became the second youngest woman to win an LPGA major with a three-shot triumph at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California.
Thompson, who has more than $14 million in career earnings and captured the most recent of her LPGA Tour wins in 2019, is also a six-time Solheim Cup participant and was a member of the U.S. Olympic teams in 2016 and 2021.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; editing by Clare Fallon)
