It was in 2023, at the U.S. Women’s Open, when Michelle Wie West played her last event and stepped away from the world of professional golf. And her journey till that point had been nothing short of extraordinary. But despite retiring, Wie has still been connected to the game in one way or another, and she never fails to share glimpses of her current life through social media. Whether it’s updates about her motherhood journey or some playful reels, Wie has kept her presence alive in the sport. And just recently, she shared about embracing a new chapter in her life with yet another post.
The former LPGA star shared a lighthearted reel on Instagram where she’s seen basking in the sun and smiling as she tunes to a Madonna song. Her post included a series of cheeky one-liners on the screen which started with, “I used to be cool, now I say things like,” and the list went on with — “‘I think it’s going to rain’ ‘7 PM dinner reservation is way too late’ ‘It’s way too loud in here’ ‘We have food at home.’” Wie is now 35 years old, but her caption alongside the reel proved that she’s not shy of her age —“Middle-aged and proud of it .”
Her post was playful, but it reflected that she’s self-aware and is not afraid of the greatest fears people have, i.e., ageing. Her playful reel suggested that she’s comfortable with where she is in her life and is not afraid to be honest about things that are comfortable for her. And while the reel was all about poking fun at herself, it also reflected a woman who has lived a career in the public eye and now chooses how she shares her story. Through posts like these, she keeps her bond with the golf community alive, even without teeing it up in competition. Her legacy, however, rests on far more than her social presence — it’s built on a career that inspired countless fans and drew comparisons to none other than Tiger Woods.
Wie’s journey, right from her amateur days, led everyone to believe that she would be the next Tiger Woods. When she was just 12, she qualified for an LPGA event, and by 14, she had become the youngest player to make the cut on tour at the Kraft Nabisco Championship (now Chevron). Her journey was even more extraordinary because she competed on the PGA Tour, starting with the 2004 Sony Open in Hawaii. In 2014, she won her first and only major at the U.S. Women’s Open and reached the pinnacle. But leading up to that, several top finishes in tournaments, including the majors, brought the comparison to Woods.
There was no doubt that the constant comparison to Woods added pressure on Michelle Wie West to perform her best. But eventually, the mental and physical demands began to take their toll on her, and Wie has admitted that those constant comparisons played a part in her early retirement.
How the comparisons to Tiger Woods led Michelle Wie West to retire early
In recent years, Michelle Wie West has been open about how the immense expectations in her early career — and constant comparisons to Tiger Woods — pushed her body and mind to the brink. She recalled the moment in 2007 when things began to unravel. “I was actually on a visit to Stanford, ended up working with the golf team, and did some workouts that I do with my trainer,” she said.
Without her trainer present, she attempted a backward run, not knowing it would lead to a wrist injury that would linger for years. And because of the constant pressure to be the best, Wie made the mistake of not giving it enough time to recover. “I came back from my injury way too quick; I was taking way too many painkillers to go out and play,” she said in an interview on YouTube.
The setback followed her through some of her toughest moments, including withdrawing mid-round from the 2018 Women’s British Open and struggling at the 2019 KPMG Women’s Championship. She even admitted in another instance that not listening to her body and training like a man led her to have the injuries she’s faced in her career throughout. “So this is like a year after I turned pro, in the biggest hyped event ever, everyone saying, I’m the next Tiger Woods whatever, I went through like the two toughest years,” she admitted.
The pressure to live up to the “next Tiger Woods” label made it almost impossible for her to slow down. It was so much at one point that she even hid the truth from the media about her injuries and pain, as she confessed in Nike’s No Off-Season Podcast in 2022 — “I remember not telling the media really honest answers about my injuries, kind of hiding it, just because I didn’t want to feel weak.” Over time, the toll of playing with injuries and masking the reality of her struggles made stepping away from the game the only real option.
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