Tour pros react to European golfer’s shock retirement

There’s a tinge of sadness on the DP World Tour driving range this week after it emerged one of the circuit’s most loved players is retiring.

Mike Lorenzo-Vera, the popular Frenchman with an infectious personality, has decided to call time on career exactly 20 years on from first turning pro.

The 40-year-old had taken an extended break from the game last year to protect himself having become afflicted by crippling panic attacks and anxiety disorder.

In a candid interview with bunkered.co.uk last October, Lorenzo-Vera opened up on how he was left completely consumed by his mental struggles.

•  “I can’t do that anymore” – Lorenzo-Vera announces shock retirement

• Mike Lorenzo-Vera: “I was screaming. I thought I was dying.”

“I started to scream and feel like I was drowning,” he recalled.

And despite making an encouraging return at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic this January, Lorenzo-Vera has said enough is enough as he focuses on his wellbeing and his family.

“It was fun, it was hard, it was fantastic,” he said. “But I can’t do that anymore.”

Lorenzo-Vera will make an emotional final appearance in the Omega European Masters at Crans-Sur-Sierre in August.

And as two of his closest friends on tour can attest to, the travelling circus that is the DP World Tour will certainly be a quieter place without him.

“It’s surprising,” his countryman Romain Langasque told bunkered.co.uk. “He looked in good shape at the start of the year. But he’s been playing for 20 years as a professional and he wanted to do something else. Sometimes you need to just take a decision.

• Victor Dubuisson: ‘I was tired of pro golf – now I have a completely different life’

• Ryder Cup vice-captain addresses Jon Rahm concern

“He was such a big personality. As a player you can only love him. He was there when I came on tour and he was one of the guys that has taken care of us (French players) – Gregory Havret and Raphael Jacquelin and him. It’s sad.”

Five-time tour winner Alex Levy concurs: “I’m pretty sad, but happy for him if that’s what he wants. I had a really close relationship him and I hope I’ll play with him in Crans. We have so many good memories – but I need to keep those stories between me and him!

“I’m going to miss him for sure.”

French pair Langasque and Levy – both competing this week here at the Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya – have learned that life on tour can take its toll.

“Most people see the shiny parts, but it’s not as easy as it looks,” stressed Langasque. “There’s some very lonely moments. It’s way tougher when you have kids back home, too. They grow with their mother and they don’t have much time with you.

“There’s a lot of questioning time and Mike had enough of this and wanted something different.

“We can all understand it.”

Ben Parsons is the Senior Writer at bunkered and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.