European hero Suzann Pettersen announces shock retirement

What a way to bow out.

Pettersen turned professional in 2000 at the age of 19 and earned her Ladies European Tour card with an 11th place finish at the 2001 Q-School.

In her second start as a professional, Pettersen won the Open de France Dames in a play-off over Becky Morgan. She went on to finish second on the Order of Merit and was named LET ‘Rookie of the Year’.

• “Stop sending me hate messages” – Kang

She won her LPGA card in 2003 and went on to rack up 15 wins on ladies’ golf’s most lucrative circuit, including two major championships: the 2007 McDonalds LPGA Championship and the 2013 Evian Championship.

However, her career will likely forever be inexorably linked to the Solheim Cup.

She made her debut in the match in 2002 and has gone on to play in nine editions. It would have been ten had injury not forced her to withdraw from the 2017 match at Des Moines Country in Iowa.

She was somewhat controversially picked for this year’s match, despite having only played a handful of times in the last two years after taking time off to start a family.

Pettersen bows out with a 18-12-6 overall record in the match – and, of course, the sporting immortality that will surely go with being the 2019 match-winner.