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Michelle Wie West has admitted that, if it wasn’t for her daughter, she might have called time on her golf career.
The Hawaiian returns to the LPGA this week at the KIA Classic for the first time since a desperate appearance at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June 2019.
Wie, 31, posted rounds of 84 and 82 in that event, attributing her poor performance to pain in her injured wrist.
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“I thought I was done, to be honest,” said Wie West. “After KPMG in 2019 I thought I was done, especially when I found out I was pregnant later that year. I thought that cemented it. I thought there was no chance of coming back, and I told my husband that.”
However, after giving birth to her daughter Makenna in June 2020, the former US Women’s Open winner had a change of heart.
“We found out that Makenna was going to be a girl and that just changed my perspective on everything,” she added. “It was crazy how just that one little fact just changed everything.
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“I started to think, you know, I kind of want to do it. I want to show her in real time that I can play golf. It’s one thing to have her watch YouTube videos but it’s another thing to have her watch me with her own eyes, seeing me go out there, work hard and try to lead by example.”
Despite this week’s event being the five-time LPGA champ’s first competitive start in over 20 months, she has set high goals for herself.
“Goal-wise, obviously I want to win,” added Wie West. “I’m not out here just to make the cut or just to do whatever. But I’m really enjoying my time out here. I want to have fun, and I know that’s when I play my best.
“As a competitor, I want to kind of show everyone what I’ve got. So, I’m just going to go out there and take it shot by shot, enjoy myself and try to make my daughter proud.”
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