Ally Ewing always wanted to go out on a high note.

And after a season that has seen her collect six top-10 finishes and help the U.S. Team to its first Solheim Cup victory since 2017, Ewing is going to do just that when she retires from professional golf at the end of the year.

It’s a bit of a shock, particularly considering just how well Ewing has played in 2024, but the 31-year-old knew that this would be her final year competing on the LPGA Tour right from the start of the season and is now more than ready to turn the page on her life as a professional golfer, content to leave the grind behind.

“I had a pretty good feeling this was going to be the last year for me when I teed it up in January,” said Ewing. “I always wanted to run through the finish line of my career, so seeing a really good season gives me even more peace about my decision. Living on the road as a type 1 diabetic is very hard and takes a lot out of me physically as well, but the ultimate reason is I want to settle down, travel less and spend more time at home with friends and family.”

Ewing first joined the LPGA Tour in 2016, but she waited until the 2020 LPGA Drive On Championship at Reynolds Lake Oconee to become a Rolex First-Time Winner, a victory that fittingly came on her 28th birthday.

Her next win fell on her first wedding anniversary, as Ewing took home the 2021 T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards title on May 30, a year to the day since she married her husband, Charlie, in 2020.

Ewing’s third and most recent LPGA Tour victory came in 2022 at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, a win that might not have had any special significance when it came to the date but one that saw Ewing join Mary Mills as the second LPGA Tour member from Mississippi to hoist a trophy at Kenwood Country Club.

But if you ask Ewing what some of the proudest moments of her career are outside of her three victories, she’d immediately say the Solheim Cup.

Ewing played in her first Cup in 2019, taking the place of Stacy Lewis that year after the major champion withdrew from the biennial team competition because of an injury. She went 1-3-0 in her four matches and the U.S. Team ultimately lost to the Europeans at Gleneagles, but it’s a moment that Ewing looks back on fondly, knowing just what it meant to even be in that position in the first place.

“Playing my first Solheim Cup was such a pivotal moment in my career,” said Ewing. “The pride I had to wear the Red, White and Blue will always be at the top of my achievements. It only propelled me to feel like I could push even harder.”

And push she did, making the next three U.S. Solheim Cup Teams, including this year’s at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Some players may cringe when someone calls them a veteran or downplay their role as a team leader, but Ewing has embraced the position on her last couple of U.S. Teams, happy to be a presence that her teammates can lean on.

“From a younger age, it's what I highlighted that I wanted to be a part of because there is just no greater honor than representing your country,” Ewing said at this year’s Solheim Cup. “To now be a veteran, apparently there might be some mama bear type of remarks made towards me, so I'm definitely feeling the older role, which is great. It's an honor to be a part of four of these, and I'll take whatever that gets me.”

This year in Gainesville, Va., the 31-year-old finally got to check winning a Solheim Cup off her professional golf bucket list, and after being a part of three teams that went home empty-handed in 2019, 2021 and 2023, few accomplishments could ever feel more significant, making Ewing’s decision to hang it up that much easier.

While this is a happy moment for Ewing, a new adventure that she is excited to tackle head-on, it’s, of course, tinged with bittersweetness. Goodbyes are never easy, particularly to a game around which your whole existence has revolved since childhood, but there is indeed a life after golf, one that Ewing wants to fully experience without the constant pressure to consistently perform at the highest level.

She isn’t done yet, though. Ewing’s farewells won’t officially be said until the end of the 2024 season, and for now, with her announcement out of the way, she is focused on making the most of these next two months, on savoring her last few moments as a professional athlete.

“I’ve played most of this year with so much gratitude,” said Ewing. “I’ve had moments that hit me, like the final hole at St Andrews, knowing it was my last major, but most of all, I’ve just really enjoyed myself this year and pushed to finish strong.

“Golf has been so special to me, and it has given me so much in life, but I also know there is more to life than golf. If you’re the best in the world or trying to get there, know that you are more than a score. There is a God who loves you on your best and worst days.”

Few understand that better than Ally Ewing, so no matter what happens the rest of this season, she will take solace in knowing that she did what she set out to do when she first picked up a golf club when she was just four years old – she accomplished her lifelong dream of competing on the LPGA Tour.

What note could be higher than that?

Ally Ewing Set to Retire from Professional Golf at End of 2024 LPGA Tour Season

Related Articles