When Pernilla Lindberg finished her round on day two of the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei, a lei was draped around her neck.

It wasn’t a traditional one, what Hawaiians refer to as a closed-circle lei, but rather an open lei that has two tendrils draping down from each side of the neck, as it’s considered bad luck in Hawaiian culture to give a closed-circle lei to a pregnant woman.

Lindberg announced on Sept. 23 via Instagram that she and her husband Daniel Taylor were expecting their first child in March 2026. But in the same post, the 39-year-old also shared that she would be stepping away from professional golf after the LOTTE Championship, more than ready to enter a new chapter of life as a devoted mother.

“I’m so impressed with the moms we have on the LPGA Tour, but I have never seen myself play full-time on Tour after becoming a mom,” Lindberg’s post read. “I have given professional golf it all since 2009, and it’s been an amazing journey all the way from Q-School to becoming a major champion, but I’m ready to take a step back from Tour life and focus on being a mom.”

Lindberg can certainly chalk up the entirety of her professional golf career as a success, even though she might not have a torrent of tallies in her win column. She made over $3.3 million in official earnings, recorded 12 top 10s and 57 top 25s and represented Sweden in two Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crowns, as well as the 2016 Rio Olympics.

But the crown jewel on her professional athlete resume is by far her major win at the 2018 Chevron Championship, what was her first and has remained her lone victory on the LPGA Tour. She went toe-to-toe with Inbee Park and Jennifer Song in an eight-hole playoff at Mission Hills Country Club that stretched into the next Monday, ultimately beating Park with a birdie on the last after Song was eliminated on the third extra hole.

That triumph saw Lindberg become just the fourth Swede at the time to win a major championship and put her amongst the likes of Helen Alfredsson, Liselotte Neumann and Annika Sorenstam, a cast of characters whose on-course accomplishments are challenging for many to hold a candle to. However, now that she’s written the final chapter of her pro golf story, it’s her longevity in the game that ultimately means the most to Lindberg

“Obviously, the highlight is being able to call myself a major champion, winning the 2018 ANA Inspiration, now the Chevron Championship,” Lindberg said at the LOTTE Championship. “Besides that, I would say playing 16 years out here, that's I think a lot longer than I could ever have dreamed of. It's gone by in a flash. I've shed a lot of happy tears in the last 30 minutes, hour, and it's because I'm going to miss all the memories I've created out here, all the people. I have created some of my best friendships for life out here on Tour.”

Lindberg has also given back to the game that’s given so much to her by serving her counterparts as a Player Director on the LPGA Board of Directors, a selfless act that gives Tour athletes the opportunity to represent their collective interests alongside the organization’s key decision-makers. It’s a commitment that few make throughout their tenures as professional athletes, but it’s another accolade that sets Lindberg apart, one that will additionally define the legacy she’s left as she moves into this next part of her life.

In that same vein, after the celebrations wrapped on Thursday at the LOTTE Championship, after the champagne was popped and the cake was cut, Lindberg had some sage advice to provide to her fellow Tour players, some words of wisdom for those who are looking to follow in her footsteps as both a major champion and an advocate for the women’s game.

“Don't be too hard on yourself. You're going to have so many ups and downs out here. Enjoy the journey,” said Lindberg. “Take care of the Tour. Try to do something good for the Tour, where you leave it in a better place than you found it. Appreciate the fans, the volunteers that we have out here, the staff, everyone that helps us because I think a lot of players, it's easy to just show up and take everything for granted inside the ropes, but it's so much more that goes into it for us to be able to do it.”

Lindberg did that throughout her 16 years with the LPGA, and even though she will no longer be walking inside the ropes as one of the game’s top athletes, she will always take pride in the fact that she did her best to act like a Founder, that she is leaving the Tour better than it was when she arrived, that she worked hard to ensure its health for many more years to come.

Pernilla Lindberg Leaves LPGA Tour at LOTTE Championship to Pursue Motherhood

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