It takes immense determination and hard work to excel in a game such as golf. Moreover, one needs extra courage to step away from the same sport that they have made a name for. Well, that is exactly what So-Yeon Ryu did on Friday, as she made her final putt of her career at the 18th green. Interestingly, the world of women’s golf responded in nothing short of a heartwarming manner!

Many golfers, including the likes of Jessica Korda, Paula Creamer, Atthaya Thitikul, Ashleigh Buhai, Morgan Pressel, Hannah Green, and Danielle Kang, took to their social media handles to wish the athlete a warm goodbye after her last shot at the ongoing major championship. While Creamer uploaded a post on her handle, the rest shared the same via their Instagram stories. Fortunately, all those wishes didn’t go unseen, as So-Yeon Ryu herself shared them on her Instagram handle, marking the end of a 17-year-long professional career.

“Will miss you @1soyeonryu Congratulations on an amazing career,” wished Korda, while Buhai followed suit with a similar story. However, Atthaya took on a more personal note as she endearingly said, “We will miss you Unnie, wish you best of luck in everything and also your next journey. Happy retirement my sweet Unnie.” 

The 33-year-old had previously announced her intention to retire from the game of golf after the Chevron Championship. And say goodbye she did after a score of 7-over par overall with figures of 77-74 after the two days of play, all the while missing the cut. Regardless, she didn’t want to mull over the unfortunate ending, but she wanted to celebrate a wonderful career.

“I felt teary all the time, but I promised myself I am not going to cry,” confessed So-Yeon Ryu after missing the cut. Adding on, she said, “I wanted to make sure this week is a celebration, not a sad week.” That’s not all; the South Korean professional even divulged how she didn’t want to finish the last hole with a bogey, leading her to card the par-5 18th with a putt.

What’s more, she made sure to express her gratitude to the special people in her life as well while recounting the time she couldn’t help but feel teary-eyed: “I spotted my family and then my best friend, my agent and everyone, my whole team. Without them, I don’t think I was able to achieve my dream, so I think that was the time I felt quite emotional.” Well, So-Yeon Ryu has every right to be emotional, considering how much she has impacted the game with her various feats over her career spanning almost 17 years.

The end of an accolade-rich career for So-Yeon Ryu

The professional has managed to rake in a total of 20 professional wins, six of which came from the LPGA Tour, including two majors at the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2017 ANA Inspiration, which later took on the name Chevron Championship. Moreover, she became the third golfer from Korea to claim the top spot on the Rolex Rankings in 2017, after which she managed to hold onto it for a total of 33 weeks.

Although she is currently ranked 285 in the world rankings, So-Yeon Ryu has finished a total of 97 times inside the top 10 in the women’s circuit. Aside from these victories, she has also won 10 times on the Korean LPGA, with her final win coming at the 2020 Korea Women’s Open. Truly a remarkable career for any professional of the game. On top of that, an even better sendoff by the LPGA Tour pros!

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