TOKYO, May 29, (APP/AFP) – Former women’s world number
one Ai Miyazato said Monday that a crisis of confidence triggered her decision to retire from professional golf at the end of the current season.
The Japanese 31-year-old, a nine-time winner on the American LPGA circuit, admitted her struggles dated back to 2012, when she claimed her last tournament victory.
“It was getting harder and harder to stay motivated,” a tearful Miyazato told a news conference in Tokyo.
“That was partly to do with having reached the top of the rankings,” added the Okinawan-born sensation, who has been tormented by her failure to win a major.
“I went to a mental coach and tried to rediscover my old focus but it just wasn’t there.”
Miyazato’s decision comes just a week after world number 10 Jang Ha-Na dropped her LPGA Tour membership and returned home to South Korea to be nearer her family.
The 25-year-old from Seoul won $2.6 million and four titles since joining the LPGA in 2015.
She plans to return next month to the LPGA of Korea Tour, where she won eight times and topped the money list in 2013.