2 LPGA stars offer different viewpoints on retirement plans

Charley Hull was stunned by the question ahead of this week’s HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore. Surely, the question wasn’t about her.

I read an article a few months ago that you were [contemplating] retiring. What’s that all about?

The 28-year-old Hull quickly put an end to any thought that she was considering following in the footsteps of recent LPGA stalwarts Lexi Thompson, Ally Ewing and Brittany Lincicome and looking to hang up her golf shoes.

“I don’t think that’s about me, surely,” Hull said. “Lexi is retiring but not me. Definitely not me. I’ll play golf until I’m on my deathbed.”

The next day, another one of the LPGA’s biggest stars entered the media center and was asked about her long-term plans for golf.

Lydia Ko’s answer was, as expected, a little different.

Ko has long been on the record that she plans to retire by the age of 30. While that timeline has become a little less firm in recent years, Ko still sounds like someone who has more professional golf behind her than in front.

“Thirty is a long way to go,” Ko said. “I’m 27 now. Soon turning 28. I’m just trying to honestly take it day by day. My schedule has changed. I’ve gone from thinking I was going to play ten, 15 events this year to now playing over 20. And then also kind of reassessing during the middle of the season where I am with my energy levels [and thinking] am I going to play more or less?

“I think that’s a very down-the-road question, but 30 is a long way. It definitely doesn’t get any easier. It’s easier in the sense that I’ve come to these kind of golf courses and I kind of know what to expect, and I’m not like a rookie getting used to these types of tournaments and courses. But it all builds up at the end of the day, and I’m obviously very grateful for everything that I’ve gotten through the sport, and I want to play the best golf while I’m still playing, and that’s obviously the biggest goal for me right now.”

Ko went on GOLF’s Subpar Podcast last year and offered more insight into her retirement plan, admitting that she’ll retire once she feels enough is enough. That could be at 30. Or before. Or after.

“To be honest, no,” Ko told Colt Kmost and Drew Stoltz when asked if she wanted to play for 20 more years. “I think when I was younger, I said I wanted to retire when I’m 30, and now that I’m inching closer to 30, I’m like, four years is still a long time from now. I’m honestly taking it by the day and taking it by the week. When that happens, you’re almost in the middle of the year, and then you’re done with the majors and all that. So I don’t really have a certain date when I want to retire. 

“And I think for every single player, I think that until that moment comes, you really don’t know. Like, I could say 30, or, like, 28, but who knows, I could play until like 35. That’s the beauty of golf, is that as long as we’re healthy and fit, we can really do this for a long time and age is maybe not as relevant as in sports like swimming or other sports.”

It’s fitting that in a week that began with questions about their long-term golf plans, both Ko and Hull brought their best to Singapore.

Ko leads after three rounds at 10-under-par, while Hull is just one shot off the pace.

Retirement comes for everyone. But for Ko and Hull, elite golf will be their present and future until they decide it isn’t.