How old was Michelle Wie West when she made her LPGA Tour debut? A quick look at the retiring women’s golf legend’s career

Michelle Wie West has had a long and illustrious career, to say the least. The now 33-year-old stormed onto the golf scene at the age of just 10, qualifying for the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship. That was just the beginning of her impressive career.

Michelle Wie West made her debut at an LPGA event in 2002 during the Takefuji Classic when she was just 12. The following year, she became the youngest woman to make the cut at an LPGA event, doing so at the 2003 Kraft Nabisco Championship.

“You can’t live your life perfectly, but if you live boldly, it’ll turn out right.”

Leaving the golf world better than she found it 👏 @MichelleWieWest https://t.co/zFxmCxHHdl

In 2005, just a week before her 16th birthday, Michelle Wie West announced that she would be turning pro. Since the LPGA Membership card requires golfers to be 18, West had to hold off on playing full-time on the tour. Instead, she participated in a limited number of events through sponsorship exemption.

Wie became eligible for a full-time LPGA Tour membership in 2009 after finishing seventh at the LPGA qualifying tournament in Daytona Beach. She made her full debut on the LPGA Tour at the age of 19 in 2009.

Since then, she has spent almost a decade and a half playing on the LPGA Tour as well as making eight starts at various PGA Tour events.

Michelle Wie West to retire after 2023 US Women's Open

Over the course of her career, Michelle Wie West won on the LPGA Tour five times, with one of them being the US Open major. This year, she will tee it up one last time at the 2023 US Open before stepping away from the sport.

Often known for being bold during her career, she recently spoke about her experiences (via PGA Tour):

“I made a lot of bold choices in my career and I'm proud of it. I'm proud of being fearless at times and just doing what felt right. I hope that I inspire a lot of other girls to make bold and fearless decisions and choices in their careers, as well.”

As Wie prepares to step away from the sport at 33, she has decided to prioritize her family. She is looking forward to ending her career on a memorable note at the US Open, saying:

“When I made the (retirement) announcement last year, even still it was like, oh, I’m transitioning out, but I have Pebble. Now, I don’t have anything in the foreseeable future, so it’s definitely an emotional week for me. I just realized everything I’m doing I’m doing for the last time."