Three-time major champion Anna Nordqvist announced Wednesday that this week’s FM Championship outside Boston will be her final event before she retires from professional golf.
Nordqvist, 39, will serve as Europe’s captain in next month’s Solheim Cup in the Netherlands. The Swede posted a 17-15-3 overall record in the biennial event after making her Solheim Cup debut in 2009.
That was the same year Nordqvist captured her first major at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship. She also won the 2017 Amundi Evian Championship and the 2021 AIG Women’s British Open.
Nordqvist has earned $14.1 million during her career and won nine times on the LPGA Tour and five times on the Ladies European Tour. She is currently ranked 118th in the world, with her best finish thus far in 2026 a tie for seventh at the Evian Championship.
“Dear golf, 20 years ago, I came to the U.S. with two suitcases, a golf bag and a dream of one day competing with the best golfers in the world,” Nordqvist wrote in a letter she read on Instagram. “While my dreams never quite took me this far, I am very proud of myself for how far I’ve come and grateful for the dream I’ve been able to live ever since.
“I can’t say it has always been easy, especially being so far away from my family, but they have supported me every step of the way. I’ve fallen so many times, but I never gave up, and I stood up every time I fell. I am forever thankful for everything this game has given me, and the people I have met along the way.
“I don’t know how to say goodbye to something that means so much to me, but this is going to be the last week walking inside the ropes, competing on tour.”
Nordqvist had a benign cyst removed from her stomach during the summer of 2024. That was a year after her husband, Kevin McAlpine, died suddenly at age 39 after the couple had announced they were going through a divorce.
“I’m not sure what the future has in store for me, but it’s with a grateful heart I have decided to retire from playing professional golf to focus on my health and my family,” Nordqvist said. “Thank you to everyone who has supported me in the journey and have been part of it along the way. It has meant the world to me.”
