Michelle Wie West is back.
The five-time LPGA Tour winner and 2014 U.S. Women’s Open champ announced on Tuesday that she will compete in the 2026 edition, three years after she retired from golf.
She delivered the news of her return on Instagram with the caption: “With one final year of eligibility from my victory in 2014 and the Championship headed to an iconic venue that means so much to me, I am excited to announce that I’ll be teeing it up at the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera in June!”
The U.S. Women’s Open is being held at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, for the first time and the Stanford grad will be in the field. Wie West last competed in the championship in 2023, when she missed the cut at Pebble Beach.
Wie West won the tournament in 2014 at Pinehurst No. 2, which bought her a 10-year exemption to play the major, and then a maternity-leave extension gave her an additional two years of eligibility. So, 2026 is her last shot to compete.
While the 36-year-old hasn’t said whether she’s fully coming out of retirement, this tends to be the age where the greatest athletes in their respective sports begin to have second (or third) thoughts. Fellow golfer and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan came out of his first retirement at 32 and second at 38. This might not be akin to Jordan’s “I’m Back” fax, but in February, she committed to play in the upcoming season of the WTGL — the new women’s team indoor golf league. A return to a major championship, however, is a whole new ball game.
Whether this is one last goodbye to the game on the golf’s biggest stage or the beginning of Wie West’s second act, it’ll be fun to watch.