It is the end of 2025. What happens at the end of a year—be it a season, school year, or the end of a line?
It could be a bunch of things, really, but one of them is retirements.
After a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January of 2021, Drew Brees retired from my hometown New Orleans Saints and from professional football. The quarterback of those Buccaneers, Tom Brady, would do the same almost a year later, and then again another year later after calling off that first one.
In my bold predictions for 2025 piece—yes, I have a 2026 article in the works—I suspected LeBron James was going to follow suit in 2025. I was wrong, but that day cannot be far off.
What about golfers? And no, I am not talking about the professional staff at your local club; I am referring to the PGA Tour.
While their presence is still felt around the game in other ways, did Greg Norman, Johnny Miller, or Brandel Chamblee ever formally retire from competitive golf? If they did, I missed it.
Sure, Jack Nicklaus, Bernhard Langer, and others have announced they would no longer compete in certain events gradually over time. Nicklaus specifically made a series of de facto retirement announcements as he worked through the last of the events he would play—particularly the majors—until there were none left. Arnold Palmer did the same, as did a host of other players.
Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka’s recent departure from LIV Golf, without a clear and obvious landing spot on another tour, illustrates why retirement announcements really do not exist. Koepka, as a three-time PGA Championship winner, has a lifetime exemption into that event. He also has exemptions into the U.S. Open, The Open Championship, and The Masters through 2028.
While it is quite messy and tangled up in courts, arbitration, loopholes, agreements, and more, he could still play in other events via qualification criteria he has acquired through the years.
Let’s say his LIV departure announcement had been a retirement announcement—he would still be able to play these events. Could he retire but still play? Sure he could, but “retire” would really not be the right word—unless he truly does not plan to play.
Retirements from big names do not really exist unless it happens at an unusually young age. Mito Pereira and Bobby Jones notwithstanding, ever notice that Tour players rarely announce retirements?
You see it a little more on the women’s side. Michelle Wie West and Annika Sörenstam retired at relatively young ages. After her final hole in 2008, Sörenstam would barely be seen in the golf world until she became eligible for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open in 2021.
Instead, retirements usually come by looking in the mirror: the last tournament was the next tournament at the time.
For example, the 2025 Q School that played out over the last few weeks had a number of players advance—and many who fell short. Those who advanced and earned a spot on tour are obviously not retiring, but what about those who came up short?
I have spoken about the concept of investors and backers before, but what happens to a player who comes up short and whose investors or backers decide not to move forward into 2026? Continue on your own? I have discussed how expensive that can be, but what if you cannot do so on your own? What if you cannot find another investor or backer? Did you just play your last competitive round and unknowingly retire?
It seems odd if you are still young, but you might seek a job in another industry while continuing to look for opportunities over the next year. But as weeks turn into months, and months into years, if there is no success finding a suitable arrangement, your final event of 2025 may have been your retirement.
The same could be said for a college player who does not turn professional after graduation. The same for a junior golfer who decides not to pursue college golf or professional competition.
Now that player who “retired”—are they still playing golf?
They are still the same talented player, but now playing in a very different setting. If they regain amateur status, perhaps a prominent amateur invitational or their State Amateur. If they maintain professional status, maybe an occasional appearance in a State Open or another nearby professional event. Or maybe they are simply playing with their buddies or fellow club members at their local club.
Gary Koch, known today more as an announcer—especially for his “better than most” exclamation—is a good example. He played 19 events in 1990 and 10 in 1991 before joining NBC. He would play fewer than five events per year for the remainder of the 1990s. But the talent never faded—he played in the 2001 U.S. Open after navigating the USGA’s qualifying system.
A more recent example might be Smylie Kaufman. He is best known for his 2015 victory in Las Vegas, which earned him a spot in the 2016 Masters, where he played in the final group on Sunday. Success was limited afterward, but he has built a following through media, social platforms, podcasts, and other avenues. His missed cut at the 2022 Puerto Rico Open may have been his retirement—or maybe it was not. Since he is only in his mid-30s, that remains to be seen.
To be fair, some players become so burned out by the game that they never pick up a club again. A friend from my junior golf days was recruited by an SEC school, became an All-SEC player all four years, and turned professional. After a few years, the passion faded, results plummeted, and she “retired.” She majored in early childhood education and became an elementary school teacher. I lost touch with her, but last I heard she had gone several years without playing golf at all.
So next time you tee it up, will the next event be your last before retiring?