Soon-to-be retired major champ ready to embrace "bittersweet" final weekend on LPGA Tour
Anna Nordqvist announced a shock retirement from the sport aged 39 on Wednesday.
Three-time major champion Anna Nordqvist says she plans to make the most of a "bittersweet weekend" after battling back to make the cut at the FM Championship.
The European Solheim Cup captain, 39, announced on social media on Wednesday that this week's LPGA Tour event at TPC Boston will be her last.
An opening 2-over 74 saw the Swede facing the prospect of missing the cut in her final event, but she responded with a 2-under 68 to make the weekend.
Nordqvist told reporters she spoke to Golf Channel's Grant Boone on the putting green before heading out for her second round, where she told him she refused to finish after two days.
"I mean, just been such a crazy last couple weeks, you know, ever since the AIG Women's Open and having the Solheim Cup announcements and media days and going back to Sweden for the first time in a year," she said.
"It's just basically been nonstop.
"I think it hit me really hard when it took me, what, 22 hours to get here. I was supposed to land at 10:00 a.m. and didn't get to my Airbnb until 9:00 p.m."
Nordqvist said the delay forced her to miss her retirement dinner. She was able to make up for it by missing a meeting.
"I feel like things just hadn't really stopped," she said.
Nordqvist said she is glad she announced her retirement the way she did.
"Just because it's a Solheim Cup year and every question is about everyone else but me, so I feel like this was something that me and my team could keep between the few of us.
"I had shared it with a few others and I respect really the fact they didn't share it with the world. Probably a shock to a few."
Nordqvist said she believes her final 36 holes of professional golf will feel bittersweet.
"I love playing golf and I love this game, so I'm going to try to make the best out of this weekend," she said.
Nordqvist won her first major, the 2009 McDonald's LPGA Championship, in her fifth start on the LPGA Tour after a decorated amateur career that included a short stint at Arizona State.
She made her first Solheim Cup team in 2009 and hasn't missed one since, becoming a force on Team Europe over the next 15 years with a 17-15-3 overall record.
She also recorded the first hole-in-one in Solheim Cup history.
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