Amy Olson always had this plan.
Play on the LPGA Tour for 10 years. Getting married. I have children. Retire to focus on motherhood.
So after announcing she was pregnant last March, Olson knew time was running out on her career. She did it at the US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links seven months pregnant and went on maternity leave shortly after, eventually giving birth to her daughter, Carly Gray Olson, on September 15.
Becoming a mother is something that often cataclysms an athlete’s mindset, and Olson was no exception, making it that much easier to share via Instagram that she would be retiring from professional golf, a decision Olson couldn’t have been more comfortable with. when he finally hit the post button.
“Really, my biggest dream is to be a world-class mom and a world-class wife,” Olson said. “Those are my two biggest goals and that looks different for everyone. But for me, it means being present more than I was able to while I was on Tour.
“I have so much appreciation for what my mom did for my brother and me, and the kind of life and home life she cultivated. She was a stay at home mom. He ended up training my brother and I, and he’s a huge role model for me. There are a lot of things she did, (and) I want to be able to walk in her footsteps.”
Every ending, no matter the reason, often has its bittersweet moments of reflection and wondering what would have happened if all the what-ifs had come true. Olson certainly has things she wanted to accomplish in her professional golf career that didn’t end up happening — winning a tournament, winning a major, playing in the Solheim Cup — but she’s not a procrastinator, she should, should she had moments in her life.
“When I think about regrets, it would have to be something I could have done differently,” Olson said. “I’m sure you could point to different times where I could have treated someone better. I could have said something and I didn’t. It’s not that I walked perfectly. But as far as golf and what I put into it, I don’t think I could have tried harder. I don’t think I could have put more into it than I did.”
When she looks back on her last decade on the LPGA Tour, some moments stand out in Olson’s mind better than others. Victory eluded her at both the 2018 Amundi Evian Championship and the 2020 US Women’s Open, where Olson unexpectedly lost her father-in-law Lee that Saturday night.
These last few days in Houston have been emotional for Olson, who faced waves of grief during the rain-delayed final round he was forced to finish on Monday at the Champions Club. But it’s a moment she looks back on with understanding, knowing that as distressing as it was at the time, she grew from the experience in the end.
“The two majors I played in, the Evian and then the US (Women’s) Open, both ended in heartbreak for me, whether it was the tragedy around the US (Women’s) Open with my husband’s father dying” , Olson. is reflected. “It was really, really hard. But I feel like it encompasses so much of life where you have hard things to do.
“You get over it, you get over it and you move on. What golf really taught me after all is that you keep putting yourself out there. You keep trying. You keep working hard. You don’t always have control over the results, but no matter what, you keep going.”
And there are other times Olson remembers vividly for entirely different reasons. Sometimes the days as a professional athlete blend together, but there are moments that inexplicably will always stick in a player’s mind long after their final score is posted.
“Another memory that I remember that nobody else remembers, but at the Kia Classic, I was like six over (33) holes,” Olson recalled. “I’m going to miss the cut here. I end up hitting a few birds to make the cut. Then on the weekend, I went 10 under and finished second.
“So to be able to turn it around and still believe that, even though things weren’t going too well at the beginning of this tournament, to turn it around and have an amazing run that ended up in second place, it was so fun. “
Fun for Olson now includes tummy time and diaper changes, car seats and baby clothes, and she couldn’t be happier about it. Many wondered if she could turn her attention to a passion project or work toward becoming a professional pickleball player when she decided to step away from golf. But Olson’s free time is a little more limited with Carly in the picture.
“It’s a little difficult now that it’s in motion,” Olson said. “I can’t just put her in her stroller and go play pickleball. This will be one of those things we want to do as a family. I can’t wait until he can pick up a paddle and hit it back and forth. Grant and I love being teammates on the pickleball court. Maybe we even like to beat each other on opposing teams. But being active and being able to do those things with our family and friends is definitely part of the plan.”
This Mother’s Day marks Olson’s first with her daughter, and while she’s not saying goodbye to the LPGA Tour at a tournament like some others, she wants her teammates to know how much she loved playing and living life with them. last 10 years. Saying goodbye to something that’s been a fixture in your life since you were a little girl is incredibly difficult, especially for a player like Olson, who has developed deep, personal relationships with many he’s played alongside week after week on Tour. But she’s comfortable seeing her path as a professional golfer come to an end.
“When you get to the end of any kind of journey, what you remember is the people,” Olson said. “I’ve made so many good friends in my time out there, and that’s probably the hardest thing is moving on and realizing that you’re not going to see them every day like you did before. I would just say thank you to all the other players on the LPGA. I enjoyed our time on the water so much. There are so many conversations that happen between takes, and I enjoyed every single one of them.”
Despite this bittersweet goodbye, Olson is as ready as ever for this new chapter and can’t wait to pursue a new dream like Carly’s mother. Who knows? We may see her do it again down the line, but those plans are far in the future right now, as Olson hasn’t practiced enough to consider competing in a retirement event one last time.
“I want people to know that if I come back and do it, or if I go and play in qualifying at the US (Women’s) Open or whatever, it’s for fun,” Olson said. “It’s not about my career anymore. It’s not my job anymore. I want it to be a sign that I’m in a different mindset now. I think the biggest thing is that I have different dreams. It’s not like those dreams have been lost and I wouldn’t want to lift a trophy. But I have bigger dreams that I’m prioritizing now.”
And as she celebrates her first Mother’s Day at home with Carly and Grant, thoughts of wins and golf courses and major titles will be the furthest thing from Olson’s mind.
Instead, she’ll be enjoying the moment with her family, content with life outside of professional golf and excited about all that her future holds, motherhood and all.