Feng said this week that she would formally retire from competitive golf after the 2021 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, which was first reported more than a year ago.
I assumed you would remark that you were delighted to learn that I would be retiring! After being welcomed on a Zoom chat with golf reporters on Monday, Feng made a joke.
This is Shanshan Feng. Nothing is off limits in her interactions with everybody she encounters, media included. She is always quick with a joke.
Feng occasionally mimicked her interviewer during post-round interviews throughout her career. She would mourn previous times, so she begs them to speed up their inquiries so she may go off and see what player eating offers.
Feng's love of food was not something she displayed on her sleeve but rather on her pants, as she alternated between wearing a pair of pants with a cow design during tournament weeks and another couple with doughnuts and coffee on them.
"I was able to visit so many other nations while on the vacation that I was able to sample meals from other regions. The most thrilling aspect was that, according to Feng. "I truly miss it," you said.
She claims that Feng's decision to retire was one she thought about for a long time. Her original aim was to retire after ten years of golfing. Her plans were altered when golf was again included in the Olympics. The 32-year-old decided to continue playing for longer to participate in the Olympic Games in 2016 and 2020, which were further delayed because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Feng chose to forego the COVID-shortened 2020 LPGA season rather than deal with the hassles of lengthy quarantines when traveling back and forth between China and the U.S. Feng returned to compete at the 2021 Chevron Championship after a 16-month absence when she wowed the crowd with a round-opening score of 67. In a viral interview with Golf Channel, she spoke candidly about how she had spent the previous year caged up at home, like many others worldwide.
Here is Shanshan Feng. It always makes me chuckle. However, humor aside, she has significantly influenced the game, especially in China.
She qualified for the LPGA for the first time at 18 in 2008 after earning her card on her first try at what was initially known as a qualifying school.
She once again created history in 2016 when she became the first Chinese player.
When she won the KPMG Women's PGA Tournament, she became the first person, male or female, to win a major championship in golf. She earned the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio after being the first golfer from China to compete there. Feng had the chance to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping due to the honor, and she remembers flirting with him when he was introduced to the Olympic delegation.
She once again created history in 2017 as she became the first player from China to top voodoo in the top place in the global rankings for 23 weeks. She established the Shanshan Feng Golf Academy at Nansha Golf Club in her native Guangzhou the same year. Feng and Gary Gilchrist, who collaborated on the initiative, hoped to provide students in China with the same training that Feng had from her longstanding instructor in the United States.
Feng was a trailblazer who paved the way for the next generations of young girls to play the game in China, much like Se Ri Pak did for a generation of young girls in Korea with her triumph at the 1998 U.S. Women's Open. Feng was the first representative of her nation to be LPGA in 2008; she is currently one of eight.
"There was never someone in front of me that I could follow their route. Therefore I always felt like I was the test subject. She spoke. "I had to visualize the way for myself genuinely.
Although Feng said she didn't consciously consider her influence in China since it was too much strain to bear while attempting to compete on the golf field, it did motivate her to get better.
"Even after I reached the top of the world rankings, I believed I could be better, "She stated. I wasn't perfect, but even though I wasn't looking for perfection, I was always trying to become better.
Feng declares she will stop competing. She competed on the LPGA Tour, won tournaments, competed and took home a medal at the Olympics, and rose to the top of the global rankings, and she is happy with what she accomplished. Feng considers holding the top spot in the world to be her proudest professional accomplishment. The one remaining hope for Feng? is to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
I honestly gave it my throughout my entire career, "She spoke. "Nothing to be sorry for
Feng made her final appearance on American soil in June 2021 in the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club. She expressed her desire to compete in one more tournament close to home before saying goodbye to GolfChannel.com after failing to cut. But when the Buick LPGA Shanghai was postponed for a third year in July 2022, Feng decided she couldn't put off living her life any longer.
Feng disclosed her plans when she announced her retirement.
She claims she hasn't practiced at all since beginning her new job. Her attention is now on taking advantage of her newfound free time. She is thrilled about the chance to avoid having to stick to a routine or wake up early. The self-proclaimed gourmet is also thrilled about the prospect of eating whenever and whatever she wants.
Around dinnertime in China, Feng said as the Zoom connection ended, "I miss the buffalo wings, I miss the pepperoni pizza." I'm sorry, it's dinnertime. I have pizza after this, please."
This is Shanshan Feng. She hasn't been matched by anyone else on the LPGA. As she moves into her new life away from professional golf, her quips, cow trousers, and genuine love of food will be sorely missed.
On the LPGA, Feng leaves a significant gap, and that is no laughing matter.
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