Europe’s Solheim Cup captain Anna Nordqvist has announced her shock departure from professional golf after a career which has spanned almost two decades.

The Swede, who is a three-time major winner, will play her final tournament this weekend at the FM Championship in Boston before retiring from the sport.

The 39-year-old’s announcement comes two weeks out from captaining her first-ever Solheim Cup at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands. Nordqvist featured in nine Solheim Cups as a player, winning four and retaining the trophy once. She was a playing vice-captain to Suzann Pettersen in 2023 and 2024.

Her first major win came in her second year as a professional when she won the Women’s PGA Championship in 2009. Wins at the Evian Championship in 2017 and the Women’s British Open at Carnoustie in 2021 helped cement her golfing legacy.

“I can’t say it has always been easy, especially being so far away from my family but they have supported me every step of the way. I’ve fallen so many times, but I never gave up and I stood up every time I fell,” a statement shared by Nordqvist to social media read.

“I am forever thankful for everything this game has given me and the people I have met along the way. I don’t know how to say goodbye to something that means so much to me but this is going to be my last week walking inside the ropes competing on tour.

“l am not sure what the future has in store for me but it is with a grateful heart I have decided to retire from playing professional golf to focus on my health and my family. Thank you to everyone who has supported me in this journey and been part of it along the way it has meant the world to me.”

In an interview with The Athletic last month ahead of the Amundi Evian Championship in France, Nordqvist opened up about the personal sacrifices she was forced to make in order to maintain her career as a professional golfer. One of them included rarely getting to see her family back home in Sweden.

“When you struggle or when there’s a lot going on, it’d be nice just to be able to crash at your mom’s couch or have a home-cooked meal or see your brothers,” Nordqvist said in July. “When you get texts from your nieces and nephews saying ‘I miss you, when are you coming home?’ and you know it’s not going to be for another three months, how do you break it to them?

“It’s getting harder because you start missing birthdays, you start losing milestones. My nieces and nephews are anywhere from between five and 14 now and so much happens. They are so much fun and I love seeing the world through their eyes. I don’t feel like there’s anything better.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have my own kids so they’ve kind of been the highlight of my life. It’s obviously something that’s getting harder and harder because you feel like you want to be there, you should be there, but you just can’t.”

Nordqvist, who currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona, has 16 professional wins in total including nine on the LPGA Tour and five on the Ladies European Tour.

“The last year-and-a-half has been crazy busy with the Solheim Cup planning and trying to do that while I still manage my own game,” she said in July. “I haven’t had a lot of time for myself so that’s been tough but, at the end of the day, I go to bed knowing that I’ve done the best I can each day and that’s all I can really do.”

“The Athletic Football Show” is previewing all 32 teams leading up to the start of the 2026 NFL season. Below are select quotes from the show’s preview of the Kansas City Chiefs. The quotes are edited for clarity. You can watch the whole preview on YouTube and in the embedded video below, or listen to the full AFC West preview wherever you get your podcasts.

Derrik Klassen on what about the Chiefs most excites him: This is a team that for years has not had an explosive runner and really has struggled to gain explosive plays, and they just signed Kenneth Walker to a huge deal, and that’s kind of his whole deal.

I think sometimes it’s hard to figure out exactly how much a running back’s value is going to cascade to the rest of the team. In the case of the Kansas City Chiefs where they were so historically bad at generating these field-flipping runs, bringing in a player like Kenneth Walker, where he obviously gives that to you, it’s pretty easy to see how that actually adds something to this offense. I do think that that gets them back to the formula that was working for them in 2019 and 2020, where they were more explosive on offense. I just really believe in what Ken Walker is going to do here.

Robert Mays on what he’ll be watching the first month of the season: I’m interested in the structure of the offense, because this is a team that was incredibly siloed. Beyond the changes of what running the ball under center could do for their explosiveness, I just think having more optionality and murkiness about what you’re doing situationally is huge.

A lot of teams in the NFL have done this. They’ve gone back to an under-center world in part because you’re giving away no information by doing that, while making things easier on the line and on the quarterback. The Chiefs last year were one of the most siloed teams in the NFL. Per TruMedia, 19.3 percent play-action rate from under center last year, which was 31st in the NFL. They ran the ball 80 percent of the time when they were under center last season. That’s not going to happen again because of the running back, and because they know there are benefits waiting for them if they diversify that a little bit.

Dave Helman on what’s keeping him up at night: What if Kenneth Walker’s presence in the offense isn’t enough to change the fact that this could be a bottom-five receiver corps? What if Rashee Rice has lost a step for various reasons, be they injury or incarceration related? Xavier Worthy weighs 165 pounds and dealt with injury last year. We joked about it several times this summer — and I hope Cyrus Allen is awesome — but if a fifth-round pick is the talk of camp and there’s a genuine panic when he suffers a practice injury, that’s not a good sign if you’re supposed to contend for meaningful things.

I went through the teams and I was like, ‘Who do I think definitively has a worse receiver corps than the Chiefs?’ And I came up with Miami and Vegas. This could be a really, really bad unit, and I don’t know if Kenneth Walker alone can fix that.

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WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Not that he’s worried, but Byron Buxton said he’s physically “not where I want to be,” a day after being removed from Tuesday’s game against the A’s.

The Minnesota Twins outfielder acknowledged Wednesday afternoon the sensation he experienced in his sore right hip late in Tuesday’s loss was more intense than usual.

In pursuit of an extra-base hit to the gap in the seventh inning, Buxton wasn’t able to reach down and secure the baseball as he felt something grab, he said. Buxton immediately recognized exiting the game was his best option and headed for the clubhouse after meeting with the training staff.

Though he didn’t undergo an MRI on Wednesday, Buxton was set to receive a full day of treatment while the Twins closed out a series against the Athletics. Whether he’ll be available Friday, and whether his situation could prompt the promotion of top prospect Walker Jenkins, is unclear.

“I know what soreness is,” Buxton said. “It just felt a little different. It stopped me from bending over to try and get that ball. I knew then it was probably a little worse than what I was thinking. There’s been good days and bad days. But it’s a little frustrating right now trying to play through it. We’ve been doing everything we’re supposed to be doing, so it’s probably frustrating not only for me, but everybody.”

Twins manager Derek Shelton acknowledged seeing Buxton pursue a ball and whiff was a new experience. Shelton said late Tuesday the plan always called for Buxton to sit out Wednesday’s game for maintenance and to pair it with a team day off Thursday, allowing for two days of rest.

Shelton said Buxton’s Wednesday activities would be limited to working with athletic trainer Nick Paparesta.

“He’s been battling that hip and there’s certain things that bother him, like coming to a stop is what bothers it,” Shelton said. “I think that’s what happened. … I don’t think I’ve ever seen him miss a ball.”

Now three-plus months into dealing with his hip, an issue that’s bothered him dating to 2021, Buxton understands how he feels can change from one day to the next. On Monday, Buxton felt great during a game in which he doubled and went 3-for-4 with a walk and four runs.

Buxton, who received an injection to deal with inflammation during his recent second stint on the 10-day injured list, said he noticed Tuesday he didn’t feel as good as 24 hours earlier. But it wasn’t until the seventh inning the discomfort increased.

“Not that I’m worried about it,” Buxton said. “But we’ve got to get this in a little bit better spot for me to be able to do what I was doing. (Monday) I would have told you I was back to normal. I felt like myself, normal. (Tuesday), it was a little battle day. But it wasn’t bad, either. … Hopefully, it’s a little hiccup. I wouldn’t go through (the shot) for it to not work. Hopefully, it kind of got me a little, and it takes a couple days to subside.”

Buxton said his recovery is in the early stages. “It lingered a little more than normal, which lets me know it’s something a little worse than my day-to-day stuff,” Buxton said. “I ain’t done too much. Got in the hot tub. Whatever they’ve got on my docket for today, try to do it and get a plan from there.”

The question now is whether the club’s plan includes Jenkins, who is shredding minor-league pitching. Jenkins entered Wednesday batting .406/.488/.768 with seven home runs and 12 RBIs for Triple-A St. Paul this month.

Jenkins’ developing power is one area where the Twins wanted their top prospect to make gains. He’s hit the most home runs in his pro career this month.

If Buxton is sidelined for even a week, the Twins could choose to promote Jenkins and play him with the frequency he needs to stay sharp.