Retired Pro Opens Up About Severe Health Setbacks She Was ‘Sick’ of Talking About After Turning LPGA Pro

At just eleven, a young girl was told something no child ever expects to hear, that her spine had begun to curve in ways it should not. Little Stacy was told by a pediatric spine deformity specialist that she was suffering from scoliosis. Soon her life turned into years of discomfort, restrictions. And all of it required endurance beyond her age. Since that day, she had to wear a scoliosis brace for almost eighteen hours a day for nearly seven years. She underwent spinal fusion in high school. The University of Arkansas honored her scholarship while she redshirted and recovered, and she returned to competition a year later. But the ailment had always made sure to peg her back in the toughest manner possible.

Post the surgery, she again stepped back on the lawn in 2004, filling her spot for the University of Arkansas. But when she finally returned to the course in 2004, she came back stronger, leading her team and securing twelve NCAA wins, including the 2007 NCAA individual championship. It was not the success that came easily. “I was in pain a lot,” she recalled. “I mean it hurt it probably hurt every day for two years.” But she never thought to take a step back from her sport.

Years later, in September 2025, she announced her farewell from a 17-year-long impeccable career. And in these days, she has made sure to not only add the feathers to her crown with her wins but also to inspire many who might have feared to step forward, fearing the barriers in life. Announcing her retirement at the end of the 2025 LPGA season, the 13-time LPGA winner sat for a conversation with Hope Barnett and Emma Talley. Lewis shared how winning it all was never a cake walk while she fought the battle against scoliosis. 

Lewis learned to make routine what others would call sacrifice. She went to the gym when no one else did, wrapped ice around her back after every practice, and carried herself as if the pain were simply another part of her game.  “I had to go to the gym at tournaments when nobody was going,” she shared with Talley. Lewis continued, “But I had to go to the gym at tournaments in the mornings and work out and get going. And so I had to do things different. But I mean but I wouldn’t change it. Means made me made me into this and to get to do all this.”

Still, when her professional career began, the weight of her medical history lingered. “When I turned pro, like I was kind of tired of dealing with it, you know, and talking about it. And it was like I just want to be known for my golf,” she admitted. “I was so sick of it. Like I was just sick of talking about it and I didn’t want to be this kid that was just known for her back.” That fatigue, both physical and emotional, dictated the early years of her LPGA journey.  But it did not take her long to decide that she sought to shed the image of the player with a brace and instead be remembered for her skill in her sport. Since that day she never turned back.

But as days passed, she soon realized that her story meant more than the discomfort and the wins. The letters and messages from young patients reminded her of what she once needed most. Representation and an idol to look up to. “Then I started getting all these messages and letters from kids and stuff and I was like all right. I got chills again cuz I got to talk,” she said. She further narrated, “Even, you know, last week or a couple weeks ago in Boston, a kid showed up with a back brace and I signed it for her.” Stacy Lewis’s journey indeed came full circle. From the little girl hiding her brace under her clothes to the professional golfer inspiring others to wear theirs proudly she wrote a story she never thought she could. 

Stacy Lewis prepares to put the clubs away as golf bids farewell to one of its bravest hearts

The end of September 2025 brought along quite sombre news for Stacy Lewis’ fans. Lewis took to her social media and announced that the 2025 season will be the final time she will be suiting up as a professional LPGA golfer. Interestingly, Lewis timed her announcement perfectly as she dropped the update just before the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. For the uninitiated, the 40-year-old shares her roots with Arkansas University, where she is regarded as a star due to her status as a four-time All American. 

“Never in a million years, would I have thought this journey playing golf would still be going in 2025, but the time has come to put the clubs away,” wrote Lewis. She further added, “I will finish out the 2025 season, but this will be my last on the LPGA. I’m not exactly sure what is next but I’m so grateful for all the Arkansas fans and people that have supported me along [the] way!” Surely, her grit and determination throughout her career has been the highlight. Despite her physical condition, Lewis became only the second female golfer from the US to become the world no. 1. 

Apart from this, the 40-year-old LPGA legend clinched a couple of major championships. What’s more? She also went on to win as many as 13 LPGA tour, and had the honor of captaining a couple of Solheim Cup teams too. Thus, it is evident that Lewis was unperturbed by all the negativities coming her way. And now as she will be hanging up her golfing gear, the world will surely stand up and honor the legend in Stacy Lewis.