Everyone always said she’d know when the time was right.
When eldest daughter Emery started kindergarten in August, Brittany Lincicome volunteered during lunch the first two weeks of school and felt a shift in her heart.
It was time to stay home.
“Kindergarten came around and I was like, you know what,” Lincicome told Golfweek, “there’s more to life than chasing a dream.”
Lincicome, 39, poured her soul into a hand-written letter to the Doyle family asking for a sponsor exemption to The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, the penultimate event on the 2024 LPGA schedule. When the call came that she’d been given a spot, she broke down in tears. Having the opportunity to say goodbye so close to home is “the cherry on top.”
This isn’t a retirement announcement, exactly. She’d like to play in a handful of events each year going forward as well as the occasional pro-am. Going forward, golf will take a backseat to family. With daughters Emery now five and Sophia two, there are new dreams to chase.
“My dad said when I turned pro, ‘Give me 10 years, and then you can retire,’ ” she said. “Here we are, 20 years later.”
She loved it too much to leave.
As Lincicome winds down her competitive career, former Wake Forest standout Rachel Kuehn will play in her first LPGA event as a professional Nov. 14-17 in Belleair, Florida, on a sponsor exemption. Kuehn won eight titles in five years as a Demon Deacon.
Lincicome burst onto the LPGA scene as an amateur at the 2004 U.S. Women’s Open when she led Day 1 with a 6-under 66. She tied for 55th that week, but the experience helped cement the decision to skip college and turn professional.
The long-bombing Lincicome, who loves to fish more than practice, won her first of eight LPGA titles in 2006 and her most recent in 2018. She won what’s now known as the Chevron Championship in 2009 and 2015, hitting magnificent approach shots into the iconic 18th green both times to set up eagle putts of four and nine feet, respectively.
“Getting my first win with my dad on the bag,” she said, “my parents sacrificed everything to get me where I am today.
“Winning two majors – two school-teachers raising me to be a pro golfer – and to have eight wins is remarkable.”
Lincicome is exempt into the Chevron as a past champion and plans to play in the event next year along with a few more tournaments over the summer when Emery is out of school. There are host families and communities she’d love to stay connected with.
There will be faces Lincicome will miss on tour, but the reality is many of her peers have already retired or play sparingly these days. The rush of competition will be hard to replace.
After representing the U.S. six times as a player at the Solheim Cup, she was an assistant captain at this year’s event in Virginia. Team USA captain Stacy Lewis lauds the way Lincicome has gone about her business on tour, understanding that good golf isn’t all that’s important.
And she did it all with a smile on her face.
“She’s just great to have in a team room,” said Lewis. “She was great to be on a team with just for that reason. Whether we were winning or losing – she was going to act the same way.”
Growing up, Lincicome’s best friend called her “Snacks” because the contents of her golf bag resembled a small 7-11. On tour, she’s known as “Bam Bam” for her natural power. As a kid, she played a number of junior events at what was then known as Belleview Biltmore Golf Club, now the Pelican. While the private club and course are vastly different these days, it’s a fitting place for the pro who has done so much for her community to say a partial goodbye.
For 15 years, Lincicome has hosted the Brittany & Friends Celebrity Pro-Am benefitting her local First Tee chapter in St. Petersburg. LPGA players, PGA Tour pros and professional baseball and hockey players have donated their time over the years to help Lincicome give back to kids. Daughter Emery now takes part in the First Tee program on Saturday mornings.
Today, Lincicome is one of the few players on the LPGA still running a charity event.
“All of it is really a dream come true,” she said, “and I’ve been blessed to do it for so long.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Brittany Lincicome, 39, will step away from full-time competition on LPGA after hometown event
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