Mito Pereira announces retirement from pro golf in shocking move
Tim Schmitt- Chilean golfer Mito Pereira has announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 30.
- Pereira previously stepped away from golf for two years as a teenager before returning to a successful career.
- His career highlights include three Korn Ferry Tour wins, nearly winning the 2022 PGA Championship, and competing in the Olympics.
- Pereira cited a desire to stop traveling and return to his home country of Chile to focus on his personal life.
To call Mito Pereira's golf career a rollercoaster is not to sensationalize things.
At 14, Pereira moved to Florida to enroll at the prestigious IMG Academy. He was already seen as a rising talent, having finished runner-up in the Boys 10–11 division at the 2006 Optimist International Junior Golf Championship and winning the 12–13 division in 2008.
However, just six months after joining IMG, Pereira stepped away from golf for two years.
“I got tired of it,” he said in a 2022 interview with Golfweek. “I quit and just played other sports for a while – dirt bike, soccer and tennis. One day, I wanted to play golf again and I came back. It’s that simple."
And come back, did he ever. A native of Santiago, Chile, Pereira went to Texas Tech for a year and climbed as high as fifth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking before turning pro. He won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour and was the 54-hole leader of the 2022 PGA Championship, using a 64 in the third round, before falling into a tie for third.
He then went to LIV Golf in early 2023, joining countryman and friend Joaquin Niemann.
But on Monday, Pereira shocked the golf world by saying he's stepping back yet again. At the age of 30, he announced his retirement, insisting that the seven years he's spent away from his homeland were enough.
From the X post:
Hello everyone, I'm writing these lines to share that, after a period of reflection, I have decided to bring my career as a professional golfer to an end. This was not a decision made overnight, but one I have been thoughtfully considering for some time, waiting for the right moment to communicate it.
After many years connected to this beautiful sport, priorities naturally evolve. Today, my main desire is to step away from constant travel, return to Chile, and focus on my personal life.
Golf played a fundamental role in my life. It allowed me to grow both personally and professionally, to meet incredible people, experience different cultures, and set goals-most of which I was fortunate enough to achieve-taking steps I never imagined possible. I now begin a new chapter feeling happy, motivated, and at peace, without urgency about what the future may bring. I simply want you to know that I am well and proud of what I accomplished in this sport.
I carry with me unforgettable memories: the three Korn Ferry Tour titles that earned me a place on the PGA Tour; my time on the LIV Tour, where I discovered many destinations and truly enjoyed competing as part of an incredible team, Team Torque; and the honor of representing Chile at the Pan American Games and the Olympic Games. Standing on the podium in Lima 2019 and narrowly missing an Olympic medal in Tokyo 2020 are moments that will remain forever in my memory and in my heart.
I would like to thank Anto, my family, and all my friends, both within and beyond golf. I am also deeply grateful to my manager, coach, team, sponsors who trusted the process, and the many fans that always made me feel loved. Throughout this long journey, many people supported and contributed to my development, and I will always be thankful to them.
I spent many years living away from home, in another country, countless weeks in hotels and airports. Now, the time has come to pause. Chile is my place in the world, and my family is my reason for being. Golf taught me resilience, how to navigate both good and difficult moments, and how to make discipline and goals a way of life. I believe I am well prepared for what lies ahead.
Thank you all.
Pereira was a member of the 2014-15 men's golf team at Texas Tech. He finished second on the team with a 72.2 scoring average and was named to the All-Big 12 Championship team.
Pereira represented his home country of Chile at the men's golf competition at the Summer Olympics in Japan in 2021.
He almost brought home some hardware, too, as he finished at 15 under and ended up in a wild seven-way playoff for the bronze medal along with Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Paul Casey, Sebastian Munoz and C.T. Pan. Pan eventually won the third-place prize.
But while his teammates on Torque GC captured the LIV Golf Indianapolis title, Pereira was one of six LIV golfers who were relegated from the league after the contest. After climbing as high as 41st in the Official World Golf Ranking, he had fallen to 1,574 as of Dec. 21.