2025 saw several professionals announce their retirement from competitive golf, with three of them under the age of 35. Elizabeth Szokol announced her retirement at 30, followed just two days later by Caroline Inglis at 31. Now another 30-year-old has joined them.

Mito Pereira is widely remembered for his near miss at the 2022 PGA Championship, where a double bogey on the final hole cost him the title. On December 22, the Chilean announced he was retiring from professional golf.

Around three weeks ago, Mito Pereira's manager told The Associated Press that Pereira broke his collarbone in a bicycle accident. He explained that the former LIV Golf pro would wait till it heals.

After thoughtful consideration, Pereira decided to step away.

“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,” Mito Pereira wrote in his announcement.

Pereira earned his first PGA TOUR card by winning three times on the Korn Ferry Tour during the extended 2020–21 season, becoming the 12th player to earn a three-win promotion from that circuit and the first since 2016.

“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, and narrowly missing an Olympic medal in Tokyo 2020 are moments that will remain forever in my memory and in my heart,” he added.

Mito Pereira's Competitive Golf Journey

His first win came at the Country Club de Bogota on February 9, 2020, when he claimed the Country Club de Bogotá Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour. Over a year and a half later, he won back-to-back starts in June 2021, the Rex Hospital Open followed by the BMW Charity Pro-Am, to earn an immediate promotion to the PGA TOUR with three victories.

He recorded back-to-back top-six finishes in July 2021 and later finished fourth at the  Tokoyo 2020 Olympics (held in 2021), falling in a seven-man playoff for the bronze medal.

Pereira joined LIV Golf in 2023 with Torque GC and earned over $11.5 million across three seasons. He ended this year ranked 51st and was relegated.

In doing so, Pereira spent the majority of his time away from his home, and now he plans to return.

“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. I believe I am well prepared for what lies ahead," Pereira said in his farewell to golf.

Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi