Popular DP World Tour star Mike Lorenzo-Vera has announced his surprising retirement from golf. The 40-year-old is stepping away from the sport, insisting that it is no longer his priority.
It comes six months after Lorenzo-Vera revealed the extent of the panic attacks and anxiety he had been suffering. He has made only four starts on the DP World Tour since competing at the Barracuda Championship last July. The 2007 Challenge Tour rankings champion had a brief sabbatical towards the end of last year due to his condition and has now hung up his clubs for good.
Writing on Instagram, Lorenzo-Vera said: “To my fans, yesterday I decided to stop my golfing career. Twenty years with highs and lows. So much fun and tears. This game is insane. And I LOVE IT! It’s the best!
“I would like to thank all my fans, my family, my friends, everybody that worked with me, every sponsor that helped me, and of course the DP World Tour family, and all the players and caddies. Special thanks to the man that gave me the passion, Jean Lamaison, the sand wedge wizard. And special thanks to four of my idols, Jose Maria Olazabal, Fred Couples, Davis Love III and, of course, the boss, Tiger Woods.
“It was fun, it was hard, it was fantastic. But I can’t do that anymore. My priorities have switched. I will play one last tournament at Crans Montana in August. It’s a very special place to me.”
Lorenzo-Vera tied for 16th at the 2019 PGA Championship in a career-best Major result. He also appeared at the US Open and the Open Championship, but never featured in the Masters.
The Frenchman started suffering from anxiety in 2022. It initially started with insomnia but unravelled into full-scale panic attacks. It is not clear whether this is the reason for his retirement.
Describing his experience with anxiety in an interview with golf website Bunkered last October, Lorenzo-Vera said: “I was just screaming every night and couldn’t sleep and feeling like I was dying. I was having panic attacks at dinners.
“I thought, ‘What am I going to do if I can’t play golf and provide for the family?’ Money goes fast. I’m not the type of person to cut on the expenses with physical coach, mental coach, I just want to keep pushing and keep my team around.”