BELLEAIR, FL. – Elizabeth Szokol, the only player on the Ladies PGA Tour with Chicago area roots, announced her retirement on the same day that Lauryn Nguyen, the most recent Northwestern star, concluded her debut on the premier women’s circuit.
Both missed the 36-hole cut on Friday in The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican — the official name of the last regular tournament of the season and a creation of legendary player Annika Sorenstam.
Szokol helped New Trier win the Illinois high school title in 2010 and won the Illinois State Women’s Amateur in 2012 while growing up in Winnetka. She played two seasons at Northwestern before finishing her college career at Virginia. A member at the Pelican Country Club, she wanted to wrap up her LPGA career on her home course.
“It’s crazy. It’s hard to believe it’s been nine years playing (the LPGA circuit),’’ said Szokol, who teamed with Cheyenne Knight to earn her lone LPGA win at the Dow Great Lakes Invitational in Michigan in 2023. “I’ve had a lot of lingering injuries and the travel got a bit old for me. I just kind of missed being home.’’
Szokol was a player director on the LPGA board and ended her duties last week as well.
“I loved doing it,’’ she said. “It was amazing the last three years, just to see how the Tour has progressed and how big our purses have gotten. The LPGA has so far to go, and we’re on the right path. I was just happy to be a little part of it.’’
Szokol and Nguyen both posted 1-over-par 71s in the first round of The Annika – a score that matched the ones turned in by three-time tournament winner Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson, a long-time LPGA mainstay.
Nguyen helped Northern win this year’s NCAA women’s championship and turned pro after graduating from NU. She found the transition to the sport’s next level wasn’t easy.
“It was really a big adjustment. Financially I had to grab everything out of my pocket,’’ she said. “I didn’t have a place to stay or practice.’’
That problem was at least temporarily solved when she was given a sponsor’s exemption to The Annika. Tournament organizers helped her line up lodging with some Pelican members and the Pelican was a great place to practice for the last month. Nguyen also found some sponsors, too.
“Everything I needed got taken care of, and more,’’ said Nguyen, who is looking for a home in the area.
Nguyen gained experience in the pro-am, playing nine-holes with both Caitlin Clark, the basketball star who spurred attendance at the golf event, and Korda. The tournament invited Nguyen’s coaches and teammates at Northwestern to come to the tournament and that contingent was joined by her family, from Seattle, Wash., for the tournament rounds.
Szokol also had a big contingent supporting her in her last event. She’s been a Tampa resident the last seven years and her husband, many members of their extended family and friends were on hand. Justin Sheehan, her swing coach since 2019, is the director of golf at the Pelican.
Nguyen also called this year’s tournament “kind of crazy’’ but for different reasons.
“You walk into the locker room and Nelly’s locker is two doors down. It’s kind of wild. You see the people on the range. It’s really cool being inside the ropes. I’m still learning from them, so it’s really a cool opportunity I was given. It’s really hard to put into words. What an event to make your debut at, and having it under Annika’s name is so, so special.’’
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