Three years after Mito Pereira was one hole away from winning a major, the 30-year-old from Chile announced on social media Monday that he was retiring from professional golf.
Pereira joined the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League in 2023 and earned just over $11.5 million in three seasons, but he finished at No. 51 in the standings this year and was relegated out of the league.
“After many years connected to this beautiful sport, priorities naturally evolve,” Pereira said on an Instagram post that featured Spanish and English versions of a letter to “everyone.” “Today, my main desire is to step away from constant travel, return to Chile, and focus on my personal life.”
Pereira, who played one year at Texas Tech, is best known for nearly winning the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He took a three-shot lead into the final round and was one shot ahead going to the 18th when he aggressively took driver and put it in a creek.
He made double bogey and finished one shot out of a playoff won by Justin Thomas. It was the first time since Phil Mickelson in the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot that a player took a one-shot lead into the final hole of a major and made double bogey to lose.
Pereira, who was part of a playoff for the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics, played for the International team in the Presidents Cup in 2022. He ended the year at No. 44 when he decided to join the LIV team of fellow Chilean Joaquín Niemann.
He had a pair of top-three finishes his first year with LIV and finished at No. 8, but he narrowly stayed in the top 48 the following year with only one top-10. His best finish in 2025 was a tie for 13th.