Michelle Wie West drops 30-footer at Pebble Beach to end pro career

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — There was no other way it could have ended.

After a gloomy week at Pebble Beach where Michelle Wie West struggled to find the bottom of the cup, the 30-foot par putt on the 18th green — the final one of her career — had no reason to drop. And yet, the ball kept rolling, then trickling, and eventually, falling.

All Wie West could do was laugh. This wasn’t exactly the ending she envisioned — one where she lasted until the weekend, played well and maybe even competed at her final U.S. Women’s Open in her final tournament ever — but it was the ending she got and one more lasting memory in a career that has spanned decades.

“The game is a funny game,” Wie West said after posting a two-day score of 14-over par (79-79) and missing the cut by 8 shots. “Making that long putt on 18 definitely was a sweeter sendoff.”

Wie West said she had been fighting emotions since the first tee Friday, holding back tears and awaiting the final moments that would arrive. As she stood on the 18th tee behind her husband and caddie Jonnie West, she took a few deep breaths and held back tears just before launching her last tee ball into the fading light.

Next to her, three-time U.S. Women’s Open winner Annika…