Michelle Wie West is on the move.She’s walking laps in her neighborhood at home in Las Vegas, so she’s also logged onto The Athletic’s Zoom call on her phone. She’s getting her steps count in, but she’s answering questions about her legacy and future at the same time — the usual. Multitasking is the only way she can operate these days.“I’m trying to get my conditioning up,” she says. “Get as much done as possible.”Wie West doesn’t need to elaborate. The former child prodigy is now a 36-year-old mother of two, the host of a premier LPGA tournament, an active investor, and, recently, has dipped her toes into golf course architecture and design.On top of all of that, three years removed from her official retirement from professional golf at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach, Wie West has decided to come back to compete in a championship one more time, at this week’s U.S. Women’s Open. Add re-learning how to practice for a major like a tour pro to that list of responsibilities.It has long been a rule that winners of the U.S. Women’s Open get a 10-year exemption into the event. Wie West won her sole major championship at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst. So when she received a two-year buffer due to a maternity exemption and realized that the 2026 event would be hosted at Riviera, she immediately circled the week on her calendar. She had one last chance to do this, and in Los Angeles, at a place with close family ties, it felt right.So this U.S. Women’s Open won’t feel like the final chapter of Wie West’s ground-breaking, but tumultuous career. It won’t be a send-off from the era in which the spotlight followed Wie West’s every move. Or an end to the ever-present expectations for her success that she never seemed to escape. The five-time LPGA winner had that moment already, three years ago at Pebble Beach, when she stepped away from the game due to injury and motherhood. That was her goodbye.At this U.S. Women’s Open, Wie West is playing for herself and for her family.“It’s more of a deeply personal reason for why I wanted to come back and play this one,” she says. “Riviera is such a special place to my husband’s side of the family. His dad was heavily involved in the Northern Trust Open (now the Genesis Invitational) back in the day.“And for my daughter, now being almost 6 years old, it’s an amazing opportunity to show her firsthand that mom is working hard and practicing. I’m really excited to share this with her.”Michelle Wie West’s husband, Johnnie, will caddie for her at Riviera. (Sarah Stier / Getty Images)Just like at Pebble Beach, Wie West will have her husband, Johnnie West, as her caddie, but this time she’ll get the bonus of local knowledge and an emotional connection to the course. West is the son of the late Los Angeles Lakers legend and NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West, who was a Riviera member and called Los Angeles his adopted home.