Former women's world No. 1 golfer Ai Miyazato won nine LPGA Tour titles in her career. Her trademark smile is still beloved by fans, and she is just as polite as always when dealing with the media.

What Miyazato lacks is the motivation to keep playing competitively.

"I have been finding it difficult to keep my motivation for the last four or five years," Miyazato said at a news conference at a Tokyo hotel on Monday in front of more than 300 reporters. "Without motivation, I can't force myself to train hard. You have to be satisfied with your results as a professional golfer, but I can't with this mentality. This is not how I think I should be."