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.
When asked about his plans three weeks ago, his manager said in a text to The Associated Press that Pereira had broken his collarbone in a bicycle accident and was waiting to get fit to figure out his next step.
Pereira said on a post to Instagram he had been contemplating retirement for some time.
“After many years connected to this beautiful sport, priorities naturally evolve,” he wrote. "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. 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 to finish 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 fellow Chilean Joaquin Niemann's team at LIV.
He had a pair of top-3 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.
Pereira did not indicate what he would do next.
“I spent many years living away from home, in another country, countless weeks in hotels and airports,” he wrote. “Now, the time has come to pause. Chile is my place in the world, and my family is my reason for being. Golf taught me resilience, how to navigate both good and difficult moments, and how to make discipline and goals a way of life. I believe I am well prepared for what lies ahead.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
FILE - Mito Pereira, of Chile, waves after making a putt on the 18th hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Southern Hills Country Club, Saturday, May 21, 2022, in Tulsa, Okla. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
BROADVIEW, Ill. (AP) — Four Illinois Democrats toured a federal immigration center outside Chicago on Monday, the latest members of Congress allowed inside immigration facilities after a judge last week lifted Trump administration limits on lawmaker visits.
Six months after they were denied access, U.S. Reps. Danny Davis, Delia Ramirez, Jonathan Jackson and Jesús “Chuy” Garcia entered the immigration processing center in suburban Broadview. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, criticized as a de facto detention center with inhumane conditions, has been at the forefront of an immigration crackdown resulting in more than 4,000 arrests in the Chicago area.
The Associated Press observed the lawmakers enter the boarded-up brick building after talking to a masked official at the door and then leave about an hour later.
“We wanted to test whether or not there would be a violation of a court order reaffirming that we have the right to be here at any time for any reason, without advance notice,” Garcia said afterward.
A federal judge last week temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing policies that limit congressional visits to immigration facilities. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by 12 members of Congress who sued in Washington, D.C. to challenge ICE’s amended visitor policies after they were denied entry to detention facilities.
After their visit, the Illinois lawmakers reported that Monday seemed like an atypical day with only two people in custody. A day earlier there had been 20, according to Garcia.
During the height of the immigration crackdown dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” more than 150 people were held at the facility, many for several days at a time, according to congressmen, attorneys and activists. Conditions at the center, where immigrants are processed for detention or deportation, prompted numerous complaints, a lawsuit and a court-ordered visit by a judge. Illinois does not have an immigration detention center.
Since then, immigration officials have said they've made changes and those held at the Broadview center have access to hot meals and legal counsel, among other things. ICE has rejected claims that the processing center is used for detention.
While the Illinois Democrats noted improvements, they raised concerns about toilets without adequate privacy, few showers, and no medical staff on site.
“This visit will not end our responsibility. We will follow up,” Jackson said. “We will be back and we’ll demand answers.”
Ramirez said not having a medical professional nearby was troubling, especially after the death of a 56-year-old man found unresponsive at an ICE facility in Michigan. Nenko Gantchev of Bulgaria was arrested in the Chicago area crackdown. ICE officials said it appeared he died of natural causes on Dec. 15, but the official cause remained under investigation.
Since the ruling, House members elsewhere have also visited ICE facilities.
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, gained access to the Broadview facility on Friday and reported the practice of holding people overnight seemed to have ended for the time being. He said he had tried multiple times to visit over the past few months.
In California, U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez visited a federal immigration facility in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. The Democrat, among the 12 lawmakers who sued, said there was no working kitchen, no on-site medical staff and limited food options, according to a statement.
In New York, U.S. Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat, both Democrats who also sued, visited an ICE holding facility on Friday at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City. In a joint statement, the congressmen said immigrants were being held for as long as three days without access to showers and proper beds.
“The Trump administration’s obsession with hitting an arbitrary — and unrealistic — number of deportations is creating a humanitarian crisis,” Espaillat said.
In Illinois, the Trump administration has kept strict controls on access to the Broadview facility, barring attorneys, family members of those arrested and journalists. At one point federal authorities built a fence around the building as protests grew and clashes with federal agents intensified.
Separately, U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois said she was allowed to visit the Broadview facility late last month. Underwood, a Democratic member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, raised concerns about conditions, staffing and record keeping. She said no arrestees were present during her visit “due to a scheduled security system video camera update.”
A message left Monday for ICE wasn't immediately returned.
Four Illinois members of Congress left to right; Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., prepare to enter the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Sophia Tareen)
Four Illinois members of Congress left to right; Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., and Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., prepare to enter the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Sophia Tareen)
Four Illinois members of Congress Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., enter the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Sophia Tareen)
Four Illinois members of Congress left to right; Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., and Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., are allowed to enter the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Sophia Tareen)
Four Illinois members of Congress left to right; Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., and Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., leave after a visit to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Sophia Tareen)
