Japan's former women's world No. 1 Ai Miyazato, a nine-time winner on the U.S. LPGA Tour, will retire at the end of this season, her management said Friday.

The 31-year-old, whose tally on the tour ranks second among Japanese behind Ayako Okamoto's 17, will hold a press conference on Monday to announce her decision.

In December 2005 at the Okinawa Open, Miyazato was the first woman to compete in an event on the JGTO, the Japan men's tour. Katsumasa Miyamoto a 10-time winner on the JGTO, played a round in that event with the youngster.

"This is a surprise, for sure," Miyamoto said. "But Ai-chan is the one, who made women's golf popular at that time."

The youngest member of a golfing family from Okinawa, Miyazato shot to stardom in her rookie season in 2004, winning five Japanese LPGA tour titles and becoming the first teenager on either the men's or women's domestic circuit to earn 100 million yen in one season.

A year earlier, she became the first amateur player in 30 years to win on the pro circuit at the Dunlop Ladies tournament in Miyagi Prefecture, where she was attending high school.

In February 2005, Miyazato represented Japan along with Rui Kitada and won the inaugural Women's World Cup of Golf. The four-day attendance of 48,677 at the Japan Women's Open Golf Championship that year, which she won, is still the most on the Japanese LPGA.

Miyazato, who won 15 titles in the domestic tour, joined the LPGA Tour in 2006 and earned her first win in her fourth season at the 2009 Evian Masters in France, defeating Sophie Gustafson at the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.

In 2010, she won five tournaments on the LPGA Tour and rose to No. 1 world rankings, a position she would hold for 11 weeks during that season.

The 1.55-meters Miyazato thrived on her short game. In 2010, when she won five tournaments, she had a tour-best putting average after reaching the green in regulation (1.73), allowing her to overcome her ordinary distance off the tee.

A hugely popular figure, who is fluent in English, Miyazato also paved the way for fellow Japanese, including Mika Miyazato, Momoko Ueda and Sakura Yokomine.

Her last victory on the LPGA Tour came at the NW Arkansas Championship in 2012. Her best finishes in major tournaments were third at the Women's PGA Championship (2006, 2010) and the Women's British Open (2009).

Miyazato's form has dipped in recent years and that has continued this season, with her best finish in five tournaments a 34th place. She is now ranked 115th in the world.