SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – With a steady 64-64 performance over two rounds, the team of Leta Lindley and Jackie Gallagher-Smith (-16 over two rounds) won the 2024 Marilynn Smith Arizona Senior Women’s Open at Gainey Ranch Golf Club.
Named in honor of one of the LPGA’s 13 founders, the tournament’s 88-player field featured several former LPGA Tour players and champions, including Pat Bradley, Joanne Carner and Sandra Palmer. Players compete in teams of two; the first round uses a scramble format and transitions to four-ball in round two.
Jackie Gallagher-Smith & Leta Lindley with LPGA legends Sherri Turner and Joanne Carner (Photo by Brandon Genson)
Headed into round two, Gallagher-Smith and Lindley were well in the hunt. Just four strokes out of the lead, an injury nearly threw a wrench in their championship hopes. Gallagher-Smith aggravated her back on the driving range prior to the round and made a last-second decision to play the round. Not only did she play; she set the tone with birdies on holes two and three, then holed out from the fairway for eagle on hole four.
“It’s amazing how birdies make you feel a little better and then she started riding that momentum,” Lindley said of her partner. “I was just cheering her on and encouraging her to trust yourself and she played an amazing round of golf.”
Leta Lindley hits a tee shot during the second round of the 2024 Marilynn Smith Arizona Senior Women's Open (Photo by Brandon Genson)
Despite the fast start, they still had some ground to make up. Round one leaders Barb Moxness and Christa Johnson lead dwindled with a second round 68, but forced a playoff with a birdie putt on 18. Teamwork prevailed for Gallagher-Smith and Lindley in the playoff.
Lindley’s approach shot rolled about 30 yards from the green, just short of a greenside bunker. Gallagher-Smith, who won the 2023 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Champion at Troon Country Club, took the lie and stuck her chip shot inside 10 feet.
“My teammate had my back by hitting (her approach) almost on the green,” Gallagher-Smith said. “On a couple holes where I wasn’t doing so well, Leta picked up the slack, so we kind of ham-and-egged it in that sense.”
The Marilynn Smith Arizona Senior Women’s Open’s impact goes well beyond the golf course. In addition to honoring its namesake, the tournament pays homage to all 13 founders of the LPGA. The tournament begins with a Sunday Tea and Pro-Am; funds from the tournament are used to carry on Smith’s legacy of giving back to the game with the Marilynn Smith Scholarship. Now in its 25th year, the scholarship is awarded every year to girls who hope for a future in golf.