AGA NEWS
HALL OF FAME
MARILYNN SMITH
It is fitting that Marilynn Smith would be among the first recipients of the Legacy Award, because she has few equals when the discussion turns to golf legends. Smith is one of the
13 founding members of the LPGA, hitting
the road after winning the Kansas State Amateur title in 1946, ’47 and ’48, and the Intercollegiate Championship while attending the University of Kansas in ’49. She captured her first pro title
in 1952 and went on to win 20 more, including major championships in 1963 and ’64 in the Titleholders. She also served as LPGA president from 1958- 60 and during that time spearheaded formation of its Teaching Division, established the first LPGA Pro-Am in conjunction with tournaments and formed the LPGA National Golf School. So it’s not surprising that she now
has been inducted to nine halls of fame. “I guess the World Golf of
Fame for lifetime achievement was the big one,” she said, “but I can tell you that I am very honored to receive this award from Arizona.” Smith, 87, has lived in Goodyear for
the past 14 years, during which time her foundation and charity tournament have flourished, raising money to support college education for girls. Last year, the event raised $165,000 and awarded 30 scholarships of $5,000 each. Her passion for that cause stems
from her college days, when her father asked Phog Allen, the legendary athletic director at Kansas, for funds to help her attend the national championship. “He told my father, ‘It’s too bad your
daughter isn’t a boy,’ ” Smith said. “That was a catalyst for starting this program. I’m very happy and proud to see what we have been able to do and very grateful for the support we have received.”
www.azgolf.org
TOM LAMBIE
He has been involved in golf for so long, Lambie likes to joke that, “When I started, golf clubs had names instead of numbers.” Lambie, 95,
got in the game at nine years old by selling lemonade for five cents a
glass behind the sixth green at Phoenix Country Club in 1930. “At the time, there were only
four golf courses in the county and I think I knew everyone in the county who played golf,” he said. “Today we have more than 200 courses. That has been the biggest change.” By 1941, he was one of Arizona’s
top amateurs and tied Ben Hogan for low round of the day with a 68 in the Western Open (then was considered a major championship) at Phoenix Country Club. He also won the Phoenix City Championship and Phoenix CC Invitational that year. After serving in World War II, Lambie
captained an NCAA championship team at Stanford, where his teammates included Bob Rosburg, and won the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate title. In 1965, he created Coronado Golf
Course in Scottsdale, which became a bustling facility, popular with junior, college and pro golfers alike. He has a lifetime membership
in the PGA, still shoots scores in the low 80s and estimates that he has broken his age “thousands of times.” As for the Hall of Fame honor,
he said, “I’m an old timer and I guess I am what I am whether I’m in the Hall of Fame or not. But seeing all of the folks who are in it, it’s an honor to be part of that group.”
JOE PORTER
His entire golfing life has been spent in Arizona, where Porter won titles at every level before heading to the PGA Tour. Porter, 70, captured
the 1962 Arizona State Junior Golf Championship, led Arcadia High School
to consecutive state championships in 1962 and ’63 and also took the individual title in both. Then, he topped it off by capturing the Arizona Amateur in ’63. But Porter wasn’t finished. One year
later, he moved on to Phoenix College, where he led the golf team to the National Junior College Championship, then transferred to Arizona State University. There, he became an All- American in 1967, when he finished fifth in the NCAA Championship. Porter headed to the PGA Tour, where
he played more than 10 years, with a top finish of second place in the Western Open at Butler National Golf Club. Although he failed to win a title, he still had a significant impact on the tour. Porter and Valley resident Gary
McCord were instrumental in convincing the tour to establish a year-long qualifying event, which became Qualifying School in 1983. Before it began, only 60 players retained tour cards for the next season, forcing others to chase qualifying events on Mondays for every tournament, which spurned the nickname “tour rabbits.” Porter left the tour and began a real
estate career at CB Richard Ellis in 1979. Now retired, his golf career has been curtailed by a debilitating muscle disease. For many years, he was active
with the Phoenix Thunderbirds civic organization, which conducts the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and now is one of its “Lifebirds.” n
To gain entrance into the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame, a candidate must first be nominated by the Selector’s Committee, and then voted on by another committee made up of 50-60 people involved in Arizona golf.
ANNUAL 2016 | AZ GOLF Insider | 29
AGA
AGA
AGA
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46