Wiffi Smith obit

Remembering LPGA Tour Champion Margaret Wiffi Smith

 

She was not on the list.

Eight-time LPGA Tour winner Margaret “Wiffi” Smith, one of the most accomplished amateurs in history, has passed away.

Born in Redwood City, California, Smith began her golf journey in Mexico at age 11 after moving there with her mother following her parents’ divorce. It was also there that her nickname originated. According to a family story, the nickname stems from the Anglicization of a word used by a Mexican “witch doctor” who predicted that Smith’s mother was pregnant, a prediction that proved true. While her mother’s pregnancy may have been predicted, no one could have imagined just how far the game of golf would take Smith.

By age 16, Smith was already making a name for herself on the course. She won the Women’s Championship of Mexico in 1952 before returning to the United States, where she earned victories at the 1954 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, the 1955 North and South Women’s Amateur, and the 1956 Trans-Mississippi Amateur. Smith then made her way to Europe, winning the 1956 British and French Women’s Amateur championships. She also represented Team USA in the 1956 Curtis Cup. Despite her team’s loss, Smith made waves around the golf world with her record-setting 9-and-8 singles victory. That result remains the largest winning margin in any 18-hole match in Curtis Cup history.

Smith turned professional in 1957 and won twice on the LPGA Tour that year at the Dallas Open and the United Voluntary Services Open. Known as one of the longest hitters on tour, all eight of her victories came within a span of just four years, capped off by three wins in 1960. Tragically, Smith retired following the 1960 season due to wrist pain stemming from a motor bike accident in 1959 in which she was thrown over the handlebars.

Although her playing career had come to an end, Smith continued to pursue her passion for golf as an LPGA teaching professional. She spent the following decades working with some of the country’s top amateurs and professionals.

Smith’s colorful personality never wavered, making her a favorite among fellow Tour players, students, and others throughout the golf industry. For example, she was known on the LPGA circuit as the player who traveled across the country in a mobile home equipped with a piano.

Smith will be remembered as one of the game’s greatest advocates and most memorable figures. As a player, she wowed fans and peers alike. Golf legend Peggy Kirk Bell called Smith’s swing one of the greatest of all time. As a person, she showed what it meant to follow one’s dreams and live passionately, no matter the circumstances.