Palm Beach Gardens' Leta Lindley wins US Women's Senior Open golf championship

PALM BEACH GARDENS — At 52, Leta Lindley has earned another title.

USGA champion.

Further proof came Thursday when a large case carrying the trophy for winning the U.S. Women’s Senior Open arrived at Lindley’s house. Lindley earned the hardware last Sunday when she shot a tournament-record 7-under 64 at Fox Chapel in Pittsburgh to win by two strokes over Kaori Yamamoto.

“I don’t know if I’ve wrapped my head around the fact I’m a USGA champion,” Lindley said Friday. “I’m still going to do dishes and laundry and give lessons, so it’s not like it’s changed my life. But it’s been overwhelming how many people have reached out to congratulate me.”

Most could see this coming. Lindley had finished second in the previous two U.S. Women’s Senior Opens as the 52-year-old was playing the best golf of her life, despite spending her day job as an instructor at Old Marsh Golf Club in Jupiter.

Lindley started Sunday’s final round five behind Yamamoto, tied for second with Hall of Famers Annika Sorenstam and Juli Inkster, but quickly took the lead with five birdies on her first eight holes while Yamamoto faltered. Lindley added two birdies on the back nine to complete the round of her life and earn a career-best $180,000.

Lindley was stoic throughout Sunday, although when Stuart’s Jackie Gallagher-Smith, her fellow pro and frequent travel partner, came in to congratulate her after she signed her scorecard, the two dissolved into tears.

“The moment overtook her,” said Matt Plagmann, Lindley’s husband and longtime caddie. “It was such a surreal week.”

The first ominous sign came during Saturday’s third round which was eventually delayed by rain. Lindley had just chunked a chip that led to a bogey when she chose an 11-wood for her tee shot at the 157-yard third hole.

At least she thought it was the 11-wood.

“I saw it coming off really low … right over the pin,” she said. “It almost knocked out the camera guy over the green as it stuck on the edge of the green. Thank God, I didn’t flush it.”

The 11-wood was in fact the 7-wood, but Plagmann had mistakenly switched the covers during warmups. Lindley made a “good” three-putt to leave with a bogey.

“I was so mad, I didn’t know what to say,” Lindley said. “I had lost this championship twice by a shot the last two years. I know every stroke matters.”

Good thing for husband and wife that play was soon stopped for three hours. Everyone needed a timeout.

“We start to do silly things when you get on the other side of 50,” Lindley said of the mix-up. “Matt just told me, ‘It’s going to be part of the story.’ ”

Lindley paired with college roommate Annika Sorenstam

Another subplot came Saturday night when Lindley saw she would be paired with Sorenstam in the final round. The two had attended Arizona together, even roomed together briefly, but their careers veered – Sorenstam won 72 titles and 10 majors on the LPGA Tour, Lindley won once (at Corning in her 295th start) before retiring at 40 so she and Matt could take care of their two children, Cole and Reese.

“When I saw the pairing, I was really thrilled,” Lindley said. “We didn’t get paired a lot on tour because Annika had so much success. She’s not only a great champion but a gracious person and a nice playing partner.”

Still, Matt was persuaded to have a little chat with her before they teed off Sunday. “He said, ‘You’re not playing Annika. You’re not playing Juli. You’re not playing Japan (several Japanese were among the contenders). You’re playing Fox Chapel,’” Lindley said. “It was me against me.”

It proved to be no contest. Lindley hit 12-of-14 fairways, didn’t miss a green and needed just 29 putts. For the week, she was first in the field in GIRs (64-of-72, tied with Inkster) and 127 putts, a rare and lethal combination.

“I’ve been dreaming about this day for so long, and I’ve imagined myself hoisting this trophy and winning this championship, and I dared to dream big,” Lindley said. “When I played on the LPGA Tour, I never thought I was good enough.”

When Lindley retired from golf in 2012 at age 40, she thought her days as a competitive golfer were over.

Things changed when she learned an instructor job was available at Old Marsh. But she wasn’t sure if that’s what she wanted to do.

“I went to the interview to say no,” she said of her meeting with Tom Dyer. “After listening to him, I figured I would try it and if it’s not for me, I’ll move on. One year turned into two and two turned into three.”

The lure of being back around golf and being honest with her students led Lindley to start concentrating on her own game. She started working hard in the gym and saw positive results.

Chance meeting with Rosie Jones sparks return to competitive golf

She attended a 100-year anniversary of Corning Country Club in 2019 where she ran into Rosie Jones, who was considered the queen of Corning for winning the LPGA event twice. Jones tried to persuade Lindley to return to competitive golf on the Legends of the LPGA.

“I told her she’d be great out there,” Jones said. “She was always just an awesome, steady player who had a great short game with awesome putting.

“She said, ‘Yeah, I need to put my big-girl pants on and come back out’ – you know how Leta talks. She’s really mild-tempered, but she can be feisty, too.’”

Lindley started playing events on the Legends of the LPGA and saw quick results. There were times when she would finish a round and not be sure how many under par she had been.

“It’s kind of a fun way to play,” she said.

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Besides winning a USGA title, one of the best perks for Lindley is she earned a spot in next year’s U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, the first time she’ll play in the national championship since 2011. She was fifth in her first try in 1995, but never had another top 10 in the Women’s Open.

“That’s going to be a special week,” Lindley said.

It couldn’t be more special than the week she spent at Fox Valley earning her first USGA gold medal to go along with two silvers for the previous seconds.

“This is like my Olympics,” she said with a laugh. “I hope what I have accomplished will inspire others. I’d like to help the Legends of the LPGA grow, just like the founders did with the LPGA Tour.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Leta Lindley outduels Annika Sorenstam, Juli Inkster to win US Women's Senior Open