01LPGA 통산 8승 거둔 '전설적 아마추어' 마거릿 '위피' 스미스 별세
아마추어 시절 세계 골프계를 매료시키고 LPGA 투어 통산 8승을 올린 전설적인 골퍼 마거릿 '위피' 스미스(Margaret "Wiffi" Smith)가 세상을 떠났다. 11세에 멕시코에서 처음 골프를 시작한 스미스는 독특한 별명만큼이나 파워풀한 장타와 아름다운 스윙으로 일찍부터 큰 주목을 받았다.
스미스는 아마추어 무대에서 경이로운 기록을 남겼다. 1952년 멕시코 여자 챔피언십 우승을 시작으로 US 걸스 주니어, 영국 및 프랑스 여자 아마추어 챔피언십을 연달아 제패했다. 특히 1956년 커티스컵 싱글 매치에서 거둔 '9홀 차(9-and-8)' 승리는 18홀 경기 기준 커티스컵 역사상 최다 홀 차 승리 기록으로 아직까지 깨지지 않고 있다.
1957년 프로로 전향한 스미스는 단 4년이라는 짧은 기간 동안 LPGA 투어에서 8승을 휩쓸며 당대 최고의 스타로 자리매김했다. 그러나 1959년 모터바이크 사고로 입은 손목 부상 여파로 인해 1960년 시즌을 끝으로 20대 초반의 젊은 나이에 안타깝게 현역에서 은퇴했다.
선수 생활을 마친 뒤에도 스미스는 LPGA 지도자로서 수십 년간 후학 양성에 힘쓰며 골프에 대한 열정을 이어갔다. 피아노가 설치된 이동식 주택(캠핑카)을 타고 전국을 누비는 기행과 유쾌한 성품으로도 사랑받았던 그는 골프 레전드 페기 커크 벨로부터 "역대 가장 위대한 스윙 중 하나"라는 찬사를 받으며 많은 이들의 가슴속에 전설로 남게 됐다.
02Original (English) — LPGA
Phil Poupore is a Pittsburgh native and Integrated Content Manager for the LPGA Foundation. Prior to the LPGA, Phil worked for the American Junior Golf Association.
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.