By Santana Shipley
In November, Jeff Gallagher and Jackie Gallagher-Smith were inducted into Indiana Golf Hall of Fame. They were formally introduced by their brother Jim Gallagher, Jr., who spoke of their positive impact within the industry as players, teachers and promoters of the game of golf.
About Jeff Gallagher
Jeff Gallagher was born and raised in Marion, Indiana where his father was a PGA Professional.
Jeff won the Indiana Boys State Junior Championship (1982) and then went on to play collegiate golf at Ball State University. During his time at Ball State, Gallagher was a four-year letterman, two-time All-Mid America Conference (MAC) selection. He captured two collegiate titles while playing for the Cardinals. Away from the collegiate circuit, he finished runner-up at the 1985 Indiana State Amateur, and was inducted into Ball State University’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.
After completing his collegiate career, he followed in his older brothers’ footsteps and turned professional in 1987. During his time as a playing professional, he captured the 1991 Korn Ferry Cleveland Open and the 2000 Korn Ferry South Carolina Classic. In the Cleveland Open, he outlasted eventual major champion and Ryder Cup Captain, Tom Lehman, by one shot. He added a runner-up finish in the 2009 Rex Hospital Open.
He amassed 34 top-ten finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour and an additional six top- ten finishes on the PGA Tour. All totaled, he played in more than 400 PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour events.
As a member of the PGA Champions Tour, he has competed in four U.S. Senior Opens. He is an instructor at High Performance Golf Institute in Las Vegas and Southern Nevada and brings decades of experience to his instruction.
Gallagher has placed an emphasis on promoting the game of golf through charity events, including YMCA Junior Programs, and the Jim Gallagher & Friends Skins Game, which has raised $500,000 during its 20 years.
The Gallagher Family has been named the National Golf Foundation’s Golf Family of the Year and the PGA of America National Golf Month Family of the Year. He lives with his wife, Kim, in Henderson, Nevada, and has two daughters, Allison, and Meredith.
About Jackie Gallagher-Smith
Jackie Gallagher-Smith was born in Marion, Indiana, and grew up playing on the girls golf team at Marion High School, where she received the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award in 1984. Jackie saw tremendous success early in her golf career, winning the Indiana Junior Girls Championship in 1983 and 1985, finishing as a semifinalist at the 1987 Indiana Women’s State Amateur, and placing
third the following year.
She moved forward to play collegiate golf at Louisiana State University and earned NCAA All-American honors in 1988, plus was named All-Conference (SEC) in 1990. She qualified for the Women’s U.S. Open from 1989 to 1992 and turned professional in 1990. She saw quick success in 1993 placing second in the Betty Puschard Classic, third in the U.S. Air Future Classic, and seventh on the Futures Tour money list.
Jackie was an LPGA Member from 1994 to 2012 and won the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic in 1999. She remained exempt on the LPGA Tour from 2000-2009 and has received many special awards and recognitions including the National Golf Foundation’s Golf Family of the Year (1990), Top 5 Merit of Honor on the Asian Women’s Tour (1996), PGA of America National Golf Month Family (1996), and was inducted into Grant County Indiana’s All Sports Hall of Fame (2011).
Jackie sat on the Advisory Council for the Women’s Professional Golf Fellowship for three years. She has also participated in numerous charity and fundraising events, including the FCA, Jack Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and Cancer Society, Prader Willi: Special Olympics, Wounded Warrior, and the Jim Gallagher & Friends Skins Game, which has raised $500,000 over twenty years.
Jackie has placed an emphasis on the importance of youth golf by participating in over ten LPGA Junior Golf clinics and four FCA Junior Golf camps. Jackie is married to Eddie Smith and has two sons, O’Connor and Sullivan. She currently resides in Jupiter, Florida, and is in her ninth year as a pre-kindergarten teacher.
