Jackie Gallagher-Smith

Gallagher-Smith started playing golf at the age of 5, and credits her father and husband, Eddie, as the individuals most influencing her career. Her father was the head professional at Meshingomesia Golf Course in Marion, In. Her brother, Jim Gallagher, is a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, making Jackie and Jim one of two brother-sister combinations to win on the LPGA and PGA Tours (joining Cathy Gerring and Bill Kratzert).
Gallagher-Smith was the 1983 and 1986 Indiana State Junior champion. She was a semifinalist at the 1987 Indiana State Amateur and placed third the following year. She was named a 1987 NCAA All-American while a member of the Louisiana State University golf team. She turned pro in 1990 and prior to joining the LPGA Tour, competed on the Futures Golf Tour, Asian Tour, and the Central Florida Challenge mini-tour. In 1993, she T-36th at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to earn non-exempt status for the 1994 LPGA season. Gallagher-Smith played full-time on the LPGA Tour between 1994 and 2009 playing in 337 events. She made 173 cuts with 12 top-ten finishes. She won the 1999 Giant Eagle LPGA Classic. She married Eddie Smith on May 30, 1992, and gave birth to her son O'Connor in 2005, and son Sullivan in 2007.
For the last couple of years, she has been a preschool teacher in Jupiter, Fla. She said she didn't expect to be a preschool teacher. After instructing a golf lesson at the school eight years ago, Gallagher-Smith got an offer to be a teaching assistant before taking on her current role as a teacher. She also spent most of 2018 taking care of husband Eddie who was diagnosed with hairy cell leukemia in November of 2017 and spent more than three months in a hospital in Miami. When her husband got better, she was looking for a reprieve and thought about playing in the 2018 LPGA Senior Championship, even though she hadn't played competitive golf in at least three years. She found her game and was close to the lead after a first round 71, but with 73-82 she finished T19.

Gallagher-Smith will be playing in the U.S. Senior Women's Open for the first time.