Leta Lindley

Leta Lindley
Leta Lindley
	Lindley at the 2007 LPGA Championship
Personal information
Born	June 1, 1972 (age 52); Phoenix, Arizona
Height	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Spouse	Matt Plagmann (m. 1996)
Children	2
Career
College	University of Arizona
Turned professional	1994
Current tour(s)	Legends of the LPGA
Former tour(s)	LPGA Tour
Professional wins	4
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour	1
Other	3
Best results in LPGA major championships;
Chevron Championship	T9: 2002
Women's PGA C'ship	2nd: 1997
U.S. Women's Open	T5: 1995
du Maurier Classic	T23: 2000
Women's British Open	T38: 2008
Achievements and awards
NGCA Players Hall of Fame
NGCA Players Hall of Fame	2006
Heather Farr Player Award	2008

Leta Lindley (born June 1, 1972) is an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour between 1995 and 2012, and currently plays on the Legends of the LPGA circuit. She was runner-up at the 1997 LPGA Championship and won the 2008 LPGA Corning Classic. She has won three Legends of the LPGA tournaments, including her first career major, the 2024 U.S. Senior Women's Open.^[1]

Early life and amateur career

Lindley's first golf job was painting stripes on range balls as an 11-year-old. She played collegiate golf at the University of Arizona, where she briefly roomed with Annika Sörenstam.^[2] She was a four-time All-American, three-time Academic All-American, and finished third at the 1993 NCAA Championship. She was a Honda Sports Award finalist twice, and lost out to Vicki Goetze in 1992 and Charlotta Sörenstam in 1993. In addition, she was the medalist at the 1994 U.S. Women's Amateur. Lindley turned professional in the summer of 1994 after graduating with a degree in communications.^[3]

Professional career

Lindley had a long and successful career on tour, and earned non-exempt status for the 1995 LPGA Tour season by finishing tied 52nd at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. In her rookie season, she tied for third at the State Farm Rail Classic and tied for fifth at the 1995 U.S. Women's Open.^[3]

In 1997, she recorded her career-best major finish with at the McDonald's LPGA Championship, where she lost a playoff to Christa Johnson on the second hole. She recorded her first LPGA career hole-in-one during the second round of the Edina Realty LPGA Classic.^[3]

In 1999, she was runner-up at the City of Hope Myrtle Beach Classic. She crossed the $1 million mark in career earnings in 2000 and the $2 million mark in 2005. After almost 15 years on tour, she won the 2008 Corning Classic in her 295th LPGA Tour start. She crossed the $3 million mark in career earnings and retired from full-time competition at the end of the 2012 season, ranking among the top 60 all-time LPGA money winners, despite having only one win.^[2]

After recording runner-up finishes in 2022 and 2023, she won the U.S. Senior Women's Open in 2024.^[4]

Personal life

Lindley's husband, Matt Plagmann, caddied for her; her son Cole (born 2004), and daughter Reese (born 2006) traveled with the couple.^[2]

Amateur wins

1989 AJGA Tournament of Champions
1994 Pac-10 Conference Championship

Professional wins (4)

LPGA Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	May 25, 2008	LPGA Corning Classic	−11 (73-67-70-67=277)	Playoff	Jeong Jang

LPGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1997	McDonald's LPGA Championship	Christa Johnson	Lost to par on second extra hole
2	2008	LPGA Corning Classic	Jeong Jang	Won with birdie on first extra hole

Legends of the LPGA wins (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Jul 12, 2023	St Johns Challenge	−7 (65)	2 strokes	Nicole Jeray
2	Nov 8, 2023	Cove Cay Legends	−14 (65-65=130)	7 strokes	Moira Dunn-Bohls
3	Aug 4, 2024	U.S. Senior Women's Open	−9 (69-71-71-64=275)	2 strokes	Kaori Yamamoto

Results in LPGA Majors

Tournament	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
Nabisco Dinah Shore		T54		CUT		T27
LPGA Championship		CUT	2	CUT	T26	T12
U.S. Women's Open	T5	CUT	CUT		T20	T46
du Maurier Classic	T53	CUT	T66	CUT	CUT	T23

Tournament	2001	2002	2003	2005	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Kraft Nabisco Championship	T48	T9	27	T35	T30		WD	CUT	T29	78
LPGA Championship	T17	T25	CUT	T25	T30	T65				T45
U.S. Women's Open	T43	CUT	T22	T19	T50	T53	CUT		T21
Women's British Open ^			CUT		CUT	T38

^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001.

Top 10

Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
T = tied

References

^ "Third Time's the Charm: Lindley Charges to Title at Fox Chapel". USGA. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c Nichols, Beth Ann (August 4, 2024). "'Underdog' Leta Lindley rides hot putter to U.S. Senior Women's Open title with record final round". Golfweek. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Leta Lindley Bio". LPGA Tour. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
^ Strege, John (August 4, 2024). "Leta Lindley avenges consecutive runner-up finishes in the U.S. Senior Women's Open with a comeback victory". Golf Digest. Retrieved August 5, 2024.

External links

Leta Lindley at the LPGA Tour official site
Leta Lindley at the Legends Tour official site
Media related to Leta Lindley at Wikimedia Commons

[1] "Third Time's the Charm: Lindley Charges to Title at Fox Chapel". USGA. Retrieved August 5, 2024.

[golfweek1-2] Nichols, Beth Ann (August 4, 2024). "'Underdog' Leta Lindley rides hot putter to U.S. Senior Women's Open title with record final round". Golfweek. Retrieved August 5, 2024.

[lpgabio-3] "Leta Lindley Bio". LPGA Tour. Retrieved August 5, 2024.

[4] Strege, John (August 4, 2024). "Leta Lindley avenges consecutive runner-up finishes in the U.S. Senior Women's Open with a comeback victory". Golf Digest. Retrieved August 5, 2024.

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