Emma Talley
American professional golfer (born 1994)
Emma Ruth Talley (born March 23, 1994) is an American retired professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. While playing as an amateur at the University of Alabama, she won the 2013 U.S. Women's Amateur by defeating Yueer Cindy Feng in the 36-hole final match, 2 and 1.
01Early life
Talley was born in Paducah, Kentucky on March 23, 1994. Her parents are Dan and Jennifer Talley. She has an older sister, Leigh Anne, and two brothers, Joe Dan and Jackson. She grew up in Princeton, Kentucky and graduated from Caldwell County High School, where she was a three-time (2008, 2010, 2011) Kentucky state girls golf champion.
02College
Talley played golf four years at the University of Alabama. In 2015, she won the NCAA Division I Women's Championship at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida, by one stroke (3-under-par 285) over Gaby López of Arkansas and Leona Maguire of Duke. As a junior, she was named the winner of the Honda Sports Award for golf.
Talley was a four-time Women's Golf Coaches Association All-America selection, earning First Team honors as a junior in 2015 and as senior in 2016 after earning Second Team honors in 2013 and Honorable Mention in 2014. She also picked up Second Team All-America honors from Golfweek in 2016.
She was First Team All-SEC in 2016 after earning All-SEC Second Team honors the previous three years.
03Amateur
In 2008, Talley was on the victorious U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team, which defeated Europe 22-2. On August 11, 2013, Talley won the U.S. Women's Amateur in a 36-hole finale by defeating Yueer Cindy Feng, 2 & 1. She competed in all the LPGA majors except The Evian Championship in 2014. Her best finish was at the Ricoh Women's British Open with a total score of six-over-par, receiving the low amateur honors.
04Professional career
Talley joined the Symetra Tour in 2016. That season saw her compete in 14 tournaments, finishing in the top-10 in three events, including a runner-up finish in the Fuccillo Kia Championship on June 3, where she earned a season-high $12,021. She also tied for second at the Kansas City Championship and tied for fourth at the Tullymore Classic.
In 2018, Talley began her rookie year on the LPGA Tour with two top-10 finishes on her resume: seventh at the Women's Australian Open and fifth at the Hugel-JTBC LA Open. She finished 52nd on the money list with earnings over $420,000 making 21 cuts in 27 events.
In 2021, she had her first runner-up finish at the ISPS Handa World Invitational where she lost in a playoff to Pajaree Anannarukarn on the second extra hole.
Talley announced her retirement from golf in early 2025.
05Personal life
Talley married Kiwi professional caddie Patrick Smith in January 2023. They reside outside of Nashville, Tennessee. She is expecting her first child, a girl, in June 2025.
06Professional wins
Symetra Tour wins
07Playoff record
LPGA Tour playoff record (0-1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021 | ISPS Handa World Invitational | Pajaree Anannarukarn | Lost to par on second extra hole |
08Results in LPGA majors
Results not in chronological order.
| Tournament | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevron Championship | CUT | T37 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | ||||||
| Women's PGA Championship | CUT | T55 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | |||||||
| U.S. Women's Open | CUT | T46 | T63 | T60 | T41 | CUT | CUT | ||||||
| The Evian Championship ^ | T37 | CUT | NT | T73 | CUT | 70 | |||||||
| Women's British Open | T17LA | T57 | T64 | CUT | CUT | ||||||||
^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013.
LA = low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
"T" = tied
09U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
- Junior Ryder Cup: 2010 (winners)
- Junior Solheim Cup: 2011 (tie, Cup retained)
- Curtis Cup: 2014 (winners)
- Espirito Santo Trophy: 2014
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Emma Talley”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Emma Talley 2014 USA Curtis Cup Team at St. Louis CC (cropped).jpg by Jim Healey, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 2014 USA Curtis Cup Team at St. Louis CC.jpg by Jim Healey, CC BY-SA 4.0
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