Emma Talley was never too busy for an interview even after finishing a round on the LPGA Tour.
Emma Talley has retired from the LPGA Tour to end what really was a historic golf career starting with her domination of high school golf in Kentucky.
Talley won three state high school individual golf championships for Caldwell County, including a nine-stroke romp in 2008 as a freshman and another nine-stroke win in 2010. She won by 10 shots in 2011 in her senior season.
Talley would have had a four-peat but she was disqualified in 2009 after posting the low score when she reported she had signed an incorrect scorecard. She would have still won by five shots when the correct score was posted but signing an incorrect card is an automatic disqualification.
I still remember how impressed I was that an athlete so young could do what Talley did and knew she did the “right thing” by self-reporting.
“Some people might not have done it. But how can you sleep at night knowing you did something that’s not God’s will for you to do?” Talley told the Lexington Herald’s Mike Fields.
That memory stayed with me as I followed Talley’s impressive career that included international play as a junior and dominance on the American Junior Golf Association Tour. She won both the U.S. Amateur and the NCAA championship during her career at Alabama where she was a four-time All-American and winner of the Honda Sports Award for golf as a junior.
I was fortunate to get to know Talley along with her parents, Jennifer and Dan. I got to watch her play in LPGA Tour events in Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Toledo. I marveled not only at her skill on the course but her demeanor. She never seemed to get frustrated. She was never too busy to talk to fans or tournament volunteers.
Talley was also never too busy to talk to me. Whether it was for a phone interview, interview after a round of golf or radio show appearance, she was always gracious with her time and I loved her thoughtful and detailed responses to questions.
Perhaps my best memory will be watching Talley play in the 2018 PGA Tour Barbasol Pro-Am at Champions at Keene Trace in Nicholasville. Her foursome included her future husband, Patrick Smith, a LPGA Tour caddy. She had told me what a gifted golfer Smith was and he definitely was. It was fun seeing Talley, who had finished fifth in a LPGA Tour stop a week earlier, just having fun with him and fans who came to watch.
However, Talley made one mistake — she forgot to bring cash to pay her caddy. That’s when she called friend Cullan Brown of Lyon County who was coming to watch her play and asked him to bring cash. He did and that was my first time to really meet and get to know him. He won a state title at Lyon and was second twice. He went on to play at the University of Kentucky but died in 2020 at age 20 after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma about a year earlier.
Brown was a remarkable young man and idolized Talley — he had caddied for her in a LPGA Tour event about two weeks before he found out he had cancer. She helped him with his golf game and life in general. She was devastated by his passing and donated money to the foundation created in his honor. She even played in the next LPGA event after his passing because she knew that is what he would have wanted her to do.
She wore a “Pray for Cullan” band on her wrist after his diagnosis and she shared Brown’s story and courageous battle nationwide.
Talley’s smile and personality always made every day better for anyone around her and I’m just glad I had a chance to watch this special athlete.
So happy retirement Emma Talley and thanks for the memories.
