Phoenix, AZ – The Marilynn Smith Scholarship Events, presented by Golf It Forward®, tee off April 26-27, 2026, at the Westin Kierland Golf Club in Scottdale, AZ, a Troon managed facility. The events, bearing LPGA co-founder Marilynn Smith’s name, include: the Sunday Tea and the Scholarship Pro-Am. This year’s tournament honorees are Beth Daniel and Meg Mallon, both members of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
The events benefit the Marilynn Smith Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships to female students from the United States and Canada, who demonstrate academic achievement, leadership, and extraordinary community involvement and are committed to play collegiate golf in the United States. Since its inception in 1999, the Fund has awarded $1,500,00 in scholarships to 300 women.
The Marilynn Smith Sunday Tea features Jane Crafter interviewing honorees Beth Daniel and Meg Mallon, the Golf It Forward Museum a community expo and comments from Sandra Gal and Marilynn Smith Scholarship Recipients (PEARLS) Abigail Morris and Amelia Zingler. A bonus will be the launch of the Golf It Forward Ancestry Project with a storytelling presentation about LPGA Co-Founder Louise Suggs.
In addition to in person activities, there is an on-line auction, which closes May 3. To learn more about Golf It Forward, the Marilynn Smith Scholarship Recipients, the Golf It Forward Museum, or the auction, please visit www.golfitforward.org or send an email to 13Founders@golfitforward.org.
ABOUT GOLF IT FORWARD®
(GIF) GOLF IT FORWARD is the public face of the Marilynn Smith and Founders’ Legacy Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. The foundation embodies the ingenuity, drive and passion of 13 women who had the foresight to see that there was a future for women in golf and golf in the future of women. For more information on GIF, please go to www.GolfItForward.org
PRESS CONTACT Debbie Waitkus – Foundation Chair
