Greenwood golfer Cissye Galagher’s first memory is of playing the sport. It was a nightmare. She was five years old. Keasler, her brother, was seven years old. They were both at Memphis’ driving range hitting balls while Ed Meeks, their father, was playing in a tournament. Cissye ran out and asked Keasler for some balls. Keasler was still swinging. “THWACK!” Keasler’s iron hit Cissye just over an eye, and she was scalded on the forehead. There was blood everywhere. The harrowing journey to the hospital was followed by Ed Meeks driving, and Cissye’s mom holding her in front. An attendant saw the child’s blood and opened the passenger door to the emergency room. Cissye’s mother fainted at that point. Cissye recalls that she doesn’t remember much except what others have told her. This was almost half a century after the incident. The important thing is that there was a surgeon available on-call. He fixed me up after more than 50 stitches. It didn’t deter the young girl from her passion for golf. A Hall of Fame career followed. Cissye Galagher was one of five (and only) women inducted into Mississippi’s Golf Hall of Fame. She will be inducted Saturday night at Jackson Convention Center in Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Bill Blackwell, executive director of the MSHOF, says that “at least half of Greenwood will be coming.” This is not surprising to anyone who knows Cissye, especially her husband Jim, who was a former U.S. Ryder Cup winner and fell in love with her while she was a senior golfer at LSU. He was just starting on the PGA Tour. Jim says that Cissye is a gifted woman. She is a people person. She loves people, and they love her back. She will do anything to help anyone. She is a friend to so many people and makes new friends wherever she goes. She has a gift. It’s an incredible personality that draws people to her. “I have been there after she beat somebody’s brains out at a tournament and heard them saying, ‘I’ve never had more fun losing to someone in my life.'” She also has a gift with golf. She is the oldest female golfer to win 12 Mississippi State Amateur championships. She has managed to do all this while raising four children, two of which have won two State Am championships each. Cissye won both her championships at Northwood in Meridian while she was pregnant. Jim said, “It was 95 degrees. She had to play 27 holes – nine more – to win one her matches back when she was as big as a house.” After slamming her right thumb into a car door, she won the Hattiesburg championship. She couldn’t use her right thumb to grip the ball. After a long break from a broken wrist, she won another year using a baseball grip. She still uses the baseball grip. Her career as a champion spans more than 40 years. She was a high school athlete who played on the boys team and won many tournaments. In 1986, she won her first Women’s State Am. She also won the 2015 edition. Even against college players, she is still very competitive. Here’s the best part: Cissye won numerous golf tournaments in the past 30 years, even though she was just a casual player. Her energy was devoted to her children and Jim’s career. Jim Gallagher is certain that his wife would have been a great player on the LPGA Tour. She did try it once. Jim Gallagher stated that she had played the game briefly. It could have been won. But it didn’t feel right for Cissye. They were newlyweds. He would play the PGA Tour’s West Coast tour, while she was playing LPGA’s Florida tournaments. He missed his 1990 Greater Milwaukee Open victory. Other factors were also involved. A shoulder injury kept her from moving on. Her mother was terminally ill from cancer. Jim and she wanted children. They wanted to have a family. After Cissye was pregnant with Mary Langdon, her first child, Cissye decided to give up pro golf and return to amateur status. Jim and Cissye could have settled anywhere, but they chose Greenwood as their home. When asked earlier this week if her thoughts ever go to the LPGA Tour, Cissye flatly replied, “No, not at all.” Thinking about what could have been, I see Jim winning majors at Medinah Hazeltine, Crooked Stick and Hazeltine. He was the best.” Cissye witnessed Jim beat Seve Ballesteros at The Belfry in England on the last day of 1993 to help the U.S win the Ryder Cup. Ballesteros was at that time perhaps the greatest match-play golfer in the world. Jim stated that Cissye had told him before the announcements of the matchups, “I hope you play Seve.” “That made him want me to play him too. Cissye was my sports psychologist for free. Her children are now grown. Jim has moved from being a competitive player to being a broadcaster for the Golf Channel. Could Cissye be able to focus more on her golf game now that she is a broadcaster for Golf Channel? Most likely not. One word: grandchildren. Two are available, with many more to follow. *** Previous to this series: Wilbert Montgomery Roy Oswalt Richard Price Ricky Black Rockey Felker