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Neil Scott introduced his mother after rattling off her playing accomplishments during the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony Tuesday night at Chattanooga Golf and Country Club.
He didn't need to.
Maggie Scott's credentials make her more than qualified to join the likes of Betty Probasco, Judy Eller Street, Beverly Pearce and Connie Day.
"It's a great honor for her to see so many friends that she's made through golf," said Neil, who grew to love the game, played at Lee University and became a professional at their home club, Cleveland Country Club, and caddied for her in tournaments across the country. "She's a woman who has not only touched my life but many others through this great game."
Maggie Scott's record certainly meets the stated qualification for Hall of Fame induction: "A significant record as a championship player in international, national, regional or state competition."
To start, she has won 10 Tennessee Golf Association competitions, including the State Women's Amateur in 1994. She overpowered competition once she played in the senior division by winning the Senior Amateur 2001-03, 2005-08, 2010 and 2012.
"When I got the call from Matt (Vanderpool of the TGA), I just said, 'Hey, what's going on, Matt?'" she said. "Then he told me the news and I was speechless. And I'm never speechless.
"How could I receive such an honor for going out, having fun and making new friends?"
Scott, who grew up in Chattanooga and moved to the Cleveland area after 18 years, gave an entertaining and heartfelt speech as she was inducted along with "The History of Tennessee Golf" author Gene Pearce and the late Horace Smith and Edyth Duffield.
Scott's requirements for her official induction were to get somebody to introduce her and to select a time and location. She chose Chattanooga G&CC to coincide with this year's Tennessee Women's Amateur. After a few phone calls, Pearce and his wife, Beverly, decided he should be inducted Tuesday as well, instead of during a separate ceremony in Nashville.
"This is my favorite club and I have a lot of great memories here, including my first State Am finals and I qualified for my first USGA Senior here," Scott said before the induction. "I told my husband that he should buy me the house at the end of No. 1 fairway so I could sit on the porch, have my coffee, watch the boats go by, go for a walk, then play.
"He said, 'I don't have the money, so go sit on our porch and pretend.'
"I played in my first State Amateur finals here against Betty Probasco," Scott joked during her speech. "We won't talk about how that ended up."
In addition to her state championships, Scott also earned state senior player of the year honors in 1999, 2001-03, 2005-08, 2010 and 2013. And she has competed in six USGA championships, including the 2011 Senior Women's Amateur held at The Honors Course.
"Maggie is one of the best golfers I've ever played with," said Beverly Pearce, who teamed with Scott for 15 years in four-ball competitions across the state and the South. "I won state five times, and when she broke my record, I presented her with the trophy. We both cried."
There weren't many tears in the ballroom Tuesday. There were laughs and plenty of stories and memories shared among a crowd of about 200. Scott recalled one special match against Probasco.
"In Jackson, on the 16th green, her caddie came up and said, 'Mrs. Probasco, I believe you won on No. 14,'" Scott joked. "We were having such a good time that neither one of realized the match was over."
Scott thanked a list of people including Neil, her husband, Jim - who once caddied for her barefoot - as well as many friends and others who helped her enjoy the game and grow the game.
Scott celebrated her 66th birthday as well as her 40th wedding anniversary Sunday. She spent 31 years as a teacher and opened by stating, "I'm going to treat you all like fifth-graders because I could stand in front of a fifth-grade class for 31 years."
She now stands as a Hall of Famer.
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP