Clutch shots and close calls for four rookies at the RBC PGA Scramble

An all-woman team of colour finds success and lots of fun playing the RBC PGA Scramble.

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Standing next to a blue RBC PGA Scramble feather banner, Mackenzie Kuhn, a PGA of Canada professional who manages Innisfil Creek Golf Club near Barrie, Ont., addressed the first groups off at the regional qualifier at his club last month.

“This is your chance to have fun and my opportunity to be a scout for the group with the most potential to take us to Cabot again this year,” he said cheerfully, and encouragingly, to a group of clearly anxious golfers.

The team of Carly Crooks, Renee Crooks, Cassandra Phillip and Nicole Lewis was the first of 36 groups to tee off on this day. They comprised the only all-women and all-Black foursome in the field.

The Crooks sisters, coming off their freshman year playing golf for the University of Pikeville in Kentucky, were relaxed and ready to enjoy a format they had never played until this tournament. On the other hand, Phillip, who started golf only a few years ago, and Lewis, who plays in weekly golf leagues, were fighting the competitive nerves.

Their walkout song — “Return of the Mack” by Mark Morrison — blared over the speakers by the starter’s hut, ushering them to the first tee. A classic tune chosen by the Crooks twins. It spoke perfectly to the multi-generational nature of the team with Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z all represented. The group breathed a collective sigh of relief once all four had teed off and they had two drives in prime position.

I caught up with the team at the turn after watching Carly drain a birdie putt on the par-3 ninth, taking the team to 6 under. They were focused but not fully satisfied with their impressive front-nine score.

“It was ok. Our approaches weren’t close enough to make (more) birdies. We left ourselves with a few chips,” said Renee.

I then followed them on the back nine and that’s when the magic started. The team scored birdies on five straight holes, including an exciting chip-in by Phillip on the 11th — a natural birdie as her tee shot was the ball chosen. Meanwhile, Lewis’ drives were consistently long and in the centre of the fairway. By hole 15, each team member had used her mandatory three drives. This allowed Carly and Renee to unleash at the 270-yard, par-4 16th, with both of their drives falling just 10 yards short of the green.

At 12 under through 17, the women had no clue whether they were in contention or what they needed to score to secure a win, but the 18th hole, a short par 5, seemed a prime opportunity to capitalize. And they did. After launching her second shot to 20 feet from the pin, Renee, with the benefit of reads from her team members and whose putter was already on fire, drained the eagle putt to close with a score of 14 under. A score that would win them low gross honours and a tie for seventh in the net competition with their combined handicap of 2.1.

Because the field at Innisfil had more than 20 groups, both the low net and low gross winners advanced to the Greater Toronto Regional Final at The Nest at Friday Harbour.

“I was so excited because I was proud of our team for scoring that well. We connected and were able to perform. I also felt excited to play The Nest because I heard it was such a good course,” Carly shared.

Said Kuhn, who joined the team as its pro at The Nest, “Out of 144 golfers and 36 groups that participated at Innisfil Creek, this team kicked everyone’s butts gross. That’s a team you take to the final.”

At The Nest, the women and Kuhn tied for third in the gross division at 14 under and was second in the net division, narrowly missing out on an automatic spot at Cabot Cape Breton when they missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole.

The highlights from their round that day included converted 40-foot eagle putts on holes 7 and 11 and Carly chipping in for eagle from 30 yards off the green and up and over a bunker on the 13th hole.

“You could put down 1,000 balls and no pro would be able to replicate that chip on hole 13,” Kuhn explained.

As the sun set over Friday Harbor, Wayne MacPhee, operations manager at the PGA of Canada, congratulated the team on their performance, describing its finish as a “nail-biter” given the squad was so close to winning outright in a highly competitive field of 27 teams. Carley won signed RBC Canadian Open pin flags — one by Corey Connors and one signed by Sahith Theegala — for winning Longest Drive and Closest to the Pin competitions. No doubt an enviable dorm-room decoration for the university golfer.

For first time RBC PGA Scramble players Renee and Carly, the format was a learning experience.

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“It teaches everyone how to strategize, like the order of how each person is going to hit. You have to compensate for everyone’s weakness and strengths and utilize everyone’s abilities to score the best that you can,” Carly summarized. “I also like how you don’t depend on one good player on the team to score. Everyone has an opportunity to contribute. I like that rule that you need three shots off the tee for each person — it makes everyone feel included and involved.”

Another highlight was the women’s experience playing with Kuhn in the Regional Final.

“I felt like I could rely on him with his experience. I was able to ask a lot of specific questions about the course and about where to land the ball and how to approach a shot,” Renee stated.

“It was amazing to watch a professional in action,” Lewis said.

“He was calming and kind in moments when I was putting pressure on myself,” Philip added.

The team’s dream of advancing to Cabot Cape Breton is not dead yet. The PGA of Canada is guaranteeing two all-female teams at the National Final this year, which means if there are not two all-female teams who emerge as Regional Final winners — there are seven more to be played from now until September 11 — the PGA will choose a team or teams based on course and slope rating of the 12 Regional Final venues.

Whether they make the grade or not, the women say they found the PGA RBC Scramble to be an exciting way to experience competition and a perfect way to bring together teams of varying skills, ages, experience and handicaps.

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