Marchand wins first Symetra Tour event
MILWAUKEE — When Brittany Marchand asked the question on Thursday, he lied.
“Oh yeah, I had to,” said Gary Luck, a Shorewood native and Marchand’s caddy this past week. “Otherwise, she would’ve fired me before we started.”
When asked if he had prior caddying experience, Luck, who had no prior experience but signed up to be a volunteer caddy due to the fact he plays weekly at Brown Deer, told Marchand he did — the fact that he used to coach the golf team at Greendale High School was his fallback. Luckily, Marchand, an Orangeville, Ontario, native and former golfer at North Carolina State University, couldn’t tell. The two hit it off at Brown Deer Park Golf Course in the PHC Classic and enough so that by Sunday evening, Marchand held trophy on the 18th green.
Thanks to a final round 4-under 68, she recorded her firstever win on the Symetra Tour.
“It means a lot,” Marchand said post-round. “I’ve been a
little bit off and on this year with my golf, and it was nice to see it all come through and to see myself finish on a strong note. To hold the lead, I’m really proud of myself.”
Luck, 68 and a 7handicap, was proud, too. And excited. “I’m probably more excited than her,” he said. “To be right there and be on top of everything, it was a great experience.”
On Friday, after an opening round 1-under 71, Marchand, 25, got hot with the flat stick. She birdied holes 11, 12 and 13 and added another on the 15th.
The flurry finished with her shooting an 8under 64, a score that set the tournament record for the PHC Classic, which first played in 2015.
Although Marchand had four career top-10 finishes on the Symetra Tour, including one in early July, she had never slept on a lead prior to Saturday night. She was two strokes ahead of Laura Wearn (70-67-71), Rachel Rohanna (67-7071) and Krista Puisite (71-66-72).
Marchand knew it was going to be difficult to keep her mind away from the course, but roommate and former N.C. State teammate Augusta James (74-73) helped distract her. The two watched The Big Bang Theory and ate cheesecake — for the second time this week.
“I was, like, you know what, I think it’s working,” Marchand, who had eaten the dessert prior to the tournament, said, “and I don’t usually eat that.”
Like her golf game, though, this week was different.
On Sunday, Marchand got her round going with a birdie on No. 3. After hitting her tee shot to the fringe on the right side of the green on the 158-yard par-3, Marchand drained a 25-footer.
Marchand striped a drive down the middle of the final hole. She then hit a fairly solid second shot that sprayed right and knocked one close with a laser to the pin on the left.
As her final putt — a birdie putt — went in, James and others ran onto the green and showered her with water bottles.
“Getting to watch her for 18 holes was really fun,” James said. “I’m so happy I could watch her finish up like this.”