Players Scramble for Fun at Valencia Tournament

The hooting, hollering and celebrations at the Valencia Scramble girls’ golf tournament would put the U.S. Ryder Cup team to shame.

Mobbing a teammate for making a putt to clinch the match? Nonsense.

That happens on every hole here. Only difference is, nobody takes offense.

The fourth annual Valencia Scramble, brainchild of John Winek, Valencia High golf coach, took place Monday at Brea Golf Course.

There were 20 three-player teams representing 15 schools competing in a scramble format. Santa Margarita’s team of Meghan Mulhaupt, Brenda Progar and Colleen Burke won the team title, shooting one-under-par 28.

Nikki Glowin of Valencia won the long-drive contest, blasting 251 yards. Brianne Parga of Century drained a 21-foot putt to win the long-putt contest.

But winning is secondary at this made-for-fun tournament.

“It’s the best,” Canyon Coach Jan McKendrick Harold said. “The kids are laughing so hard most of the time, it’s hard to keep them polite.”

She should know. She witnessed a sword fight with putters between two of her team members, and then saw her daughter attempt to revive an ailing putter with CPR.

Beth Harold arrived at the tee box after narrowly missing a putt on the previous green. She said her teammates had been missing putts all day. So Harold, certified in CPR, decided to take action.

“You throw it on the ground and shake it to see if it’s conscious,” the younger Harold said. “Then you cross your hands over and start pumping. You’ve also got to breathe on the head, if not you won’t get it breathing again.”

Winek started the tournament in 1996 as a way to promote girls’ golf. Two years later, the Southern Section announced its decision to sanction girls’ golf.

“It was a way to get girls playing with girls,” Winek said. “We had so many girls interested in playing golf that we thought this would show the CIF the amount of interest.”

In a scramble, each player hits a tee shot. The players then decide which tee shot is best and all drop their ball near that one and hit again. Once on the green, they pick the easiest putt to make, and all get a chance to make it. There is only one team score.

“Most of these girls don’t even know what a scramble is,” Winek said. “You kind of teach them as they go along. But it’s a valuable lesson because most people stick with golf and there are so many corporate tournaments and charity events that are played as a scramble. Now, they know [stroke] play isn’t the only way to play.”

Little did he know the tournament would become one of the most popular events of the girls’ golf season.

“It’s a lot less stress and tension than a regular match,” said Santa Margarita’s Brenda Progar, who made two lengthy birdie putts Monday. “It’s one of those things where it doesn’t matter if we won or lost.”

She noted that even her normally reserved coach, Tim O’Hara, was caught up in the fun.

“We made a birdie and he was kind of excited,” she said. “He put his hands in the air. He’s usually pretty mellow.”

UNDER THE SUN

The short, but brutal heat wave last week took its toll on some high school golf teams.

Coaches reported players walking off the course mid-round, pouring water on each other’s heads during matches and scrambling for anything resembling shade during rounds.

During Canyon’s match with Cerritos Gahr Tuesday at Los Coyotes Country Club, coaches had to cart a Gahr player back to the clubhouse after suspecting heat exhaustion.

“That was scary,” Canyon Coach McKendrick Harold said. “It was 103 that day and she was all white and had this weird look in her eye.”

The girl got some food and water, then slept in the air-conditioned clubhouse for about an hour while the match continued. Afterward, she seemed recuperated.

“She was bright and alert,” McKendrick Harold said.

Canyon won that match by default because another Gahr player did not show up, leaving the Gladiators with only two after the heat exhaustion incident.

STELLA GOT HER GROOVE

Stella Lee, a junior at Irvine, shot one-under-par 34 at Oak Creek last Tuesday, registering the only sub-par round reported in the county so far this season.

If you have an item or idea for the girls’ golf report, you can fax us at (714) 966-5663 or e-mail us at peter.yoon@latimes.com