Reflections ►
Sunflower Hills ’ Trio Works U . S . Women ’ s Open
Side-by-side with the world ’ s best women ’ s golfers by Alan Hoskins
A chance to see the U . S . Women ’ s Open at Pebble Beach doesn ’ t come along very often . Well , never until this year . So when the opportunity to be one of the 2,500 volunteers July 6-9 , there was no hesitation . “ We ’ re going , right ?” said Sharon Rodina , who volunteered with Sunflower Hills ’ buddies Pat Seber-Bradley and Karen Brown . Seber-Bradley and Rodina live in Kansas City , KS ; Brown in nearby Parkville , MO .
“ My sister , LeAnn Seber-Holm , who works for Pebble Beach , asked me if I wanted to come . I did , and I invited Karen and Sharon ,” said Seber-Bradley . “ If it weren ’ t for my sister , we probably wouldn ’ t have had the opportunity we did .” Indeed . While 2,500 volunteers worked the tournament , another 500 were left on a waiting list .
Beach and Del Monte Golf Course for $ 150 . Rodina and Brown were “ birdies ;” Seber-Bradley , an “ eagle .” Each volunteer was required to work a minimum of four four-hour shifts over a five-day span . The rain jackets were particularly valuable . “ It needed to be a little warmer ,” Brown confessed .
Nothing like a fast start . The Sunflower Hills trio was assigned as marshals on Pebble Beach ’ s hole No . 1 . From welcoming participants to the first tee to holding up paddles showing the direction of tee shots or directing traffic , they worked the first tee box , the fairway , and the green on a rotating basis . The first tee time was 7 a . m ., which meant being on the job at 6:30 a . m . “ Many of the players said good morning and thank you when we ’ d open the ropes ,” said Rodina . “ They were very polite .” But not all the players were accurate off the tee . Working the fairway , Seber-Bradley almost got hit by errant shots three times . “ The first hole is a dogleg , and some of the players would try to cut the corner ,” she said .
Avid golfers themselves , Seber-Bradley , Rodina , and Brown are all members of Sunflower Hills ’ women ’ s team that won the Kansas City Cup in 2021 and 2022 , So the first thing they did after arriving was to play 18 holes at Bayonet & Black Horse Golf Course . The first workday was a fun one , with practice rounds for the participants on Wednesday . “ Not all the players played , and many who did
Volunteers from Sunflower Hills on hole No . 1 , ( from left ) Sharon Rodina , Heather Bagley , Karen Brown , and Pat Seber-Bradley got a close up look at the 2023 U . S . Women ’ s Open at Pebble Beach .
While it was the first time working at the U . S . Women ’ s Open , it was not the first time at Pebble Beach for the trio . They also worked the men ’ s U . S . Open in 2019 and the AT & T Pro-Am tourney in 2022 . “ They were all so different ,” said Brown . “ The men ’ s tournaments were so much bigger [ crowd-wise ]. It wasn ’ t even close .” About 40,000 tickets were sold for the tourney .
As a volunteer , one of the first orders of business is getting outfitted — at your own expense . A Birdie package , which included a cap , shirt , rain jacket and golf at Del Monte Golf Course , cost $ 125 . Eagle status earned an additional shirt and golf at The Hay in Pebble
22 August 2023 TEE TIMES GOLF GUIDE
With the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop , Bailey Tardy ( T4 ) tees off on the 8th hole at the 2023 U . S . Women ’ s championship . Allisen Corpuz ( in red ) the eventual Open Champion looks on .
( Photo by Pat Seber-Bradley )
would hit two or three balls off the first tee or hit a lot of shots around the green ,” said Seber-Bradley . Thursday was a day off , so the trio got in their 18-hole rounds at Del Monte . Brown and Rodina also got in another round at Saguna Seca after their shift on Friday .
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