By MARTY JAMES

martyjames.sports@gmail.com

AMERICAN CANYON – Kylee Scroggs was not feeling very well when she arrived at Chardonnay Golf Club & Vineyards on Wednesday for the Napa Valley College women's golf team's season-opening match.

"I knew that I was under the weather," said Scroggs, a freshman, who had a sore throat.

But she decided to play in the dual match against Sacramento City College about an hour before her starting time.

"It was just to go out and have fun and be there for my team. I decided, 'Let's do it.' I'm glad I was able to come out here," said Scroggs.

Scroggs went out in her first college match and posted an 84, a score that counted, as Napa Valley won its dual match, 358-371, over Sacramento City College, on a day with sunny, breezy conditions, and temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s.

Before heading out to Chardonnay Golf Club & Vineyards, Scroggs went to NVC's Student Health Center to get checked out.

"It's just super sore and swollen, the glands and the tonsils," she said.

Scroggs shot 6-over-par 42 on the front nine and 6-over-par 42 on the back nine, a round that was highlighted by her making six pars and also showing tremendous strength and fortitude and toughness.

"There was a time where I told Coach (Bob Freschi), 'I don't know if I'm going to be able to push through.' He's like, 'Whenever you want to call it quits, just call it quits.' But I just kept a positive mindset and just took it hole by hole and ended up on the 18th and saw my parents at the end. I was happy to be done."

Kylee Scroggs, a 2025 graduate of Granada High School-Livermore, was greeted by her parents, Brent and Shannon Scroggs, near the 18th green.

"This was definitely an off-day, which I knew was going to happen. But no excuses out there. I definitely left some shots out there. Excited for the next match and hoping to shoot a little lower," said Scroggs.

"It's hard to drink water because my throat is super swollen. So, being able to play and not drinking much water was definitely difficult. Just to go hole by hole and hope for the best. I just kicked it through."

Scroggs played in the first group of the day, joining her teammate, Libby Webb, a sophomore.

Webb was the individual low medalist, firing an 8-over-par 80 with one birdie.

"You wouldn't even know she was feeling down," Webb said of Scroggs. "She's super fun to play with. She didn't have her best round, but she had a great attitude. It was really fun playing with her."

Also, playing for Napa Valley was Hanna Ruggles, with a 95, and Rylie Olmo, with a 99.

Hazel Zastrow (100) and Loret Osorio (104) also played for Napa Valley.

Maya Drake was not able to play due an illness.

"It was good to get our feet wet here. We've got to work on a lot of things," said Freschi.

"Good, first team victory. Again, it's realistic expectations, and understanding what it takes. There's other teams that are in the same boat as we are. So, what's going to be the difference of saving strokes out on the course and being able to compete.

"They did a nice job of that, and I'm proud of them. We had the advantage because this is our home course. Chardonnay is a very difficult course. We played really well. Congrats to Libby for being low medalist. Really excited for this 2025 women's team."

Scroggs is an outstanding addition to the team, as she played all four years of golf at Granada and was named first-team All-East Bay Athletic League as a senior. She also played four years in Junior Golf Association of Northern California tournaments.

"She's a freshman, first tournament of the year, she's not 100 percent. But she's like, 'I'm going to grind this out.' That shows me grit and determination from her, and it's only going to get better. She had a really good back nine. She settled down on the back nine and put herself in good spots to be successful," said Freschi.

Scroggs is getting more and more familiar with Chardonnay Golf Club & Vineyards, the Storm's home course. Keeping the ball going straight at Chardonnay, a par-72, 5,219-yard layout, is key, said Scroggs. It's only the third time she has played the course. Her lowest round at Chardonnay, so far, is a 4-over-par 76.

"It's the first time I've played at the college level," she said. "I was definitely a little nervous. I had a lot of fun out there."

It's an extensive season, with the Storm playing in 11 Big 8 Conference tournaments, along with dual matches, North vs. South State Preview, and Jan High Memorial Tournament.

"We get along very, very well. It's been great so far," said Scroggs.

Webb got off to a great start, as she birdied the par-4, 318-yard first hole. She hit driver and then 8-iron from 120 yards. She made the birdie putt from 14 feet.

"I was pretty happy with that score. I was hitting a lot more greens than usual. I've been working on hitting more greens. That's been a big goal of mine. So, to see that happen today was really exciting.

"The only thing is that I had a few more three-putts than I wanted. So, it almost was a really good score," said Webb, who had nine pars on her card.

She had four three-putt greens.

"I would say today was unusually poor for my putting. But in general, I'm always working on that," she said. "I'm really working toward just lowering my averages. So, I'm happy with the tone I set today."

Webb worked with David Knox, the Storm's assistant coach and a PGA Class A golf professional who is the Director of Instruction at Napa Golf Course at Kennedy Park, last spring.

"Libby was striking the ball well. Her irons were great," said Freschi. "She has really committed to her game and to our program. I'm really proud of her for this."

Webb said she is excited to see so much talent and depth on the NVC team.

"Our team has some great chemistry. Everybody really wants to play their best golf. I think it's going to be a great season for us. I think we're going to have some low scores as a team this year," she said.

Napa Valley plays in the first Big 8 Conference tournament on Monday, Sept. 8 at Elkhorn Golf Club in Stockton. The field consists of all eight conference teams – Napa Valley, San Joaquin Delta College-Stockton, Modesto Junior College, Sierra College-Rocklin and Sacramento City from the North Division, and Taft College, Fresno City College and Reedley College from the South Division.

"As long as we just stay within our system and what we're trying to achieve for that day, we're going to be fine," said Freschi. "Understanding our game and what matters most. While you're out there, things can speed up on you in the game of golf, and so you have to be able to dial back in. We talked about eliminating mistakes and just being smart."

NVC will host the Big 8 Conference's second tournament on Sept. 10 at Chardonnay.

"They're working hard, they're committed, and they have a passion for the game," said Freschi. "It's a really great group of young women."

* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.