From the sports archives: Mercy-Burlingame freshman Brooke Barron notches ace at Baylands Golf Course

What transpired was the shot of a lifetime.

A freshman at Mercy-Burlingame, Barron was playing a practice round Sunday, Oct. 14 in Palo Alto when she knocked home a hole-in-one on the 85-yard 15th. Partnering with her father Tony for an out-of-school scouting trip to Baylands — where Mercy plays Wednesday as part of the West Bay Athletic League girls’ golf playoffs — she used a pitching wedge to send the ball on the long side of the green, backspin it back toward the cup. …

And in!

“I’m still shocked I got one; I couldn’t believe it,” Barron said. “It was like surreal.”

Barron was immediately whisked off her feet by her father, who spun her around in celebration. Not a bad introduction to the challenging course that recently reopened after a long-term remodel.

A Daly City native, Barron is accustomed to playing on the other side of the world in terms of Peninsula geography. Something of a lifer on the golf course, she is a second-generation member of The Olympic Club in San Francisco. She has played as part of the Olympic Club Junior team the past two summers. Last year the team advanced to the Bay Cities League championship round and finished runner-up in league to Castlewood Country Club-Pleasanton.

Still, arriving as a freshman at Mercy-Burlingame this season was a nerve-wracking experience for the varsity newcomer. Not knowing if she’d even make the varsity cut, she was surprised to learn she would open the season as the Crusaders’ No. 1 player.

“I was shocked,” Barron said. “I thought I wasn’t going to make the team to be honest.”

Mercy head coach John Fraher didn’t hesitate to bump the freshman to the top of the team depth chart. And Barron swiftly rewarded her coach with a medal-winning performance in Mercy’s season opener, shooting 39 at Sunnyvale Municipal Golf Course, tying Castilleja senior Niav Layton for medalist honors.

Barron’s performance through the remainder of the season was summed up in one word by Fraher.

“Unbelievable,” he said. “We have a lot of girls of various abilities on the team. And you can just see she has it all together. Her swing is so smooth. She’s got it all going.”

Through the regular season, Barron averaged 41.7 strokes per round, ranking 11th among WBAL golfers, and third among freshmen. Harker’s Sophie Zhang-Murphy at No. 1, and Tina Xu at No. 6 are the only freshies who faired better.

When she returns to Baylands Wednesday, she will be looking to surge past those freshmen, along with standouts such as Menlo School juniors Gianna Inguagiato (No. 5 in WBAL with a 37.3 average) and Vikki Xu (No. 10, 40.0).

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Barron said. “I feel like the team will do good. I think we should try our best — not worry about the score and have fun.”