Queen City Championship pro-am impresses spectators before LPGA tournament starts

Lisa Frey played high school golf on the boys' team at a high school in Prince George County, Virginia, where her father, Ed, was stationed at Fort Lee.

Her teammates treated her with the respect she deserved as a high-level amateur with a dead-eye putting stroke and laser-like tee shot that found the fairway more often than not, according to her pops.

But when her round was finished, no matter how well she played, Lisa was consigned to the janitor’s closet to change clothes because the school didn’t have locker rooms for girls.

“That was embarrassing, but it was a long time ago. Look at her now,’’ said the proud papa as he and several other spectators oohed and aahed after his daughter hit a tee shot at Kenwood Country Club during Wednesday’s pro-am for the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G.

Ed and his wife, Judy, of Madeira, were among at least a couple dozen spectators lining the ropes during the event, which they hoped would serve as an inspiration for young girls and continue to build equity in the sport.

“It’s a sense of pride to have the ladies back here. It’s just great for the city,’’ Ed Frey said, referring to the more than 30-year absence of professional women’s golf in the Cincinnati area.

The tournament, which starts Thursday, features six of the top-10 professional women golfers in the world and 13 of this year’s LPGA winners, according to LPGA officials.

J.R. Randall, 65, and his 38-year-old son, Travis, were also among the crowd attending the pro-am Wednesday.

The father-and-son duo said they’ve attended their share of PGA Tour events, including this year’s Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.

But the Northern Kentucky residents said they were just as excited to watch the women play in the Queen City tournament as they were to watch the men.

“It’s a different game, comparing the men to the women, but it’s no less fascinating,’’ the father said. “They all hit it sweet, except some of them hit it 350 yards and some of them hit it 260 (yards). But when you hit a ball sweet, they all sound the same.’’

Travis Randall said he’s an avid golfer who’s been struggling with his driver.

He said he was hoping to learn something from the women playing in this week’s tournament that might help him straighten out his tee game.

“You come out her and watch the women, and they hit the sweet spot every time. They don’t really miss,’’ he said “Whether I’m watching the men or the women, I try to pick up a little bit of their technique and their form and try to go out there on the local golf courses and do something.’’

Angie Corman, who lives in Richmond, Kentucky with her husband, Dudley, took a shortcut across one of the fairways to catch up to one of the professionals she was following in the pro-am.

Corman said she plays in two women’s golf leagues, and said anyone who underestimates the women’s golf is simply misinformed or doesn’t understand the intricacies of the game.

She invited them to come out to the Queen City Championship to see for themselves how well the women play.

In fact, Corman said, she believes women’s golf is an even better spectator sport than the men’s game.

“I feel like there are several sports where I like the women better than the men: golf, soccer and tennis. I enjoy the women more. They play with more finesse,’’ she said.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: LPGA Queen City Championship pro-am impresses spectators