Tom Archdeacon: 'They are really something special' -- sisters share victory in U.S. Senior Women's Open

Aug. 29—KETTERING — As Jill McGill made her way from the 18th green at NCR South, through the cheering crowd and into the scoring tent — where she'd record her final round, eve- par 73 ― that would make her the U.S. Senior Women's Open champion — her older sister followed far behind, slowly carrying her red golf bag.

Shelley O'Keefe is McGill's caddie and when she neared the clubhouse late Sunday afternoon, she veered off to a side where she was momentarily alone.

She propped the bag upright on a stand and then just stood there before putting her hand to her face and beginning to silently weep.

In different ways, the moment was about victory for both Shelley and Jill.

"I honestly didn't know if I'd actually be here to witness this," O'Keefe said quietly.

Early in 2021, she found herself bruising easily and often. She was fatigued and had back pain. She felt abdominal distress after eating pizza and then she said she experienced a strange, intense pain when she had intercourse with her husband Kelly and that's a symptom, no matter how personal, she now wants other women to know about.

Her husband insisted she see her gynecologist again, even though she'd just had a checkup that had raised no flags six weeks earlier.

Some 18 months ago — in early February of 2021 — she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

"I didn't quite realize the survival rate then and I'm glad I didn't," she said.

For all styles of ovarian cancer, according to the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, about three in four women survive at least one year and 46 percent of them are still alive five years later.

She said she had major surgery and went through six rounds of chemotherapy.

Her fears were intensified by the fact she and Kelly have two young children under the age of 12.

And over the years she had been a model of fitness and strength.

She'd been a Division I college soccer player, a member of U.S. Freestyle Ski team, competing in moguls, and then had switched to golf and become a member of PGA America and was an instructor.

In fact, in 2021, Shelley — then 52 — had planned to try to qualify for the U.S. Senior Women's Open, which requires aspirants to be at least 50.

But the cancer diagnosis crushed a lot of plans back then.

It affected Jill, as well.

"Jill is three years younger than Shelley and they're best friends. They're super close and talk every day," a tearful Patrick Byerly, Jill's husband, said afterward. "It's been a challenging couple of years."

Jill said what compounded the issue was the fact that she lives in Dallas and Shelley and her family are in Lodi, California, and the diagnosis came during COVID restrictions:

"No one could fly out to be with her at first."

Eventually, Jill made her way to California and helped her sister and the kids.

"But Shelley's husband is the one who really stepped up," she said. "Kelly is a rock star."

Third USGA championship

Jill — who had been a two-time All-American golfer at the University of Southern California and played on the LPGA Tour from 1996 to 2013 — turned 50 early this year, which made her eligible for the U.S Senior Women's Open.

It was Shelley who informed her she would not have to qualify. She was automatically eligible for the USGA event because she had been a past USGA champion — twice.

While at USC, Jill had won the 1993 U.S. Women's Amateur and, a year later, she also was the U.S, Amateur Public Links champion.

She turned pro in 1994 and joined the LPGA Tour two years later. She never won a tournament but did have 24 top 10 finishes and earned over $2.3 million.

When she retired in 2013, she became a teaching pro and concentrated on her family. But the Senior Open offered a new challenge.

"The USGA is special to her because she'd been two-time winner," her husband said. "She'd been looking forward to this tournament for a long time."

As Jill prepared for the test at NCR, Shelley — who now runs junior tours for U.S. Kids Golf in northern California — tried to steel herself, as well.

She often had caddied for her sister on the LPGA Tour and knew the rigors of the job.

Lugging a golf bag around for five hours in the heat for seven days straight (three practice rounds and four days of tournament play) — not to mention all the other hours on the driving range and practice green — is a test for even the most fit person.

When the two sisters got to Dayton they stayed at the home of former senior vice president at NCR, Dick Reese, and his wife, Bonnie.

"We first hosted Jill and Leslie Spalding the year they were both LPGA rookies," said Reese.

He was a member at Country Club of the North then, too, and the women's tour played a tournament there back then.

"We've known Jill since she was 23 and now she's 50," Reese said. "Over the years she's probably stayed with us seven or eight times and we stay in touch." He said this was the first time he'd met Shelley and he was just as impressed with her as he and Bonnie are with her sister.

Shelley admitted she got tired on the course: "But when I did, I'd tell myself, 'This isn't anything like chemo. You got through that, you can handle this.'

"When you go through something like (cancer), you realize how strong you really are and what you can really go through."

In the process Sunday, she kept Jill — who had entered the final round one stroke off the lead held by Laura Davies and Helen Alfredsson — going, as well.

On the first tee, McGill admitted to Brian Huffer, the volunteer walking marshal, that she was "really nervous."

Shelley knew it: "I just kept trying to get her to remember to stay in the flow of things. I said, 'Let's just take whatever this gives us, and we'll figure it out as we go along.' And she did an amazing job of that."

Jill credited her sister with helping her keep her composure: "She was such a calming force out there. She just kept me going, kept reminding me of things.

"Shelley has always been an amazing and supportive force in my career ... I just love her." The USGA made the pin placements especially difficult Sunday and with a swirling wind, the course — par 73 for the women — played difficult. No one broke par in the final round.

And the stars who were atop the leaderboard all faltered.

Annika Sorenstam, who started the day one shot back as well, carded a 40 on the front nine and

Alfredsson shot a 39.

And Laura Davies, who seemed ready to commandeer the tournament and held a two-stroke lead early on the back nine, took a quadruple eight on the par four 12th hole.

Meanwhile, Jill just stayed steady, although when she was ready to tap in a short putt for bogey on the 18th, she had no idea it was for the win.

In fact, Sorenstam, her playing partner, told her to hold up and had to whisper to her what was happening.

Sorenstam wanted to putt out, so Jill could have the spotlighted moment all to herself.

When she did, her four-day, 3-under-par 289 total was one better than Leta Lindley.

The victory put McGill in some rarefied company in the USGA.

Only five other people in golf history have won three different USGA titles:

Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, JoAnne Carner and Carol Semple Thompson.

'Just a great story'

Sunday's gallery included McGill's two children: 10-year-old Bella and her 6-year-old brother Blaze.

Her daughter had wanted to come to the tournament, but Jill said only if she were in the top 10 going into the final two rounds would she allow them to skip a day of school Friday and come to watch her play.

Other people told Jill that was a bad idea. Worrying about her kids here might throw her concentration off.

She saw it differently.

Bella and Blaze had never seen their mom on the big stage like this before and she thought they'd learn some good lessons — win or lose.

By the time she called back to Dallas to tell them they could come Friday, the family already was at the airport. They arrived in Dayton on Saturday just in time to see her shoot a 2-under 71 to set up the final round.

Jill and Shelley's gallery included Daytonians Doug Gage and Gary Gottschlich who had played with Jill in an invitational at Pebble Beach. Shelley had caddied that day and Gary was on standby here if Shelly needed relieved.

"The two of them are just a great story," Gottschlich said as he stood off to the side watching them earlier in the week. "They're really something." No one knows that better than local family physician Doug Romer, who lives a quarter of a mile from NCR Country Club.

He was walking through the parking lot the other night on a bum leg when a car pulled up and a pair of strangers asked if he needed a ride to his car.

It turned out to be Jill and Shelly who were leaving the course.

He said he was walking home, so they drove him to his doorstep.

"Who does that?" he said Sunday. "And especially a pro athlete during competition? They are really something special."

And that pretty much sums up the story of Jill McGill and Shelley O'Keefe, two sisters, who in different ways, found victory at NCR South over the weekend.