NORTON, Massachusetts – Skyler McInerney was sky high while playing in the FM Championship pro-am Wednesday at TPC Boston in Norton and it’s safe to say that she hasn’t come back down to earth yet.
McInerney, 12, of Canton played nine holes with Amy Yang of South Korea and another nine with Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain. Playing with the two LPGA Tour golfers was the thrill of her young life.
“That was just really fun to do and probably one of the best experiences of my life,” Skyler said. “It’s a great memory.”
Her father, Eric McInerney, caddied for her and her mother, Min Young, and 7-year-old sister Chloe followed along. Min is South Korean so she spoke in Korean to Yang.
The McInerney family owns and operates McGolf, a state of the art driving range, practice facility and miniature golf course in Dedham, and they purchased an FM Championship sponsorship for $5,000 that enabled Skyler to play in the pro-am.
Skyler’s team began on the 10th hole and she helped her teammates in the pro-am scramble by sinking a three-foot eagle putt on 18 to drop the team to 10 under for the first nine holes. Then she played with Ramirez on the front nine and she drained a 30-foot putt on the second hole that broke 10 feet from left to right for another eagle.
Skyler also sank four birdie putts during her nine holes with Yang and Yang high fived her each time.
“It was really fun,” Skyler said.
Eric got video of all of it except for the 30-foot eagle putt because he said he didn’t think there was any chance of making it.
“Skyler just bombed the driver the entire day,” Eric said. “She was hitting over 210-yard drives in equal distance with Amy. So they were trying to figure out whose drive to take all day because they were both side by side.”
Skyler said playing with Yang and Ramirez taught her a great deal.
“Julia gave me a few tips on putting,” she said, “and Amy was always really calm throughout the round if she hit a bad shot. So I learned a lot that day.”
Yang and Ramirez made the McInerneys feel so comfortable.
“We could ask them whatever we wanted and they were just so pleasant,” Eric said.
On the driving range before the pro-am, WBZ-TV recorded Skyler on the driving range and interviewed Yang and Eric. WBZ-TV then followed Skyler around on the course for a while in order to air a report on her.
Eric believes that Skyler’s team finished 16 under par, one shot out of third place.
Skyler and Eric returned to TPC Boston to watch the tournament on Thursday and Friday. Ramirez waved to them on Thursday, but Yang withdrew with an injury during her round on Thursday before Skyler and Eric got a chance to see her play.
On Friday, they followed Nelly Korda inside the ropes and rode with her to the eighth tee.
“Seeing how Nelly shot even par when she was really struggling on the greens was unbelievable and Skyler learned so much,” Eric said.
Korda smiled and shook their hands on the first tee and posed for a photo with them after she finished.
Korda, Yang and Ramirez all signed Skyler’s cap.
Skyler also posed for a photo with Lydia Ko, a South Korean native who is the reigning Olympic champion and a member of the LPGA Hall of Fame.
“We were thrilled to have Skyler join us at the FM Championship Pro-Am this week and pleased that she had a great experience,” said David Johnson, chief client experience officer at FM. “Moments like this reflect what the tournament is all about—creating more opportunities for women in sports and beyond.”
Skyler grew up at McGolf and she’s developed into quite a golfer. She’s won 10 of the 15 New England PGA Junior events in which she’s played this year even though she competes in the 14-18 age division. Her age division plays only nine-hole events so she competes in the older division to play in 18-hole events.
Skyler also won the Drive, Chip & Putt competition at the local level at Cohasset CC last month and in the sub-regional at TPC Boston on Aug. 11. She’s scheduled to take part in the regional final at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y., on Oct. 11. A victory then would send her to the national finals at Augusta National Golf Club on the Sunday before the 2027 Masters.
The 5-foot-1, 95-pound Skyler is about to enter the seventh grade at Dedham Country Day School.
Skyler enjoyed having her father caddie for her in the pro-am.
“It was really fun,” she said. “He used to caddie for me in U.S. Kids, but then we left to go to the Junior PGA and I caddied for myself. But it was fun having him caddie for me again.”
“She was hitting the ball so well and LPGA Tour players were just so impressed by her swing,” Eric said, “and her ball striking and her composure. I couldn’t be prouder. Put yourself in my shoes. How amazing is that?”
Skyler had so much fun, she’s already looking forward to playing in the pro-am again next year.
“I’ll probably be hitting it farther and practicing more,” she said. “So I think I’ll be playing even better.”
Eric said he hopes to round up a few more girls he knows to play in the pro-am next year with their fathers caddying for them.
