Patriots stars awestruck after golfing with LPGA phenom

This wasn’t quite like the time Anika Sorenstam teed it up at the PGA Tour’s Bank of America Colonial tournament and took on the men.

But one of the pre-tournament golf events at the TPC Boston course in Norton still had that guys vs. the girl flavor to it.

On Tuesday, Patriots punter Bryce Baringer, who made news over the summer by qualifying for the Massachusetts Amateur Championship, and All-Pro returner Marcus Jones traded in their football cleats for golf shoes.

Baringer and Jones were invited to take part in a golf challenge against Alexa Pano ahead of the LPGA Tour’s FM Championship taking place over Labor Day weekend.

The Patriots duo accepted, but hearing Baringer describe the match, it was nothing like Sorenstam taking on the PGA Tour’s best in 2003. The second-year punter said it was just “two random guys” squaring off against one of the LPGA’s rising young stars.

With LPGA cameras and Patriots.com filming their every move, of course.

The objective of the duel was to have fun. No prize money. Just bragging rights.

And, listening to the two random guys following Patriots practice Wednesday, they certainly did. Baringer and Jones couldn’t stop gushing about the 20-year-old, who hails from Westborough and has been sponsored by the Patriots the past three seasons.

“She is sooo good,” Baringer said of Pano, the first LPGA golfer ever backed by an NFL team.

That’s quite the compliment, considering how well Baringer, who is a member at TPC Boston, plays. While he ultimately chose football, Baringer has been golfing since childhood.

In June, he shot a 1-under-par 69 to earn medalist honors at the Mass Amateur qualifier at Stockbridge Golf Club. He can chip a shot from thick rough onto a tight green almost as well as he can coffin-corner a punt inside an opponents 10-yard line. So he knows his way around a golf course. Jones isn’t anywhere near as accomplished as his teammate, but he boasts a handicap in the 12-to-15 vicinity.

Pano?

As a seven-year-old, she was featured in “The Short Game,” a Netflix documentary chronicling child prodigies.

She turned pro at 17, and proudly wears the Patriots’ “Flying Elvis” logo on her golf bag, top and visor.

Her father, Rick Pano, has been a Patriots season ticket holder for 40 years. Even though she grew up playing golf courses in Florida, she still keeps tabs on the team.

Alexa, who had some of the larger galleries following her on the picturesque course in part because of her connection to the Patriots, calls it a “dream sponsorship” from a team in the “best sports town in the world.”

“I think the most surprising thing about the sponsorship is how global it is,” Pano told MassLive Friday following her round. “Even when I’m in different countries, it’s the first thing people recognize, and have a question about. I’m always very happy to explain how lucky I am to be sponsored by the team. It’s pretty special. Obviously, it’s gotten a lot more traction here this week but even last week in Scotland, I had fans yelling ‘Go Pats.’ It’s pretty special that I’m able to wear this (logo).”

The two Patriots took on Pano in a five-hole match with a few wrinkles thrown in.

The threesome started on the first tee, playing the opening five holes on the course – hitting their drives from the same tee. Baringer and Jones, who played best ball against Pano, were given random challenges on three-of-the-five holes.

On one of the holes, they played the entire hole using the same club – Baringer managed to par that hole (a par-4) using a 7-iron from start to finish. On another, when they got to the green, they had to putt blind-folded. The trio also had to navigate a hole by drawing a random club from a deck of cards for every shot played on the hole. Pano said she used five different clubs on that hole.

Baringer and Jones admitted dropping their jaws a few times watching Pano perform her tee-to-green magic. They were especially taken by her short game – she’s ranked second on the Tour for her efforts around the green.

“She almost made that blindfolded putt. It was probably 35 feet,” Baringer said of Pano, who uses a cross-handed grip when she putts. “It was edge of the green. That was incredible.”

Added Jones: “It was crazy to watch. For her to hit it solid on the putter to begin with, man, she was blindfolded. And she nearly drained it.”

Jones couldn’t help but be impressed with the young star, who arrived in Norton fresh off a 10th-place finish at last week’s British Open at the legendary Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland. At one point, Pano was in third place before dropping.

“It was crazy just to see a phenom like that at a young age,” Jones said. “You could tell that’s her life for sure. She made some incredible shots. It was a pleasure to play with her.”

The awestruck Patriots cornerback must have used the word ‘crazy’ at least six times over the course of a four-minute interview when describing Pano’s game.

Asked who drove the ball the farthest, Jones said he and Baringer managed to save some face on that score.

“We (won) on some holes, but she really got us on one. She crushed it,” Jones said shaking his head at the memory.

The shortened late afternoon practice round was essentially shoe-horned in around the Patriots practice schedule, Pano’s media obligations, and the Massachusetts native zipping into Boston for the Red Sox game that night against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Pano, who was disappointed at her showing in the tournament, finishing at 3-over-par to miss the cut, said she had a great time squaring off with the two Patriots players.

“It was really cool. They were such great guys, and they did really well,” said Pano, who twirls her glove glove around between holes much like Bill Belichick used to twirl his whistle during practice. “I wasn’t surprised. I knew Bryce was a really good player. They both had good games.”

Baringer said that while the trick holes were fun, he would have loved to have just played five holes with Pano straight up.

“Yeah, I wished we had just played normally, because she’s that good,” Baringer said. “We probably would have lost, if I’m being honest … her short game is incredible. But it was fun. We had a good time.”

Having played at TPC Boston quite a few times as a member, Baringer was more than happy to offer Pano a a few tips about the layout ahead of the tournament. On the flip side, he said he was hesitant to pick her brain for pointers, because she was still in tournament-preparation mode.

“I didn’t really want to talk to her much about golf. I wanted her to still be in that headspace of prepping, but still having fun,” Baringer said.

The Patriots punter still managed to glean quite a bit just from chatting between the shots.

“I definitely learned a lot from the perspective of how our line of work is similar, but yet very different. Her schedule is kind of like ours, but a lot more hectic and busy,” he said. “They travel commercially. She’s paying for all her bags. All that stuff. We’re just told when to be on the busses to go to the airport.

“I think the biggest thing for me … I’d say what was eye-opening, just like here, nothing is guaranteed. You’re betting on yourself. She’s betting on herself … I think it’s cool to see how many people truly believe in themselves. It’s just like here.”

Baringer, who was on hand to watch Pano as a spectator during Friday’s round at the FM Championship, believes women are “better ball strikers” than men, and they “excel” when it comes to the short game and putting.

Pano certainly fits the profile.

With the Patriots enjoying a few days off over the weekend, Baringer wasn’t the only player taking in the first women’s event staged in New England the past 20 years – and hoping to learn something that might help their own games.

Golf is a favorite pastime for pro athletes who have careers in other sports. Whether it’s Tom Brady, Jayson Tatum, Charlie McAvoy, or Baringer and Jones, they can often be found on the links during their off days.

Said Baringer: “It’s a sport I bet everyone in this locker room wishes they were good at.”

No matter the competition, bragging rights are always a big deal.