LPGA tournament at The Saticoy Club is a 'full circle' moment for Fillmore's Herrera

The Saticoy Club’s first professional golf tournament is under the watchful eyes of a familiar face. 

Megan Herrera, the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship’s tournament manager, has been coming to the Somis club long before it was chosen as a tournament site last summer. 

Herrera was spending time at the club long before she could hold a putter. Her grandparents, William and Maiya, are longtime members of Ventura County’s oldest private golf club. 

“I was coming out, hanging out at the driving range, down at the pit and in the clubhouse,” Herrera said. 

Herrera, who grew up in Fillmore and played golf and softball at St. Bonaventure High, works for Outlyr, the event management company that runs many LPGA events. 

“Just getting the tournament here is great for the course,” Herrera said. “It’s great for the community, and it's great for the county.

“I love my job. And to be able to bring it to my home county is even cooler.”

Saticoy Club general manager Robert Nagelberg credited Herrera with helping bring the club Ventura County's first LPGA tournament since 2000. 

“This came about through our relationship with Megan Herrera,” Nagelberg said. “Her family’s belonged to the club for 30 years.”

Used to commuting into Los Angeles or flying around the country for events, Herrera is especially excited to host a tournament so close to home.

She’s looking forward to sharing her club with golf fans this weekend. 

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“People come out here and they’re like, ‘Oh, where am I?’ ” Herrera said. “There’s farmland everywhere and a lot of agriculture. They don’t know that it's this is tucked up here, it’s so hidden.”

“I think the community will enjoy it. There’s not anything quite like an LPGA event. They’re very different than PGA Tour events.”

Herrera didn’t play much competitive golf before dislocating her kneecap as a softball pitcher at St. Bonaventure. 

She shifted to golf at Santa Barbara City College, which she helped win a state championship in 2013. 

Her entry in the golf industry came during her summers in Fillmore, where she worked in outside services and then inside the shop at Elkins Ranch. 

“I kind of always knew I wanted to work in golf,” Herrera said.

After she graduated from the University of Oregon, she began interning with the Tiger Woods Foundation. She worked the volunteer program at the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club. 

When Outlyr, then known as the Eiger Marketing Group, needed help with its volunteer program at another local tournament, Herrera had her career break. 

“I went in and my boss at the time, was like, ‘I need your help,’ ” Herrera said. 

She interned in the spring of 2018, staying with the company when it shifted to New Jersey for the ShopRite LPGA Classic and was hired later in the year. 

Four years later, Herrera has been promoted and is serving as tournament manager for the first time at her family’s home club. 

“So it’s been quite the quite the journey,” Herrera said. 

She hadn’t been able to spend much time at Saticoy as an adult. So she described the last few months, when she was helping prepare the club for the event, as a “full circle” moment. 

“We used to come out here with my grandpa and hit balls at the range and eat at the snack bar,” Herrera said. “My brother (Joey), my cousin Troy and I would just kind of hang out and spend a lot of time out here as kids. 

“And then obviously, you know, you go to high school and college and things get busy.”

Considering her experience with the course, Herrera expects golfers with strong short games to thrive this week. 

“You can tell some of the greens on this golf course are … are a little bit funky,” Herrera said. “They’ve got a lot of false fronts. And so I think just to be aware of what those holes are. There’s a couple of them out there. 

“It’s not a long golf course. So people with a decent short game (will thrive). I think you’re going to be able to see that through this course. It’s a beautiful golf course.”

Joe Curley is a staff reporter for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. Follow him @vcsjoecurley onTwitter,Facebook andInstagram.