Schaeffner leads Chanticleers to Big South women’s golf title

A couple times a week during practice, Coastal Carolina junior golfer Lena Schaeffner and freshman teammate Malene Krolboll Hansen will pair up to play a round together, just the two of them.

Naturally for a duo on pace to record two of the three best single-season scoring averages in program history, even those practice rounds can get pretty competitive.

So it should have come as no surprise Wednesday in the final round of the Big South Women’s Golf Championship that only a single stroke and a near chip-in separated the two on a dreary, windy day at the DeBordieu Club.

Schaeffner, who earlier this week was named the Big South Golfer of the Year, backed up that impressive accomplishment with another by winning the conference championship with a 3-over 73-74 147 to finish one stroke ahead of Hansen’s 72-76 148.

And together, with the next closest competitor finishing five strokes off the lead, the Chanticleers’ standouts powered Coastal Carolina to the team championship with a 38-over 301-313 614 and a 16-stroke margin of victory over runner-up Campbell.

“You expect it only because like I said before, we won the marathon, got the No. 1 seed, we pretty clearly, I think, won the regular season,” Chants coach Katie Quinney said. “... But to actually get out here and finally get to play some golf and hit better shots for two rounds, it means a lot.”

The Big South tournament championship is the seventh all-time for the Coatsal Carolina women’s program, setting a conference record, and the fourth since 2009 under Quinney, tying her for the most by a coach in league history.

As for the individual low medalist honor, that was historic in its own right for Schaeffner, who has just gotten better and better and better through three years with the Chants.

It was her third tournament championship of the season, which is a first according to available program records. She also remains on pace to break another program record – that mark for scoring average in a season – by almost a full stroke, and the first-place finish Wednesday fulfilled a goal she’s strived for since tying for second at the conference tournament as a freshman before finishing in a tie for fifth as a sophomore.

She entered the final day of the rain-shortened 36-hole tournament (originally slated for 54 holes) a stroke behind Hansen before picking up birdies on the sixth and 11th holes and then holding on down the stretch.

“It actually does mean a lot to me,” Schaeffner said. “My freshman year I was kind of close to winning it. I was in the lead the first two rounds and then I kind of messed it up on the last two holes. My teammate won, which was good, but obviously I finished second, which was disappointing for me.

“This year being in second place after the first round and then coming from the back and trying to catch her, I think it was almost easier. ... It does mean a lot to me because I won golfer of the year and now I actually showed everybody that I did deserve this award, so it’s great.”

Schaeffner’s birdie on the par-5 sixth came on a putt of about 30 feet from the fringe. She was 2-under for the day after the birdie on the par-5 11th, but the back nine proved especially challenging with a stiff wind in play over the final holes.

She would bogey holes 15 and 16 and then scramble for a double bogey on 17 after the wind carried her tee shot out of bounds.

But on the 517-yard par-5 18th hole, a daunting finale with water bordering the right and sand down the left, she finished with a well-played par and then sat back and waited.

“I didn’t really know where I was standing when I had those tough holes, but obviously I got a little nervous,” Schaeffner admitted. “I thought I kind of let it go, but I tried to just push it away as quick as I can, try to not think about it too much and just keep going from there and try to finish as best as I can.”

Said Quinney of Schaeffner’s rebound for the key par on 18: “Any par coming in these last three holes was like a birdie. She hit driver, driver, 4-iron, and yesterday it was almost reachable in two, so it played close to 200 yards longer today [because of the wind]. I’ve never seen anything like it. But yeah, that was awesome. At least she hung in there.”

The suspense wasn’t over yet, though.

Hansen landed her third shot on No. 18 just off the green to the left and nearly made the chip to force a playoff, lipping out around the side of the cup before settling for par and a runner-up finish.

“It almost went in. I think if it had just a little less speed it would have gone in,” Quinney said. “I have to admit, I wanted a playoff really bad because that would have just been super, super fun. But at the same time I think as bad as I wanted that, I did not want to see what hole 18 was going to do again.”

Said Hansen, the Big South’s Freshman of the Year: “It’s OK. I knew I couldn’t break everything the first year. I have three years left.”

The Chants’ scoring was rounded out by senior Emee Herbert, who placed eighth with a 12-over 76-80 156, and matching 19-over 80-83 163s from junior Bailey Cocca and senior Frida Castillo.

As for the Chants’ top duo, it was an extra special day for both as Schaeffner’s mother and father were visiting from her native Germany – it was the first time they had seen her win a tournament – and Hansen’s mother, father and grandmother were also visiting from her native Denmark.

The two hugged next to the green after it was over, and with the Chants now headed to the NCAA Regionals – they find out their regional assignment April 27 – well, they aren’t done dueling just yet.

“I think we can get really competitive,” Hansen said. “We normally practice together every Tuesday and Thursday, just the two of us, and we don’t like to lose to each other. I don’t mind [the outcome Wednesday], I have three years left and I like to see a player win from my team. But we can get [very] competitive.”

And so far that has served the Chants’ quite well.

This story was originally published April 15, 2015 at 9:12 PM with the headline "Schaeffner leads Chanticleers to Big South women’s golf title."