CCU’s Schaeffner ready for NCAA women’s golf championship

Coastal Carolina’s Lena Schaeffner got a thorough first look Thursday at the course hosting the top NCAA Division I women’s golfers this weekend, and she’s hoping its length and challenges play to her strengths.

Schaeffner will tee off Friday at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla., for the start of the NCAA Women’s Golf Championships, joining 24 teams and 11 other individuals for 54 holes of stroke play with the top 15 teams and next nine individuals then moving on for another round.

After 72 holes, the individual champion will be crowned while the top eight teams left compete in match play for the championship.

Schaeffner, who won the Big South championship and finished tied for second at the NCAA Raleigh Regional as a junior this season, is hoping to put herself in contention for the top prize.

“Obviously I always think about winning – why wouldn’t I? – but for now I’m just going to try to play as good as I can,” she said by phone Thursday evening. “The best players in the country are here. I’m ready to measure myself with them and see what I can do, but for now I’m just going to try to get a good start into the tournament.”

Schaeffner earned her place in the championship field by shooting a 2-under 214 over three rounds to tie for second at the NCAA regionals in Raleigh, N.C., two weeks ago. She is the first Coastal Carolina women’s golfer to compete at nationals since the Chanticleers qualified as a team in 2011.

The 2015 Big South Women’s Golfer of the Year, she is ranked 31st nationally and currently boasts the best single-season scoring average in Coastal Carolina’s program history at 72.44 over 34 rounds. She also set a Chants record with three tournament wins in a single season.

“I’m obviously pretty excited. It’s my first national championship [tournament],” she said. “That was my goal the whole year and I achieved it so this is pretty exciting. We got to the course today. It looks amazing. It actually looks like a PGA tournament.”

Schaeffner played a full practice round on the 6,468-yard, par-72 course Thursday and likes the way it sets up for her game.

“The course plays pretty long, which I think is good for me because I know I’m pretty confident with my longer irons,” she said. “And there are a lot of bunkers in the drive area, which I know I can hit over, and some of them are kind of uncomfortable for the players that are not going to hit it as long.”

This story was originally published May 22, 2015 at 10:56 AM with the headline "CCU’s Schaeffner ready for NCAA women’s golf championship."