BATON ROUGE — LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen put the stamp on the future of the nationally-ranked women’s golf team with the signing of four players whose national letters of intent were approved by the LSU compliance office on Thursday.
The signees were: Mary-Michael Burns of University High School in Baton Rouge; Lindy LaBauve of Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, Ariz.; Megan McChrystal of Jensen Beach High School in Stuart, Fla.; and, Abbigale Oberthier of Montgomery High School in Montgomery, Texas.
“I am very excited about these four players joining our women’s golf program,” said Bahnsen. “They are players who will give our program a lot of depth and help us continue the success the program is known for. They all have exceptional talents, are good students and we are looking forward with great anticipation for their arrival on campus next fall.”
Burns has led University High to three straight state titles in the Louisiana High Scholl Athletic Association’s Division II for Classes 3A and below. Burns, the Baton Rouge Metro Player of the Year in 2005, is also a two-time Division II individual champion, shooting a two-round score of 151 to win the title last spring.
LaBauve, most recently, posted a round of 67 this summer at the Westfield Junior Qualifier to win the event with rounds of 73-67. That advanced her to the prestigious Westfield National Junior Championship in Ohio where she finished in a tie for 22nd. In the qualifying event, she rallied from three shots back in the final round to take the tournament.
McChrystal has had a strong year with two wins on the Florida Golf Association’s Florida Junior Tour, winning at Rio Pinar (75-78) and Walt Disney World (71-77). McChrystal finished second in the recent 2006 Florida State High School Championships. She advanced to the 2005 United States Amateur, shooting rounds of 76-78 to advance to match play where she lost 2 and 1 to U.S. Junior Champion In-Kyung Kim.
Oberthier has earned All-District honors each of her first three years and was all state in both her sophomore and junior seasons. She has 10 tournament wins and played with senior golfer Bruce Lietzke in the First Tee event in 2005 at Pebble Beach. Her Montgomery High School team has won the state championship in 4A each of her first three years at the school.