PARRISH, Fla. — LSU sophomore Megan McChrystal put together a four-birdie, bogey free round of 68 Tuesday to win the individual championship of the Central District Women’s Golf invitational at the River Wilderness Golf Course.
McChrystal’s championship marks the first individual win by an LSU women’s golfer since Meredith Duncan won the 2002 LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic. The Stuart, Fla., native became the 13th women’s golfer in the 30 years of LSU women’s golf to capture an individual championship.
McChrystal posted a four-under par 68 in the final round to move from fifth to the championship with a 54-hole tournament total of 213 (71-74-68). McChrystal moved from a tie for fifth to the championship passing second round leader Candace Schepperle of Auburn, who started the day at five-under par but finished the final round with a three-over 75. Schepperle finished at two-under 214 (70-69-75). Duke’s Amanda Blumenherst was third at one-under 215 (70-70-75).
McChrystal entered the event ranked 13th in the country in Golfstat performance rankings, while Schepperle was No. 2.
No. 14 LSU as a team almost pulled off an amazing comeback from 10 shots behind Auburn and the Tigers actually took the lead for a portion of the final round before Auburn was able to sneak back in front. Auburn posted rounds of 284-295-303 to finish at 882, 18-over par. The Lady Tigers of LSU posted rounds of 292-297-296 ?885, 21-over par.
Purdue finished third at 24-over par 888 (24-over) and Duke, playing with just four golfers over the final 36 holes, finished fourth at 31-over 895.
“What a great finish by Megan,” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen, who has seen her golfers win 30 individual titles in her 25-year head coaching career at LSU. “I’m very pleased with what we did in this opening tournament. We got through 36 holes (Monday), something we haven’t been able to practice for and put some pressure on the leaders all day long. It’s a great start and a wonderful win for Megan who continues to just play so consistently.”
On the final day, LSU also counted a four-over 76 from freshman Tessa Teachman, who finished 11th in the individual competition at eight-over 224 (73-75-76), along with a 75 by senior Caroline Martens who posted a 15th place finish. Amalie Valle was the other counting score at five-over 77.
LSU now has a first and a second in its four tournaments this season. LSU won a team title in the fall at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate in Knoxville.
LSU returns to play in March when it plays two tournaments in eight days as it goes to Orlando, Fla., for the UCF Challenge, March 8-10, then returns to Baton Rouge to host the LSU Golf Classic at the University Club.
Central District Invitational
Final Team Results (Par 288-864)
1. Auburn 284-295-303 ? 882 +18; 2. LSU 292-297-296 ? 885 +21; 3. Purdue 305-286-297 ? 888 +24; 4. Duke 294-298-303 ? 895 +31; 5. Michigan State 304-297-302 ? 903 +39; 6. Ohio State 304-301-302 ? 907 +43; 7.TCU 310-292-307 ? 909 +45; 8. Kent State 313-293-310 ? 916 +52; 9. Oklahoma 309-298-311 ? 918 +54; 10. Texas 315-304-306 ? 925 +61; 11. South Carolina 309-319-308 ? 936 +72; 12. Iowa State 315-302-326 ? 943 +79; T13. Kansas 319-306-321 ? 946 +82; T13. Missouri 318-308-320 ? 946 +82; 15. Michigan 322-306-321 ? 949 +85.
Individual Top 5 (Par 72-216)
1. Megan McChrystal, LSU, 71-74-68 ? 213 -3; 2. Candace Schepperle, Auburn, 70-69-75 ? 214 -2; 3. Amanda Blumenherst, Duke, 70-70-75 ? 215 -1; 4. Jennie Lee, Duke, 70-72-74 ? 216 E; T5. Maude-Aimee LeBlanc, Purdue, 77-68-73 ? 218 +2; T5. Valentine Derrey, TCU, 75-72-71 ? 218 +2.
LSU Scores
1. Megan McChrystal 71-74-68 ? 213 -3
T11. Tessa Teachman 73-75-76 ? 224 +8
T15. Caroline Martens 74-76-75 ? 225 +9
T22. Amalie Valle 79-72-77 ? 228 +12
T29. Jacqueline Hedwall 74-77-79 ? 230 +14