Tiger Senior Envisions Superb Season for LSU Women’s Golf
Athletes of all sports often describe the feeling of peak physical performance, mental clarity, and calmness under pressure as being “in the zone.” Last May, on the final day of the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship, LSU golfer Megan McChrystal was in that zone.
The Stuart, Fla., native recorded an incredible nine birdies with only one bogey to post a school, course, and NCAA Championship record eight-under par round of 64.
“Everything just came into place,” McChrystal said. “It was one of those rounds of a lifetime where I made every putt I looked at.”
The record-breaking round jumped McChrystal up the leader board 18 spots, from 23rd to a tie for fifth, and cemented her status as one of the top collegiate golfers in the nation.
Now a senior, McChrystal currently sits at No. 1 in the nation in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, only the second player in school history to earn the honor.
“It’s just an amazing feeling to have my scores and ranking match how much work I have put into playing,” she said. “I feel very blessed, and my family and basically the whole LSU family have been extremely supportive.”
The voters took notice after the first fall tournament of the year, the NCAA Fall Preview, where McChrystal shot an impressive final round of 65 to clinch the fourth title of her career, and helped lead the team to a second-place finish.
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“I just want to go out there and go as low for the team as possible,” McChrystal said. “That takes my mind off the individual scores so I don’t think about it. I am just out there to play, have fun and hit shots, and if I worry about the ranking it’s not going to help.”
McChrystal leads an LSU team that is ranked fourth in the country and loaded with quality talent from top to bottom.
This fall, in addition to the runner-up finish at the NCAA Preview, the team notched a first place finish at the Lady Tar Heel Invitational and finished second at the Mason Rudolph Championships.
“It’s different this year,” McChrystal said. “Even though we have the same girls back from last year, everyone has gotten so much better. It is awesome to tee off and know that your teammates have your back, and they all know that about each and every one of us.”
McChrystal committed to the Tigers in 2006 after just one official visit with Karen Bahnsen, who is in her 27th season as head coach of LSU and hoping to bring her 10th team to the Division I Championships.
Now in her final year, McChrystal’s goals are clear for the upcoming spring season, and they are not individual achievements. She wants to help lead the team to an SEC title, something the Lady Tigers haven’t done since 1992, and then give a good run at the NCAA Championships.
“I think it’s within reach,” she said. “I know everyone is working really hard and has the same goals in mind, so it’s going to be a complete team effort this time.”
During her LSU career McChrystal has earned numerous accolades, including National Golf Coaches Association Second-Team All-American and First-Team All-SEC honors in 2009 and 2010. She was also named to the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2008.
But McChrystal has had just as much success in the classroom as she has on the golf course, being named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll every year while enrolled at LSU, and earning NGCA All-Scholar honors as a freshman. She is set to graduate in four years with a degree in business management, which she says will be her greatest accomplishment.
“Being the first McChrystal to graduate college is a legacy in itself,” she said. “Just graduating out of LSU is a big deal when you get out into the world, so that is legacy enough.”
Looking back on her time here McChrystal says she has had so many great experiences it is impossible to pick out a favorite memory, but with half a season to go the rest of her story is still unwritten.
“I am hoping at the end I will be able to pinpoint the national championship as my favorite moment,” she said.