Redmond’s Settle signs on to golf for Chapman University

By Andy Nystrom • May 11, 2017 9:30 am
Lauren Settle, sitting, is surrounded by her Redmond High golf squad and coach Maggie Chambers, far right. Andy Nystrom, Redmond Reporter
Lauren Settle, sitting, is surrounded by her Redmond High golf squad and coach Maggie Chambers, far right. Andy Nystrom, Redmond Reporter

Big things are happening for Lauren Settle.

The Redmond High senior is one solid round away from another state golf tournament, and she’s about five months away from beginning her collegiate golf career at Chapman University in Orange, Calif.

On Monday, she placed fourth at the 3A KingCo medalist tournament at Snohomish Golf Course and qualified for the 3A district tourney, which will tee off May 15 at Riverbend Golf Course in Kent.

At lunch time on Wednesday, Settle’s parents, coach and teammates joined her for a ceremonial letter-of-intent signing in the Redmond High Career Center.

“I’ve always wanted to go to school in California, ‘cause I love it. It’s warm weather and I wanted to play golf, too. I really like the coach — he opened up a spot for me on the team right away,” Settle said afterward. The Mustang noted with a smile that the NCAA Division III school is located about 10 minutes away from Disneyland.

Chapman squads play in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and Settle hopes to make an impact on the team, which has been in existence for two years.

“I’m definitely competitive. I always want to win and do my best and hopefully be a good leader later on,” Settle said of playing for Chapman, where she will study business.

Highlights for Settle in her fourth year on the Redmond team are having fun with her teammates, beating rival Eastlake for the first time in her high school career in a nonleague match and defeating Mercer Island by one stroke.

The Mustangs — who feature eight seniors — finished the 3A KingCo regular season tied for first with Mercer Island and Interlake with 6-1 records. The locals’ only loss came in a one-hole playoff after they ended their nine-hole match tied with Interlake.

At Monday’s tourney, Redmond freshman Adithi Anand also qualified for districts with a second-place score of 39-37-76 and Settle notched a mark of 38-40-78. Mercer Island’s Ella Warburg topped the field with a score of 36-39-75. Rachel Jonson (49-43-92) is Redmond’s alternate to districts.

Interlake and MI led the team field with scores of 426 and Redmond followed with 434.

Settle, who went to state as a junior, has enjoyed golfing alongside Anand and getting to know the youngster.

Settle first picked up a golf club at the age of 4 or 5 and has been swinging at the ball ever since. The Settles live near the Bear Creek Country Club course in Woodinville and she remembers starting out by going to the driving range with her dad and playing junior golf on that course.

Along with the support from her parents, coach Maggie Chambers and her teammates, Settle lives by this credo to shoot for success on the course and in life: “You just gotta keep your head up the whole time, don’t get down. Just one bad shot’s not gonna matter, you have to have a good attitude and keep going.”