Lakewood Ranch golfer on a journey toward the LPGA Tour

Ericka Schneider’s athletics career started like that of most young girls — with boys ice hockey.

Actually, I guess that’s not so common.

It was less a statement and more the fact that there was no girls team available. She loved the sport, and simply wanted an opportunity to play. 

Her father, Rick Schneider, supported her hockey days, but deep down was a golf fiend. He grew up as a caddy at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, which has hosted nine U.S. Open tournaments, more than any other course. All Ericka Schneider wanted to do was ride in the golf cart. She thought it was “the goofiest sport,” she said. 

Despite his love for the game, Rick Schneider never pushed his daughter into it, letting her make her own choices, waiting for the day she would give golf a try.

That day came during Schneider’s freshman year at Lakewood Ranch High School, in 2005-2006. The school did not offer a hockey team, so Schneider looked for another sport where she could hit things with a stick (or club). There was only one option.

“He was trying not to bust at the seams,” Schneider said of her father’s reaction to the news.

As Schneider started playing, golf became a passion of hers, not just something she did after school. She was inconsistent at first, but she possessed natural tools, especially strength. In essence, her nickname could (should?) have been “Happy Girlmore.” 

She dreamed of playing on the LPGA Tour, but lacked confidence. Friends, family and coaches told her she could earn a college scholarship. Schneider laughed at them.

The best advice she ever took was not giving up when things were tough, she said. Golf is a punishing game. It’s easy to quit and never look back. Schneider did not. Every day, she would ride to the golf course with her friend, Allie Murdock, and stay until her parents came. She continued improving and proved her supporters right, landing a scholarship at two-year Daytona State College before moving up to the University of Mississippi.

She might not have reached the collegiate level without help from The First Tee, an organization that builds character, values and promotes healthy choices through the game of golf, according to its website. 

Schneider was not a “bad” kid, she said, but she liked to test people’s boundaries and push their buttons. Through The First Tee’s nine core values (Honesty, Integrity, Sportsmanship, Respect, Confidence, Responsibility, Perseverance, Courtesy and Judgment), Schneider learned to respect both those around her and the game itself.

The people who play golf hold those same values, she said. Golf is the only sport in which competitors are expected to be honest and call penalties on themselves.

“I would not be the person I am without The First Tee and golf,” Schneider said.

Schneider, now 25, has nearly developed her dream into reality. She plays on the Symetra Tour, the official qualifying tour of the LPGA. She’s a professional golfer, something she used to mutter under her breath with a lowered head when people asked what she did for a living. She felt awkward responding that way, since people typically think of only the LPGA as being professional. Her response only recently changed. Schneider has grown confident in her abilities and is proud to be on the Symetra Tour. It’s not where she wants to stay, but it’s a start.

Never satisfied, Schneider tries to constantly get better. She works out with a personal trainer three times a week during the season, focusing on sustainability of strength instead of strength itself. She saves that for the offseason. She also works on the mental side of golf, applying pressure during practice rounds by playing “nine-point games” with friends on the tour. 

Last week, in preparation for the Sara Bay Classic in Sarasota, she played with Casey Kennedy and Kaitlyn Price. The rules are a little complex, but nine points are up for grabs each hole. Birdies are typically worth five, pars three and bogeys one, with players splitting points if they tie on a hole. The rub is, each point is worth money, ranging from 25 cents to a dollar. Lose the game by a few strokes, and you could suddenly find yourself down a fair amount of cash.

To qualify for the LPGA, Schneider needs to finish in the top-10 of the Symetra Tour’s money list. She finished 150th in 2016, her second year on the tour, so getting there will not be easy. Schneider knows this.

“It’s a grind, but it’s worth every second,” she said. “I couldn’t ask for a better job.”