Hammond began to play golf seriously when she was 13. Having no high school team to join, she decided to play individually in various tournaments.

When looking at colleges, the Unionville native could have taken her pick of almost anywhere.

"At first I thought I really wanted to go down South because it was so much easier to play golf down there," she said. "But when I started doing my visits, I really liked (Penn State women's golf coach) Denise (St. Pierre) and the impression she gave me of the campus. After I visited the other coaches at other schools, I found Denise was not so focused on winning, but more on improving. The other coaches were so gung-ho about winning everything."

Having Hammond on the team has given Penn State an edge at almost every tournament in which the fifth-year senior has competed. She is consistently improving and consistently winning.

Hammond's 1997-98 season was very busy and very rewarding. She won the Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament and the Mid-West Classic. She placed 23rd at Big Ten Championships. As a sophomore, she placed second in the BYU Invitational, third at the JMU Tournament and second in that year's Lady Northern Invitational.

"Laura has been a very consistent player for us," St. Pierre said. "Since her freshman year she's been a regular starter for us. She is a leader both on and off the course."

Recently named Big Ten Athlete of the Week, Hammond has shown she deserves to be a starting and traveling member of the squad. She has also helped keep down the score and keep up the morale.

"I feel comfortable going up to her, asking her questions, 'What am I doing wrong, how can I improve, what can I do better?' " teammate Kelly McKinney said. "She's a real positive person. She's a great person; I have a lot of respect for her."

Hammond has also learned that in order to win, the entire team must be focused, play to its potential and not become frustrated.

Frustration, though, doesn't seem to bother Hammond. Instead, she uses it as motivation to improve her own game and challenge her teammates to play better.

"I like being able to go out and be in control of what happens," she said. "If I worked hard in practice, I'm going to get rewarded, if I didn't, then I'm not going to get anything."

St. Pierre finds this ability of Hammond's very positive.

"She adds maturity to the team and discipline in her golf game," St. Pierre said. "Because of that, she's been very highly recruited."

The senior loves every aspect of golf at Penn State. She enjoys hanging out with her teammates, loves the game of golf and takes pleasure in working with her coach.

"As a team we all get along really well, we have a lot of fun on trips," she said. "It's important because you're out on the golf course with them, then you have to go back and eat with them, you have to spend all this time with them. You're with these people a lot, so it's good to have everybody mesh. While we all may not be best friends, we still get along enough to travel well together."

While close with her friends on the golf team, Hammond has also joined a business fraternity, Delta Sigma Phi, feeling that with so many opportunities to get involved at school, she'd be remiss if she didn't do everything she could find.

However, no matter what, golf will come ahead of any other activities. The senior is applying to graduate school for education and plans to teach. That way she'll be able to keep her summers open for golf.

Although she is ready to graduate and move on, she still gets a little misty eyed when she attends a tournament thinking, "Well, it's the last time for this tournament."

Even after she leaves Penn State and the team behind, she will have left her mark on her teammates and coach.

"She's a great leader and great player," McKinney said. "She's won a bunch of tournaments and has a lot of experience. She's extremely knowledgeable about the game."