Daily Pilot High School Athlete of the Week

Like most who seriously pursue the game, golf has driven Lauren Draganza to tears. She has, on occasion, thrown up her hands and considered walking off the course and away from the sport.

But unlike the scores of golfers who pine for even a brief period of mastery over the ball, the Newport Harbor High senior has felt the exquisite satisfaction that goes with an 18-hole round that left no regrets.

“I shot even par [70] on the Mesa Linda course [at Costa Mesa Golf & Country Club],” said Draganza, who also had a hole in one in 2007 on the sixth hole at Big Canyon Country Club. “It was my best score ever and I wouldn’t change anything about that round. It was perfect.”

Perfection is something Draganza experienced again this season, helping the Sailors win all 19 of their dual matches. With Draganza leading the way, the Sailors are 36-1 the last two seasons, with back-to-back Sunset League championships.

Draganza was medalist in both matches last week to complete the regular season. She then paced her team by finishing third at the Sunset League individual finals, completed Tuesday.

She shot par 36 on Oct. 22 to key a league win over Fountain Valley at Mile Square Golf Course, after shooting one-over 36 in a nonleague victory over Back Bay rival Corona del Mar the day before on the Mesa Linda course.

For her efforts, she is the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week.

Draganza’s success is no fluke, but rather the byproduct of sometimes mind-numbing practice repetition.

“She has dedicated herself to being the best she can possibly be,” Newport Harbor Coach Scott Tarnow said. “She has passion for the game and she has been doing it most of her life. She’s pretty much at the golf course every day.”

Draganza said she began playing at age 7, at the suggestion of her father, Michael. Except for a three-year period in which she focused on soccer, from ages 11-13, she has committed between 90 minutes and two hours each day, on days she is not playing a round, to work on her skills.

“It has become a habit,” she said of her practice regimen, which she sometimes laments, but frequently credits with helping her play at a consistently high level.

“When I returned to playing golf after those three years with soccer, I remember it was a lot harder than I thought,” Draganza said. “It’s definitely a lot harder than soccer. I knew I was going to play on my high school team and I wanted to be No. 1. I had that in the back of my head and I kept at it ... I’m dedicated to golf. That’s basically my life.”

Draganza like her sister Natalie, who is a senior at Boston College, would like to play golf at a Division I college. But she first might attend community college for two years and evaluate whether an even greater commitment to the game will be forthcoming.

“I’m hoping to get a college golf scholarship and see where the game takes me,” she said. “I know if I want to be a head professional some day, I’ll need to work a lot harder. I’ll probably have to practice four or five hours a day. I don’t especially like practicing.”

Tarnow said Draganza’s long game — off the tee and her long irons — is the strength of her game.

“My short game is really important to me and I think I’m really good at the short game,” Draganza said.

One area of improvement, she said, would be the mental part of the game.

“I’ve always struggled with the mental game,” she said. “I have days when I play terrible and I want to quit. I used to want to give up and start crying. But, now, I’m much better at letting it go. It can be frustrating to not play well every time. But that’s golf and that’s life.”

But as her struggles on the course are few and far between, Draganza said she is also frequently buoyed by her success.

“When I play a good game, it makes me feel good. When I play well, I feel like I can always play well. I kind of get a high off of golf.”