Golf: Former Avon Lake star Niki Schroeder steps away from the game

After a sparkling career at Avon Lake High School and The Ohio State University, the next logical step for Niki Schroeder was to turn professional. She did, then she didn't. A few months into her pro career, Schroeder, the 2014 Division I state champion as a senior for the Shoregals and runner-up as a sophomore, walked away from the game. "I decided not to go that route anymore," said Schroeder, who last played competitively in the Illinois Open last August. "It was a decision that I definitely had a lot of trouble making. I ultimately decided that the lifestyle and the patience of everything … I felt like kinda my passion for the game was a little bit different at that point. Playing for a pay check wasn't really ideal for me. And honestly, I was probably a little burnt out after (college). "A part of why I loved playing competitively was just the bottom line of competing. I think it was different too in college because I got so used to playing for my team, especially in high school, too. You play on a team and then after college you're on your own and you're trying to make your own pay check and it's different. In college, I really enjoyed coming together as a team and playing for them, but now it being on my own is kinda different." Schroeder, who estimated she began playing golf at the age of nine, and competitively at around 10 or 11, is arguably if not clearly the best Lorain County has seen on the girls' side. In addition to the pair of top-two finishes at the state tournament, Schroeder qualified for the U.S. Women's Open during the summer of 2015 before enrolling at Ohio State in the fall. Schroeder had yet to play a single round on the collegiate level, but there she was teeing it up with the top players in the world as a teenager. "It was crazy, it was really cool," said Schroeder, who was a four-year starter for the Buckeyes from 2015-19. "Obviously, playing with girls you see on TV and you grow up idolizing is pretty cool. I played a practice round with Lexi Thompson and Paula Creamer, which are two players I just loved watching growing up and stuff, so that was really cool. "It's probably a bigger deal now than it was earlier on for me when I was going through it because I was so focused, but now looking back on it, I'm like, 'Man, that was kinda crazy, I don't know how I did that."' The Schroeder family moved from Avon Lake to Sheffield Village, where Niki is helping her father with his essential natural gas compressor company while she looks for fulltime employment. In the near future, that won't include professional golf, according to her. "I'm guessing I'm going to play just for fun now," Schroeder said. "This year has obviously been really different with everything going on, but I do kinda have the itch to go out and play again. "I will definitely enjoy playing for fun and stuff when the weather gets nice. I'll be out probably pretty often with friends, but for right now, definitely not looking at competitive golf anytime soon." Never say never, though. "If I wanted to play in the U.S. Open qualifier or something, I'll probably do that down the road," Schroeder said. And if she qualifies and does well? "Hmmm, I might have to rethink this whole thing again," she joked. Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on Twitter.