LSU women’s golf coach Karen Bahnsen said her team is exactly where she wants it to be at this point in the season despite finishing tied for sixth place in theUCF Challenge on Wednesday.  The No. 11 Lady Tigers host the LSU Golf Classic this weekend at University Club golf course.  ”I feel like we can compete with the top programs [in the country],” Bahnsen said.Bahnsen said the Lady Tigers will deal with inclement weather throughout the weekend despite the home course advantage. “I know we’re going to have some interesting weather, so we’ll just have to see what happens,” she said. The National Weather Service forecasts a 70 percent chance of rain today and showers for the remainder of the weekend. The tournament was scheduled to tee off at 8 a.m. today, but LSU announced yesterday it will be changed to a 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. With a shotgun start, groups of four start at a different holes at the same time, ensuring that all participants will finish at the same time. The Lady Tigers will have to overcome a hiccup as they head into today without their best golfer, sophomore Megan McChrystal. Bahnsen said McChrystal is sick and will not compete the entire weekend. The Stuart, Fla., native is the No. 6 women’s golfer in the NCAA with a 70.73 average and most recently won the Central District Invitational last month. It was the first individual title for an LSU women’s golfer since 2002. Sophomore Nicole Crochet will replace McChrystal in the lineup. Crochet, a Harahan native, is fifth on the team with a 75.7 average. “It’s going to be a challenge, but I feel our team can do quite well,” Bahnsen said. “They all know the golf course, and I think we’ll be competitive.”  The team will play its first home tournament in a year.  The Lady Tigers last played at the 6,424-yard, par-72 course last year when they finished second at the 2008 LSU Golf Classic. Bahnsen said the team will have a leg up on the competition because of its familiarity to the course. “We know it very well because it is obviously our home course,” she said. “It gives us a lot of confidence to go out and play well.” LSU will face stiff competition this weekend, but not as tough as the field at the UCF Challenge. Seven of the top 10 teams in the NCAA competed in the UCF Challenge earlier this week.The 18-team field this weekend includes No. 4 Virginia, No. 7 Wake Forest, No. 15 North Carolina, No. 19 Louisville and No. 22 Arkansas, among others.  Bahnsen said the competition earlier this week gave her team postseason experience with Southeastern Conference championships a month away. “The strength of the field in the tournament was stronger than a national championship field,” she said. “All the top teams in the country were there.”  ——Contact Sean Isabella at [email protected]