Sept. 25, 2009

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Sophomore Katie Burnett put together a very impressive opening round at the Mason Rudolph Women’s Championships, shooting a 3-under-par 69 on Friday to tie for eighth place after one round. The Gamecocks are 17th after the first round of play at the Vanderbilt Legends Club North Course.

Starting on hole No. 10, Burnett birdied four holes in a row – Nos. 17, 18, 1 and 2 – to get to 4-under through 11 holes. Only one bogey on the par-4 sixth would blemish an otherwise specatular day for the native of Brunswick, Ga. It marks the second straight event in which Burnett has broken 70; she also shot 69 in the first round of stroke play qualifying at the Hooters/NGCA Match Play Championships.

The rest of the Gamecock lineup did not fare as well as Burnett. Freshman Amanda Strang finished with a 2-over-par 74 that included a birdie, a bogey and one double-bogey. Fellow freshman Meredith Swanson had a pair of birdies but finished at 6-over 78. Senior Corrine Carr shot 79 (+7) and sophomore Taylor Weaver finished with an 81 (+9).

Southern California and Auburn share the lead at 278 (-10) with Alabama and Arizona State tied for third place, two strokes back. Auburn’s Candace Schepperle and Southern Cal’s Jennifer Song – the 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Women’s Public Links Champion – are tied for the individual lead after rounds of 6-under-par 66.

Carolina will be paired with Tulane and individuals from four schools in the second round, which gets underway Saturday morning. The Gamecocks’ tee times are slated to begin at 10:37 a.m. EDT. For live scoring and complete coverage, visit golfstat.com.