Oct. 22, 2010

By Wes Todd
Assistant Media Relations Director

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Junior Katie Burnett picked up where she left off at last year’s NCAA Championship at the Country Club of Landfall Dye Course, posting an even-par 72 on Friday to lead South Carolina in the opening round of the Landfall Tradition. The Gamecocks shot 299 (+11) to tie for fifth place through 18 holes, eight strokes out of the tournament lead.

On a day when no team broke par, Burnett handled the tough par 72, 6,244-yard layout with an even-par day, giving her three straight rounds of par or better on this course dating back to the final 36 holes of the 2010 NCAA Championship, where she tied for ninth place. Today, Burnett finds herself in a tie for eighth place, but just two shots out of the tournament lead. Starting on the No. 10 tee, Burnett bogeyed the 11th hole before recording four straight pars. She got back to level par with a birdie at the tricky par-3 16th, then bogeyed No. 17 before a birdie at the par-5 18th to make the turn at even par. Another birdie at No. 1 got her into red numbers, but a bogey at the fourth moved her back to even. Five pars down the stretch made for a strong finish on the toughest part of the golf course.

Freshman Suzie Lee continued her strong play with a 2-over-par 74 Friday, making 14 pars and moving into a tie for 19th place. She started off well with a birdie at 12, then made the turn at even-par after bogeying the 17th. Another bogey at No. 1 dropped her to 1-over, then she made bogey at No. 7 to finish at 2-over for the day.

Sophomore Amanda Strang, who played in last year’s NCAA Championship as well, had an up-and-down day that ended in a 4-over-par 76. Strang made birdies on four of her first five holes, along with a bogey at the 12th, to stand 1-under through six holes. A double-bogey at the 16th – a par-3 over water – dropped her to 1-over, then bogey at the 17th left her 2-over at the turn. Strang then made five straight pars before a birdie at the lengthy par-5 sixth hole. But a double bogey-bogey finish in her last three holes left her at 4-over and tied for 36th place.

Freshman Samantha Swinehart was one shot behind Strang with a 5-over 77. She managed only one birdie on the day – at the par-5 sixth hole – to go along with six bogeys. Katie Rose Higgins, the team’s third freshman, posted a 6-over 78 with a pair of birdies.

Duke and Texas share the first-round lead after posting matching rounds of 291 (+3), followed by North Carolina at 293 (+5). Individually, three players share the lead at 2-under after Kim Donovan (Duke), Caroline Ellington (NC State) and Katherine Perry (North Carolina) each shot opening rounds of 70. Four players are tied for fourth at 1-under, and Burnett is part of a group of four more at even par.

The Gamecocks will play with UCLA and Notre Dame in the second round, starting on the No. 1 tee at 9:20 a.m. Live scoring is available through golfstatresults.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS
T8. Katie Burnett – 72 (E)
T19. Suzie Lee – 74 (+2)
T36. Amanda Strang – 76 (+4)
T44. Samantha Swinehart – 77 (+5)
T52. Katie Rose Higgins – 78 (+6)