Sept. 12, 2010

HANAHAN, S.C. – South Carolina’s women’s golf team kicked off the 2010-11 season in fine fashion on Sunday as the Gamecocks posted a team score of 291 (+3) to stand in third place after one round at the Cougar Classic. The Gamecocks are just six shots out of the lead at Yeamans Hall Club.

Freshman Samantha Swinehart put together a stellar round in her career debut, posting a 1-under-par 71 to tie for fourth place after 18 holes. Swinehart, a native of Lancaster, Ohio, was nearly flawless in Sunday’s round, carding only one bogey on the day. She made the turn at 2-under after birdies on the fourth and sixth holes, then had just the one blemish at the par-4 12th before closing with six consecutive pars. She is tied with four others at 1-under, two shots out of the individual lead.

Sophomore Meredith Swanson (Roanoke, Va.) posted the best round of her collegiate career with a 72 (E) to earn a share of ninth place through one round. Despite a slow start that included an opening bogey and a double-bogey at the third hole, she was error-free the rest of the way with birdies at the fifth, 11th and 12th holes to get back to even par. She then made par on the final six holes to finish the day.

Another freshman, Suzie Lee, had a wild round that ended up with a 73 (+1) and a tie for 16th place. But it was far from uneventful as she carded six birdies, five bogeys and a double-bogey. Lee started with two bogeys, then came right back with two straight birdies to get back to even par. A bogey at No. 6 and a birdie at No. 8 left her at even par as she made the turn. Another bogey-birdie stretch at 11 and 12 kept her even, and then she found red figures for the first time with a birdie at the 15th, a bogey at 16 and another birdie at 17. But a double-bogey on the closing par-5 18th left her 1-over for the day. Lee is tied for 16th place.

Junior Katie Burnett opened with seven straight pars en route to a 75 (+3) in her initial round of the season. A bogey at the eighth hole put her 1-over at the turn, then a rough stretch of three bogeys in four holes dropped her to 4-over through 15. She got a stroke back with birdie at the par-3 16th, then finished with two pars to post a 3-over round.

The team’s third freshman, Charleston native Katie Rose Higgins, shot 77 (+5) in her first collegiate round on a course where she has a wealth of experience. She started strong with two birdies in three holes, but gave those back with bogeys at Nos. 4 and 5. Another birdie at the seventh got her to 1-under, but she made the turn 1-over after a double-bogey at the eighth. A birdie at the 12th pulled her back to level par, but a rough four-hole stretch thereafter dropped her to 5-over for the day. Sophomore Amanda Strang posted a 9-over-par 81 to open the tournament.

North Carolina leads the team standings after a first-round 285 (-3), with Minnesota (+1) and the Gamecocks (+3) not far behind. The Tar Heels’ Courtney Gunter holds the individual lead after posting a 69 (-3); Katie Detlefsen of UCF and Mia Piccio of Florida are a shot back at 2-under.

The Gamecocks will once again be paired with College of Charleston and Florida State for Monday’s second round, which gets underway at 11:15 a.m off the No. 1 tee. Higgins will tee off at 12:45 with two other individuals. Live scoring is available via golfstat.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS
T4. Samantha Swinehart – 71 (-1)
T9. Meredith Swanson – 72 (E)
T16. Suzie Lee – 73 (+1)
T38. Katie Burnett – 75 (+3)
*T60. Katie Rose Higgins – 77 (+5)
T96. Amanda Strang – 81 (+9)
*Competing as an individual, score does not count toward team total