May 7, 2009

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – South Carolina’s women’s golf team turned in a score of 308 (+28) on Thursday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA East Regional at the Mark Bostick Golf Club at the University of Florida. The Gamecocks, in 18th place through one round, were led by junior Corrine Carr and freshman Katie Burnett who both shot 75 (+5).

“It was a little bit of a rough start,” South Carolina head coach Kalen Anderson said. “But there’s a lot of golf left. Generally, in the last day or two, people are going to back up. If we stick to our game plan and keep moving forward, hitting good shots and making a few putts, we can get ourselves right back in position. We’ve got a lot of players playing really well, and we’ve just got to keep playing hard.”

As the day wore on, conditions on the par-70 layout became more challenging as temperatures in the mid 90s coupled with a stiff breeze dried the course out, particularly the greens, and led to some difficult approaches and short-game conditions.

“It picked up this afternoon, it was a little bit windy out there,” Anderson said. “But this course is all about hitting it in the right spots and making sure you’re in the right place, not short-siding yourself. You want to put yourself in a position to two-putt or give yourself a shot at birdie. That’s going to be the name of the game for everybody.”

Carr and Burnett shot rounds of 75 (+5) to lead South Carolina in the opening round of play. Burnett bogeyed her opening hole, but got it right back with a birdie at the fourth. A double-bogey at the par-3 eighth – a downhill shot over water – dropped her to 2-over at the turn. She came in with bogeys at 11, 15 and 18 to finish the day at 5-over. Carr had only two blemishes on her front-nine scorecard with bogeys at Nos. 4 and 6 to make the turn at 2-over, then had a similar back nine to Burnett with bogeys at 12, 16 and 18. The two are tied for 40th place heading into Friday’s second round.

Senior Meredith Taylor, playing in her first regional, and defending NCAA Regional champion Benedicte Toumpsin are tied for 81st after rounds of 79 (+9). Taylor birdied her first hole, but four front-nine bogeys plus a triple-bogey on the par-4 fifth that included three penalty strokes – one for a drop from a lateral hazard and two more for entering the “environmentally sensitive area” to retrieve her ball – left her at 6-over at the turn. Her back nine was much more consistent with only a double-bogey at the long par-4 13th and a bogey at the 16th left her at 9-over for the day. Toumpsin had two rough holes – a double-bogey at the sixth and a triple-bogey at the par-3 15th – but an otherwise decent round with four bogeys and a birdie. Junior Taylor Barrett shot 80 (+10) and is tied for 90th place.

East Carolina went out early and took advantage of better conditions and more receptive greens to shoot 283 (+3) and lead the tournament by one stroke through the first round. Alabama is one shot back at 284 (+4), and Vanderbilt is two more strokes behind in third place with a 286 (+6).

The Pirates’ tournament lead came mostly thanks to the efforts of Abby Bools and Ana Maria Puche, who both shot 68 (-2) to share the individual 18-hole lead. Seven more players are tied for third at 69 (-1).

South Carolina will begin their second round bright and early Friday morning with tee times slated to begin at 7:30 a.m. The Gamecocks will once again be paired with Furman and Mississippi. Live results can be followed on golfstat.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS
T40. Katie Burnett – 37-38=75 (+5)
T40. Corrine Carr – 37-38=75 (+5)
T81. Meredith Taylor – 41-38=79 (+9)
T81. Benedicte Toumpsin – 39-40=79 (+9)
T90. Taylor Barrett – 41-39=80 (+10)

TEAM STANDINGS
1. East Carolina – 283 (+3)
2. Alabama – 284 (+4)
3. Vanderbilt – 286 (+6)
4. Denver – 287 (+7)
5. Virginia – 290 (+10)
6. North Carolina – 291 (+11)
T7. Tulane – 292 (+12)
T7. Tennessee – 292 (+12)
9. Georgia – 297 (+17)
10. Duke – 298 (+18)
11. Coastal Carolina – 301 (+21)
12. Coll. of Charleston – 302 (+22)
13. Auburn – 304 (+24)
T14. Florida – 305 (+25)
T14. Furman – 305 (+25)
T16. Florida State – 307 (+27)
T16. Mississippi – 307 (+27)
18. South Carolina – 308 (+28)
T19. UCF – 309 (+29)
T19. Stetson – 309 (+29)
21. Jackson State – 324 (+44)