May 7, 2010

South Carolina sophomore Katie Burnett is tied for the individual lead, and the Gamecocks are in fourth place at the NCAA Women’s Golf East Regional following Friday’s second round. Carolina shot 291 (+3) on Friday, resulting in a total of 574 (-2) through 36 holes at the par-72, 6,321-yard Ironwood Country Club.

The Gamecocks, looking for their second NCAA Championship berth in three seasons, are six shots back of tournament leader Duke. Perhaps more importantly, the team is nine shots clear of the ninth-place spot, shared by Texas Tech and TCU at 7-over. The top eight teams after Saturday’s final round advance to the NCAA Championship, which begins May 18 in Wilmington, N.C.

Burnett followed up her opening-round 67 with a 72 (E) on Friday to stay at 5-under par through 36 holes. She was three shots off the lead after Thursday’s round, but held steady while others fell back to find herself in a four-way tie for top honors. Birdies were tough to come by as the native of Brunswick, Ga., could not get the putts to fall for much of the day. Despite that, she made the turn at 1-under after a birdie at No. 2, surrounded by eight pars. Another birdie at 12 got her to 2-under for the day. The final five holes would be tough as she made back-to-back bogeys at 14 and 15, stuck her tee shot close and made birdie at 17, then three-putted for bogey at the 18th to finish even for the day.

The Gamecocks’ low round of the day belonged to senior Corrine Carr, whose 71 (-1) moved her into a tie for 12th place. Carr birdied two of her first three holes to move quickly to 2-under, then made bogey on No. 7 after a well-struck approach clipped a tree and fell into a hazard. She rebounded quickly with birdie at the par-3 eighth, then moved to 3-under after another birdie at No. 11. The senior from Pinehurst, N.C., rolled off six straight pars before a tough double-bogey at the closing hole to finish at 1-under for the day and for the tournament thus far.

Senior Benedicte Toumpsin improved by two strokes Friday, matching Burnett’s round with a 72 (E) to stand 2-over for the tournament, tied for 35th place. Toumpsin had birdies at Nos. 2 and 5 to get to 2-under early on, then bogeyed the par-3 eighth to make the turn 1-under. A string of nine straight pars would come to an end at the 18th – which proved to be the undoing of South Carolina on this day – as she made bogey to finish at even par.

Fellow senior Taylor Barrett carded her second straight round of 76 (+4), placing her in a tie for 76th at 8-over. She birdied No. 2, her first of the weekend, then carded five bogeys along with 11 pars over her final 16 holes. Freshman Amanda Strang, who started the day tied for 10th place, struggled throughout the day to finish with a 79 (+7), dropping her to a tie for 59th.

Duke used a stellar round of 278 (-10) to climb from a tie for 10th place to take the second round lead at 568 (-8), two shots clear of Tennessee at 570 (-6). Pepperdine was 2-over on the day to get to 571 (-5), three shots ahead of the Gamecocks. Burnett is tied with Duke’s Kim Donovan, Pepperdine’s Danielle Kang and Texas Tech’s Rosalyn Kim for the individual lead at 139 (-5) heading into Saturday’s final round. First-round leader Nina Muehl of East Tennessee State is one shot back.

South Carolina will be paired with SEC foes Auburn and Vanderbilt for Saturday’s final round. Those groups will begin play on the No. 10 tee with the first tee time set for 9:06 a.m. Golfstat.com will have live scoring throughout the day, and fans can receive periodic updates via Twitter by following @GamecockWGolf.

NCAA WOMEN’S GOLF EAST REGIONAL – SECOND ROUND
Ironwood Country Club – Greenville, N.C.
Par 72 • 6,321 Yards

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS
T1. Katie Burnett – 67-72=139 (-5)
T12. Corrine Carr – 72-71=143 (-1)
T35. Benedicte Toumpsin – 74-72=146 (+2)
T59. Amanda Strang – 70-79=149 (+5)
T75. Taylor Barrett – 76-76=152 (+8)

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Duke – 290-278=568 (-8)
2. Tennessee – 283-287=570 (-6)
3. Pepperdine – 281-290=571 (-5)
4. South Carolina – 283-291=574 (-2)
5. Auburn – 280-295=575 (-1)
6. Vanderbilt – 292-287=579 (+3)
7. Tulane – 285-295=580 (+4)
8. Florida – 284-297=581 (+5)
T9. TCU – 287-296=583 (+7)
T9. Texas Tech – 285-298=583 (+7)
11. North Carolina – 294-292=586 (+10)
12. East Tennessee State – 285-304=589 (+13)
13. Wake Forest – 296-295=591 (+15)
14. Chattanooga – 293-301=594 (+18)
15. East Carolina – 293-305=598 (+22)
T16. Georgia State – 290-310=600 (+24)
T16. Washington – 305-295=600 (+24)
18. Furman – 305-296=601 (+25)
19. Coastal Carolina – 307-296=603 (+27)
T20. Campbell – 297-307=604 (+28)
T20. Stetson – 298-306=804 (+28)
22. College of Charleston – 297-310=607 (+31)
23. Charleston Southern – 315-318=633 (+57)
24. Farleigh Dickinson – 327-331=658 (+82)