June 7, 2010

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Add another accolade to the 2009-10 season for South Carolina sophomore Katie Burnett as she was named an Honorable Mention All-American by Golfweek, the publication announced recently.

It is the second All-America honor for Burnett after also being named to the National Golf Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-America team. She becomes the second Gamecock women’s golfer to earn honors from Golfweek, joining Benedicte Toumpsin, who was named to the third team in 2008.

An All-SEC second team selection, Burnett won the 2010 NCAA East Regional and led the Gamecocks to the NCAA Championship for the second time in three seasons. At last month’s NCAA Championship in Wilmington, N.C., Burnett put together rounds of 72-74-69-71=286 (-2) to earn a tie for ninth place overall, the second-best finish in the national championship by a Gamecock women’s golfer in program history. Her strong play helped South Carolina to a tie for 14th place, its best showing on the national stage since 1999.

The native of Brunswick, Ga., finished the season with a scoring average of 73.58, which ranks as the second-best single season in South Carolina history, just 0.16 strokes behind current LPGA star Kristy McPherson’s senior season of 2003. Through 64 competitive rounds as a collegiate golfer, Burnett’s career scoring average stands at 74.37, which currently ranks at the top of the charts in Gamecock annals, 0.05 strokes ahead of McPherson.

During the course of the 2009-10 season, Burnett amassed a pair of top-five finishes, including her first collegiate victory at the NCAA East Regional in Greenville, N.C. She also earned three top-10 showings and finished in the top 20 in nine of 11 full-field events. Of her 34 competitive medal-play rounds, 12 resulted in scores at par or better, including a 67 (-5) in the first round of the NCAA Regional that ties for the second-best 18-hole score in school history. Burnett finished the year ranked 36th in the nation by Golfstat and 41st by Golfweek. Her improved putting was one of the biggest keys to her success this season as she averaged 30.47 putts per round, ranking 19th nationally in that category.

Late last month, Burnett just missed out on qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open, earning the second alternate spot in the sectional qualifier at White Columns Country Club in Milton, Ga. She joins incoming freshman Katie Rose Higgins – who shot 72-76=148 at Carolina Trace Lakes Course in Sanford, N.C., last Thursday – as alternates for next month’s U.S. Women’s Open, which runs July 8-11 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa.