Oct. 21, 2010

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Tournament Notes | Golfstat Live Scoring

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina’s women’s golf team will return to the site of last season’s NCAA Championship this weekend as they travel to Wilmington, N.C., for the ninth edition of the Landfall Tradition. The tournament runs Friday through Sunday at the par 72, 6,242-yard Pete Dye Course at the Country Club of Landfall.

The Gamecocks are ranked 18th in the latest GolfStat Head-to-Head release, and 22nd in the most recent Golfweek/Sagarin ratings. They carry an overall record of 23-13-1 through two events this season.

South Carolina will send out a junior, a sophomore and three true freshmen for this week’s Landfall Tradition. Leading the way is Katie Burnett (Brunswick, Ga.), who has played in every event through her two-plus years in the Garnet and Black. Sophomore Amanda Strang (Jonstorp, Sweden) also continues her streak of never missing an event as she plays in her 15th consecutive tournament. Freshmen Katie Rose Higgins (Charleston, S.C.), Suzie Lee (East Northport, N.Y.) and Samantha Swinehart (Lancaster, Ohio) complete the Gamecock lineup as all three were impressive in their first two collegiate events. This is the second time for South Carolina to use this lineup; these same five played in the Tar Heel Invitational earlier this month.

Burnett enters the weekend ranked No. 56 in the nation according to Golfstat and No. 62 by Golfweek. She leads the team with a season scoring average of 72.17, which rates her among the top 15 in the SEC. Freshman Suzie Lee rates 77th nationally by Golfstat and 85th in the country by Golfweek with a 72.67 scoring average through two events.

For the first time in recent memory, the Gamecocks will compete in a tournament with no other SEC teams in the field, but the competition is fierce nonetheless. As usual, a strong field awaits South Carolina as 15 of the 18 competing teams in this week’s field are ranked in the latest GolfStat top 50, including eight of the top 25. Leading the way are No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Duke and No. 9 Virginia, with No. 13 North Carolina, No. 14 Michigan State and No. 15 Wake Forest ranked just ahead of the Gamecocks at No. 18. Notre Dame and Oklahoma State round out the top 25, with Ohio State, Chattanooga, Florida State, Northwestern and Texas Tech all cracking the top 50. Host UNC Wilmington and two other state schools – NC State and UNC Greensboro – round out the tournament field.

This is the first appearance for South Carolina at the Landfall Tradition, now in its ninth year. But the Gamecocks competed here last year in the NCAA Championships, finishing in a tie for 14th place. Burnett led the team with a 72-hole score of 72-74-69-71=286 (-2) and tied for ninth place, equaling the second-best finish by a Gamecock at the national championship. Strang also competed in last year’s NCAA Championship, tying for 99th place at 75-73-81-77=306 (+18).

The Gamecocks will be paired with North Carolina and Oklahoma State for Friday’s first round, getting underway at 9:20 a.m. from the No. 10 tee. Live scoring is available via golfstatresults.com.