March 12, 2011

By Wes Todd
Assistant Media Relations Director

BATON ROUGE, La. – South Carolina withstood another tough test from the LSU University Club on Saturday and moved up four spots with a team score of 307 (+19) in the second round of the LSU Tiger Golf Classic.

The Gamecocks moved up to a tie for 14th place on a day that saw the golf course play havoc with most of the field; the best team round of the day was an 8-over-par 296. Carolina’s team score was a 12-shot improvement, the second-best turnaround among the 21 teams in the field.

Freshman Katie Rose Higgins moved up the leaderboard with a 2-over-par 74 that was five strokes better than the field average on Saturday, jumping from a tie for 64th place to a tie for 38th place. The native of Charleston made it through her first nine (back nine) with a 4-over-40 that included bogeys at 10 and 17 and a double-bogey at the 15th; a par at 18 was a rarity on the day that saw the hole play more than a full stroke over par for the field. Her second nine was a bogey-free 34 that included birdies at Nos. 2 and 7 to finish with a 2-over-par day, a six-stroke improvement from Friday’s opening round.

Fellow freshman Samantha Swinehart remained in a tie for 29th place with her second straight round of 76 (+4). Swinehart started hot with birdies on her first two holes, but a quadruple bogey on 14 followed by a double and a bogey on the next two holes dropped her to 5-over through seven holes. However, she would fight her way back with just one bogey the rest of the way, including birdies at No. 1 and No. 5 to sign for her 76.

Junior Katie Burnett shaved three strokes off her Friday score with a 5-over-par 77, moving up from a tie for 64th to a tie for 51st. Burnett had two birdies on the day to go along with five bogeys and a double-bogey. Amanda Strang was six shots better on Saturday with an 80 (+8), and Meredith Swanson shaved two strokes from her first-round total with an 81 (+9).

A four-team logjam at the top of the leaderboard includes top-ranked Alabama, Arkansas, Virginia and Wake Forest, all tied for the tournament lead at 601 (+25). Duke and Tennessee are both one shot back of the lead pack. Alabama’s Stephanie Meadow holds a two-shot lead at even-par 144, with four players tied for second place at 2-over.

Sunday’s final round will begin with a 9:30 a.m. ET shotgun start, and the Gamecocks will be paired with Ole Miss, North Carolina and Kentucky as the teams will play in foursomes. Live scoring is available through golfstat.com.

LSU TIGER GOLF CLASSIC – Round Two
March 12, 2011 – Baton Rouge, La.
University Club • Par 72, 6,194 Yards

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS
T29. Samantha Swinehart – 76-76=152 (+8)
T38. Katie Rose Higgins – 80-74=154 (+10)
T51. Katie Burnett – 80-77=157 (+13)
T86. Meredith Swanson – 83-81=164 (+20)
T93. Amanda Strang – 86-80=166 (+22)

TEAM STANDINGS
T1. Alabama – 601 (+25)
T1. Arkansas – 601 (+25)
T1. Virginia – 601 (+25)
T1. Wake Forest – 601 (+25)
T5. Duke – 602 (+26)
T5. Tennessee – 602 (+26)
7. LSU – 605 (+29)
8. Texas A&M – 606 (+30)
9. Louisville – 612 (+36)
10. Tulane – 614 (+38)
11. NC State – 616 (+40)
12. TCU – 619 (+43)
13. Mississippi – 623 (+47)
T14. North Carolina – 626 (+50)
T14. South Carolina – 626 (+50)
16. Kentucky – 637 (+61)
17. Furman – 638 (+62)
18. Mississippi State – 642 (+66)
19. Louisiana-Monroe – 643 (+67)
20. UNC Wilmington – 646 (+70)
21. College of Charleston – 649 (+73)