March 24, 2011

=”” alt=”Twitter Logo” border=”0″ class=”imported”>Follow @GamecockWGolf on Twitter | =”” alt=”Facebook Logo” border=”0″ class=”imported”>Gamecock Women’s Golf on Facebook

Tournament Notes | Live Scoring

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina will play its third tournament of the spring season this weekend as they travel to Browns Summit, N.C. – just outside Greensboro – for the 14th edition of the Bryan National Collegiate. The tournament runs Friday-Sunday at the Bryan Park Golf & Enrichment Center and will be played on the par 72, 6,386-yard Champions Course.

South Carolina will have its entire six-player roster competing in the same event for the second time this season; all six also played in the season-opening Cougar Classic, where the Gamecocks finished in fourth place. Leading the way is junior Katie Burnett (Brunswick, Ga.), who is ranked No. 76 in the nation according to Golfweek and has played in every event through her two-plus years in the Garnet and Black. She leads the team with a 73.44 scoring average, ranking 13th in the SEC. Sophomore Amanda Strang (Jonstorp, Sweden) also continues her streak of never missing an event as she plays in her 19th consecutive tournament.

Freshmen Katie Rose Higgins (Charleston, S.C.), Samantha Swinehart (Lancaster, Ohio) and Suzie Lee (East Northport, N.Y.) round out the starting five for Carolina. Lee will be playing in her first spring event after battling a wrist injury over the last couple of months. Sophomore Meredith Swanson (Roanoke, Va.) will compete in her fourth event of the year, playing as an individual.

Of the approximately 30 tournaments completed this spring nationwide, only three have had more Top-50 squads than the Bryan’s total of 13. The Top-50 teams teeing it up at Bryan Park are No. 6 Duke; No. 8 Virginia; No. 14 Tennessee; No. 15 Wake Forest, the co-host; No. 17 Michigan State; No. 18 Vanderbilt; No. 19 North Carolina; No. 30 Florida State; No. 31 Ohio State; No. 35 South Carolina; No. 37 Washington; No. 39 Northwestern; and No. 41 Louisville. Rounding out the field are College of Charleston, NC State, UNC Greensboro and UNC Wilmington.

This year will mark the 14th playing of the Bryan National Collegiate, with the Gamecocks having participated in 10 of the previous 13 tournaments. The best Gamecock finish came in 2009 when they tied for sixth place at 907 (+43), finishing ahead of SEC foes Tennessee, Arkansas and Georgia. Individually, Kristy McPherson had a pair of top-10 finishes in 2001 and 2003, including a tie for medalist honors in a weather-shortened 2003 event, one of her school-record six individual medals.

Last year at this event, Benedicte Toumpsin and Burnett tied for 20th place as South Carolina finished in ninth place, shooting 297 (+9) in Sunday’s final round to finish at 893 (+29) overall.

The Gamecocks will be paired with Florida State and UNC Greensboro for Friday’s first round, getting underway from the No. 1 tee at 9:05 a.m. Live scoring is available through golfstatresults.com.