June 16, 2011

HANAHAN, S.C. – South Carolina rising senior Katie Burnett got her summer season off to a great start as she captured medalist honors at the 100th Women’s Eastern Amateur Championship, which wrapped up Thursday at Yeamans Hall Club just outside Charleston.

Tied with defending champion Brittany Altomare (Virginia) entering the final round, Burnett posted a score of 75 to Altomare’s 78 – all while holding off a late charge from Vanderbilt’s Marina Alex (72) and Furman’s Laura Wearn (71) – to win by two shots. Burnett finished with scores of 67-74-75=216, while Alex and Wearn shot 218. Altomare took fourth with a 219.

The native of Brunswick, Ga., has played quite well in events at Yeamans Hall over the years. Her first collegiate tournament – the 2008 Cougar Classic – saw her post a 213 (-1) and tie for eighth place while carding the best-ever 54-hole score by a Carolina freshman. This past season, she tied for fourth place at the 2010 Cougar Classic with a 75-69-70=216, leading the Gamecocks to a fourth-place team finish.

Three other Gamecock golfers competed in this week’s event. Rising junior Meredith Swanson finished with rounds of 72-75-78=225 to take 12th place. Rising sophomore Samantha Swinehart struggled in her opening round Tuesday with an 80, but followed that up with a 70 on Wednesday, the field’s low round of the day. A 77 on Thursday gave her a 19th-place finish. Katie Rose Higgins, another rising sophomore, finished 37th with rounds of 81-76-78=235.