July 31, 2012

2012-13 Schedule

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina women’s golf head coach Kalen Harris released the Gamecocks’ 2012-13 schedule on Tuesday, which consists of eight regular season tournaments.

After playing the 12th toughest schedule in the country according to Golfweek last season, things will not get much easier for Carolina in 2012-13 with six of those tournaments returning to this season’s slate.

“As usual we have a challenging schedule for 2012-13,” Harris said. “Our strength of schedule is great preparation for the postseason. We look forward to getting started in September.”

The Gamecocks are coming off one of the most successful seasons in school history after winning the 2012 NCAA East Regional title and finishing fifth at the NCAA Championships, which was the best finish all-time by a Carolina team. The schedule opens on Sept. 9 with the Cougar Classic at Yeamans Hall Club in Hanahan, S.C. Carolina will be making its fifth appearance at the event. The Gamecocks finished 10th last season following a school-record final round of 279 (-9).

After having the rest of September off, October will be a busy month for Carolina as it closes out the fall with three tournaments in four weeks. The Gamecocks return to action on Oct. 5-7 in the prestigious NCAA Fall Preview at the Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga. The appearance marks Carolina’s sixth at the event but first since 2004. On Oct. 12-14, the Gamecocks will make their eighth straight appearance in the Tar Heel Invitational at the Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, N.C. The team’s final tournament of the fall will be the Landfall Tradition on Oct. 26-28 at the Country Club of Landfall’s Nicklaus Course in Wilmington, N.C.

The Gamecocks open the spring portion of their schedule at the UCF Challenge for the third straight season. Play begins on Feb. 10-12 at the RedTail Golf Club in Sorrento, Fla. The Gamecocks finished seventh at the event last year.

Carolina will host the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate on March 8-10 at Long Cove Club in Hilton Head Island, S.C. The inaugural event was a success with 12 of the 15 teams in last season’s field ranked in the Golfweek Top 50. The Gamecocks turned in an eighth-place showing, as Katie Burnett (sixth) and Justine Dreher (T-20th) led the way with top-20 finishes. The team’s final tournament of the month will be the Bryan National Collegiate on March 29-31 at Bryan Park Golf Course in Greensboro, N.C.

The Ping ASU Invitational is the final regular-season tournament on the schedule. The 54-hole event runs April 12-14 at the ASU Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz.

The 2013 SEC Championship will be held April 19-21 at Greystone Golf Club in Birmingham, Ala. The Gamecocks placed sixth at the conference championship last season led by Burnett and Dreher, who tied for 12th. NCAA Regionals take place May 9-11 at three sites – Auburn University Club in Auburn, Ala., OU Golf Course in Norman, Okla., and Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif. Carolina led wire-to-wire to win the NCAA East Regional at the Penn State Golf Course in State College, Pa., last season.

The Gamecocks will look to make their fourth straight trip to the NCAA Championship, as this year’s tournament is on May 21-24 at the Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga. Carolina has advanced to four NCAA Championships in five seasons under Harris.