Four Former Gamecocks Earn LPGA Status

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Columbia, S.C. – Four former South Carolina women’s golfers officially earned LPGA status for the 2019 season after finishing in the top 45 of the LPGA Q-Series in Pinehurst, North Carolina. 
 
Sarah Schmelzel, Katie Burnett, Kristy McPherson and Nanna Koerstz Madsen are all eligible for LPGA events in 2019 by finishing in the top 45.  
 
Sarah Schmelzel was the top finisher of the four qualifiers, finishing in third at 14-under-par. The tournament ran over two weekends with a combined eight rounds being incorporated into each player’s final score. 
 
Schmelzel, a 2016 graudate, earned All-America Honorable Mention accolades in her final season at South Carolina. The Phoenix, Ariz., native’s 74.25 career stroke average ranks fourth in program history, and she earned her medalist honors at the 2016 Bryan National Collegiate in April. Schmelzel ended her collegiate career with eight top-10 finishes and 19 top-20 showings.
 
Nanna Koerstz Madsen completed the Q-Series in a tie for 11^that two-under-par, highlighted by her third round 68 (-4). The 23-year-old is from Smoerum, Denmark played for the Gamecocks in the fall of 2014 before declaring for professional status at the end of the semester. She earned top-10 finishes in each of her four events for the Gamecocks. 
 
2012 graduate Katie Burnett finished in a tie for 15th at two-over-par and had three consecutive rounds under par. This is the second time the 29-year-old from Brunswick, Ga.,  has qualified for the tour, finishing 25^that the 2012 LPGA Final Qualifying tournament.  
 
Kristy McPherson earned her LPGA tour card once again by finishing in a tie for 27th at five-over-par. She finished four of her eight rounds with a 72 (E) or better, including a 69 (-3) in her sixth round. McPherson is one of the most decorated women’s golfer in Gamecock history, winning six career events while at South Carolina. She is one of only two individuals to win two-straight Southeastern Conference championships as she was the individual medalist in both 2001 and 2002. She was a three-time First-Team All-SEC and NCAA All-American selection from 2001-2003, and was the SEC Player of the Year in 2003.
 
Additionally, Katelyn Dambaugh, a 2017 South Carolina graduate, finished in a tie for 61st, four strokes off the top 45 cut mark.
 
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