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USC golfers get golden chance
Toumpsin sets example for eager Burnett in USC’s dynamic pairing
Written by BOB GILLESPIE
bgillespie@thestate.com
Posted on 04.17.09
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SEC Women's Golf Championship
WHERE: Cobblestone Park Golf Club, Blythewood
WHEN: Today-Sunday
TEAMS: The SEC has six teams ranked in the Top 20 by Golfstat and Golfweek: Alabama (No. 6 /No. 8), Auburn (No. 7/No. 6), LSU (No. 8/No. 9), Georgia (No. 14/No. 15), Arkansas (No. 16/No. 18) and Vanderbilt (No. 20/No. 19). USC is ranked No. 41 Golfstat/No. 45 Golfweek).
TOP PLAYERS: Candace Schepperle, Auburn (No. 2 Golfweek’s Top 100 individual players), Megan McChrystal, LSU (No. 11), Kathleen Ekey, Alabama (No. 21), Dori Carter, Ole Miss (No. 31), Cyndey Clanton, Auburn (No. 34), Camila Lennarth, Alabama (No. 35), Jessica Yadloczky, Florida (No. 36), Mallory Hetzel, Georgia (No. 38), Marta Silva, Georgia (No. 40), Nathalie Mansson, Tennessee (No. 50). USC’s Benedicte Toumpsin is ranked No. 62.
USC STARTING LINEUP: Benedicte Toumpsin, Katie Burnett, Cayci Ruppe, Taylor Barrett, Corrine Carr
TEE TIMES: Today and Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-10 a.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m.-9:30 a.m.
ADMISSION: Free
DIRECTIONS: From Columbia, take I-77 north to Exit 27. Turn left at top of ramp and go ¼ mile to Cobblestone Park on right.
Katie Burnett did not know what to expect her freshman season for the USC women’s golf team — except Benedicte Toumpsin would be, again, the Gamecocks’ best player.
A year ago, the junior from Belgium was first-team All-SEC and third-team All-American, leading USC to a fifth-place finish in the SEC Championship and sixth in the NCAA East Regional. It was the Gamecocks’ best regional showing since 1996.
“I thought I was going to play with (Toumpsin) and take a while to get where she is,” Burnett said.
Toumpsin, 20, still is USC’s No. 1.
But the 19-year-old from Brunswick, Ga., is, at worst, 1-A.
Burnett’s play is why coach Kalen Anderson has ambitions for a top-5 finish in the SEC Women’s Championship and a return to the NCAA tournament.
“They’ve been our solid 1-2 for almost every event,” Anderson said. “For a freshman to step up and do that is admirable.”
In eight tournaments, Toumpsin was the Gamecocks’ best individual four times. Burnett topped USC three times, but also placed last for USC (83rd overall) at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate.
Toumpsin leads in consistency, but Burnett is coming on.
“She is like me my freshman year, when a senior (Jenna Pearson) and I were the top two,” Toumpsin said. “It’s awesome to have a player step up like that.”
The Gamecocks, ranked 41st by Golfstat, need both to play well to reach Anderson’s goal of a top-five finish, since 10 SEC teams are ranked higher than USC.
“There’s a ton of depth in the SEC, but that only makes us better,” Anderson said.
Burnett says her short game has fueled her start. She knows how she would like to finish.
“I’d really like to win, to be honest,” she said. “I think I can.”
Reach senior writer Bob Gillespie at (803) 771-8304.
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