Katie Burnett’s work during offseason showing results
Katie Burnett approached her fifth year in professional golf with renewed resolve, the product of offseason work on her game and her fitness, and already she is reaping the fruit of her labors.
A fifth-place finish in the Ladies European Tour’s Australian Masters hinted of possibilities and a tie for second in last week’s LPGA Tour Lotte Championship in Hawaii suggested that one of her goals – expectations of top-10 finishes every tournament – is realistic
“The Hawaii tournament validated the winter work,” Burnett, a standout at the University of South Carolina 2009-12, said prior to this week’s Swinging Skirts tourney in Daly City, Calif. “All the work came out in the results.”
She jumped to 26th in the points race, 24th in season earnings and a tie for 20th in the player of the year standings with her best LPGA finish, and she headed to California feeling better than ever about her game. Making one more putt over 72 holes could have meant her biggest triumph, but she refuses to dwell on what might have been.
“I played well, good golf, and I had my chances and I shot (2-under-par) 70 in the last round,” she said. “But you can’t do anything about someone shooting 64. I don’t feel like I lost; I feel like (Minjee Lee) won.”
Burnett, who earned All-America honors, won the NCAA East Regional and finished fifth in the NCAA National Championship with the Gamecocks, chipped in on the final hole of the third round in Hawaii to seize a one-stroke lead. She played the final day in the last pairing for the first time on the LPGA Tour.
“I liked that, playing in the last group,” she said. “I always prefer to have the lead. That means I’m playing great golf. If I’m playing from behind, I might lose patience. There’s no reason to change your approach (with the lead); I played great, someone else played better and I can’t be disappointed. I did a lot of things well that will carry over into the future.”
She didn’t qualify for the Ana Inspirational, the Tour’s first major, and that left her both disappointed and more determined. She spent the time off honing her knock-down shots to combat the Hawaii winds, and the work paid off.
“Watching the tournament motivated me even more,” she said.
Although she was playing more than 4,500 miles from her Brunswick, Ga., home, Burnett had her own cheering section in Hawaii. Older brother Ben is serving in the Navy and is stationed at Pearl Harbor, and his family and his colleagues provided support from outside the ropes.
Ben is one reason Katie finds herself on the LPGA Tour.
“Growing up, we competed, and I did everything he did,” she said. “He pitched in baseball; I pitched in softball. He was the point guard in basketball; I was the point guard in basketball. Our grandparents took him to the golf course and I went, too. That’s how I got started in golf.”
Her progress up the LPGA pecking order has taken a giant leap this year, and she hopes the best is yet to come.
“My confidence has always been there,” she said.
Now, the results are, too.
Chip shots
Steve Liebler (Irmo) tied for second in the CGA’s Carolinas Mid-Amateur championship played at Dataw Island Club’s Cotton Dike course. . . . Brad Faxon, a two-time All-American at Furman and a winner of eight PGA Tour tournaments, has been chosen for induction into the Southern Conference Hall of Fame. He posted a pair of top-5 finishes in the NCAA Championship and was named the nation’s top college golfer in 1983. . . . 2012 champion Rickie Fowler, the world’s fifth-ranked player, has committed to play in the Wells Fargo Championship, set for May 5-8 in Charlotte. Tickets can be purchased online at www.wellsfargo championship.com.
This story was originally published April 23, 2016 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Katie Burnett’s work during offseason showing results."