Gamecocks prepare to face competitive field
The South Carolina women’s golf team will tee off this morning in the first round of the 2012 SEC Championship tournament in Fayetteville, Ark.
Today is the first of the three-day event at the Blessings Club, a course that will prove challenging to each of the 12 squads competing for the title in a conference head coach Kalen Harris deems one of the country’s most competitive.
“Our conference is probably the best in the country,” Harris said, “If we’re competing and playing well at conference, we’re one of the best teams in the country. It’s just foreshadowing.”
The Gamecocks will enter Fayetteville as one of 11 SEC teams currently ranked in the Golfweek national top 50, coming in at No. 21. On a challenging par-72 course, Harris knows patience will prove to be a virtue for her players if they want to justify their high national ranking.
“We just have to take one day at a time and not try to force it,” Harris said. “The golf course in Arkansas is definitely very challenging. We just need to stay very patient each day, go out there and just stick to our game plan.”
Showers are forecasted in Fayetteville for the majority of the weekend, which may result in a new environment that will bring the dozen teams to a more even playing field.
Though she is aware of the possibility of inclement conditions on the course, Harris can only help her players to prepare mentally.
“It doesn’t really change the way we play,” Harris said. “It’s just how we handle adversity. Everyone’s going to play in those circumstances, so it’s how we handle the adversity versus the other teams. We have a pretty tough group, so whatever the weather brings, we just need to prepare for it.”
A key factor in keeping the team’s minds sharp will be the leadership of senior Katie Burnett, who has been South Carolina’s high individual player on the leader board for the last few tournaments. After placing sixth, fifth and tied for fifth in the previous three tournaments, Burnett will be asked to keep her team on pace this weekend.
“She’s done a phenomenal job. She gets out there and she’s having fun with the game right now,” Harris said. “I’m really happy for the senior year she’s been having and, especially this spring semester, she’s been really tough out there. She’s a tremendous player on the golf course for us. She’s really matured with her game and her mental ability out there.”
Though the SEC Championships are this weekend, the NCAA regional and championship tournaments are right around the corner in the middle and end of May. The Gamecocks know this weekend’s event is significant in itself, but it will also serve as a barometer for how they will compete against the nation’s top teams, as many of the squads at the top of the national rankings call the SEC home.
Knowing their position in the conference could equate to their national prowess, Harris looks for her players to play some of their best golf this weekend.
“I’d like to be in contention for the SEC championship. That would be a nice goal to have,” Harris said. “I don’t want to go out there and put a number on it or put a place on it, but I want to go out there and play Carolina golf. If we can do that then we’ll be in contention.”