Sophia and Camila Burnett have played golf their whole lives.
Growing up in Hilton Head, South Carolina, they each tried their hand at soccer, gymnastics and tennis, but golf was the sport they said they both enjoyed and excelled at the most.
For the Burnetts, golf is a family affair. Camila said her father played throughout his youth and into the collegiate and touring levels, and she and Sophia have played golf for as long as they can remember.
Sophia said the familial aspect of the sport is something that has always appealed to her.
“I love the challenge of the game, and it's how my parents met, as well,” Sophia said. “I truly enjoy the challenge and getting to play with family, play with friends.”
The sisters are teammates on the South Carolina women's golf team and are playing together for the first time in their collegiate careers.
Since the Burnett sisters are only two years apart in age — Sophia is a senior while Camila is a sophomore — playing on the same golf team is familiar to them. They played next to each other growing up and played as a family throughout their youth and on their high school teams. Their newest endeavor is facing college together.
“It definitely brings that closer sense of home and always having someone to talk to about anything, even if it's whatever it is, whatever time of day,” Camila said. “It's been great to have her, plus gain more sister-like figures.”
Sophia, 21, and Camila, 19, joined the team around the same time. Sophia transferred into the program at the start of the 2022-23 season after spending her first two years of college at Furman University. Camila committed to play for the Gamecocks as a freshman and joined the team in the spring of 2023.
Although Sophia joined the team first, Camila said she was the one who brought the Burnetts to the University of South Carolina, their father's alma mater.
“When I was in the recruiting process, I talked to South Carolina, and she was at Furman. And I was just having conversations and looking at all my options, and I was very interested, but I really wanted to be on a team with my sister,” Camila said. “That's why, at first, the school she was at really attracted me. But then when she said she didn't like it there and wanted to leave, I was like, ‘Oh, well what about South Carolina?’’
Head coach Kalen Anderson said the Burnetts are the first set of sisters she’s ever brought onto the team.
"They're phenomenal teammates. I mean, just such great teammates. They push everybody to get better. They're hard workers," Anderson said. "Showing up early in the mornings when we were seeing us off for tournaments, little care packages ... they just did all the extras that you want, and they just played a really significant role, and that's just very appreciated.”
The girls said they first felt the impact of being separated when Sophia began college while Camila was still finishing high school, and they were not actively playing on the same team. Jonathan Burnett, the sisters' father, said it isn't the same when they don't play together.
"(Camila) enjoyed it when big sis went off to college because it gave her an opportunity to step up as kind of a 'leader' of the high school team," Jonathan said. "She was very much a leader, but at the same time, she missed her sister."
Before she graduated and while they still attended school together, Sophia and Camila played not only on the women’s golf team but also on the men’s. Playing with and against boys was something the girls wanted because they wanted more competition.
“Some of them could care less,” Camila said. “Others are like, ‘Who the heck are these people? Well, who the heck are these girls?’ And then most of the time they're like, ‘Oh, they're probably really bad.’ And then we end up beating them, and they are not so happy with us, but that's alright."
Jonathan said the girls never shied away from the challenges that come with the sport and that both girls would “give you double of whatever is asked.”
Sophia takes a more serious approach to life and to playing golf, whereas her younger sister takes it more lightly, he said.
“If you tell (Sophia) to do 10 of anything, she'll do 20 just in case," Jonathan said. "I would describe her as more of very matter-of-fact, all business, and Camila is our jokester. And again, very much a hard-worker and loves what she does in terms of golf, but she loves being around people and conversing and knowing what is going on.”
Jonathan said the origin of their names fits their respective personalities because, in Latin, Sophia means "wisdom" and Camila means "happiness." Anderson said she sees the girls the same way, describing Sophia as “reserved” and Camila as “fiery.”
Camila said their different personalities and sibling rivalry add another layer to the team.
“It’s something else for them — different to experience because it's not common to have sisters on the same team, but they love it,” Camila said about her teammates. “They find it very funny when we bicker with each other and then take little jabs at each other. They just laugh because they also have sisters and siblings, and they know where it's coming from.”
Sophia said their joking at practice is a “mental toughness” check for the girls. She said keeping each other on their toes has made the team as a whole more competitive.
“We’ve told the coaches, ‘Do you understand what you're getting when you get sisters?’” Jonathan said. “You get sisterly love, which there's nothing like it in the world, and then sisterly hate, which there's nothing like it in the world."
Both sisters said their personalities lend themselves to different methods of resolving conflict when it comes to “sisterly hate.” Sophia said she prefers to “hash it out" through conversation, while Camila prefers time and space.
“It'll just be small bickering stuff because we're sisters," Camila said. "It's like, ‘Get out of my room’ or ‘No, don't wear my shirt.’ And then five minutes later, we're best friends again."
Sophia and Camila said they make sure that, through the jokes and arguments, they support each other and their teammates, even if their impact is not felt on the course.
The sisters did not qualify to travel with the team to Minnesota for the Annika Intercollegiate tournament in mid-September. Despite this, they were at the airport past midnight with signs and music to welcome their teammates home and congratulate them on their big win.
“They are all about team first. To be fair, that's how my wife and I have raised them,” Jonathan said. “If you're on a team, it's not about you. Your little portion that you give to the team is important, and you have to give all you can to the team. It's the team that matters and not so much the individual.”
Playing on the same team again also means that the sisters are able to continue a handshake ritual they perform together after a great shot or once a match has concluded. Camila said they have had different rituals throughout their time playing, but this one has lasted the past few years and into their time playing at South Carolina.
Sophia said moments such as these are what make having a sister as a college teammate so special.
“It feels like home here just because she’s here,” Sophia said. “It's like having your built-in best friend with you at all times.”