University of Georgia Athletics
Burger Wins Georgia Open
July 08, 2010 | Women's Golf
July 8, 2010
ATHENS --- Georgia's Emily Burger fired an even-par 72 and held off Margaret Shirley, the Bulldogs' assistant coach, to win the Yamaha Georgia Women's Open at Summer Grove Golf Club at Cannongate on Thursday. The rising sophomore from Hoschton finished the 36-hole event at 5-under 139, a shot better than Shirley.
"Everything was clicking this week," Burger said. "I was hitting my driver well. I think I was in 12 fairways both days. I was hitting irons well, too. I was fortunate enough to stick them close and had plenty of good birdie opportunities. And I putted well from there. You can hit it as close as you want, but if you don't make putts, you're not going to be up on the leaderboard where you want to be."
Burger entered the final round with a two-shot lead over a quartet of golfers including Shirley, her playing partner on the day. Burger expanded that to a three-shot lead with three holes to play but her double-bogey at No. 16 and a Shirley birdie at No. 17 knotted them atop the leaderboard. Shirley then bogeyed No. 18 to give Burger the victory.
"Yesterday I played really well," Burger said. "It seemed like all of my putts were going in and everything felt effortless. Today, I birdied the first hole and got off to a good start. I turned at even (on the day) and had a couple of birdies on the back side to get to 7-under for the tournament. I had a hiccup with a three-putt, double-bogey on No. 16 and Margie birdied No. 17 to tie it up. It came down to the wire, and I really enjoyed playing with her."
Burger and Shirley were among six golfers with UGA ties who finished among the top-11. Rising sophomore Kendall Wright tied for fourth at 2-under, 1980s letterwinner Laura (Mays) Coble tied for seventh at 1-under, 2000s letterwinner Jackie (Beers) Szymoniak placed 10th at 3-over and rising sophomore Abby Johnson tied for 11th at 4-over.
In addition to the Georgia Open results, rising junior Marta Silva Zamora helped Spain defeat the Netherlands, 4-3, in the quarterfinals of the European Ladies Team Championship in Murcia, Spain, on Thursday.
Silva Zamora teamed with Arizona State's Carlota Cignada to post a decisive 6-and-5 win in foursome play. Silva Zamora lost a 1-up decision to Dutch champion Narieke Nivard in single competition.
Spain will now face Scotland, which defeated England 4-3, in Thursday's semifinals. Sweden will meet Germany in the other semifinal.
