University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
Lady Puerto Rico Classic
Georgia, Burger Grab First-Round Lead In Puerto Rico
February 12, 2012 | Women's Golf
Feb. 12, 2012
RIO GRANDE, P.R. --- Emilie Burger's career-best 6-under 66 helped Georgia grab the top position on the team and individual leaderboards following the opening round of the Lady Puerto Rico Classic on Sunday.
The No. 11 Bulldogs posted a 6-over, 294 and are tied with No. 10 LSU atop the team standings. Texas Tech is third at 296, followed by Arkansas at 297, No. 7 Oklahoma State at 300, No. 20 N.C. State at 302 and Iowa State, Kent State and TCU all at 305.
Georgia also counted a 74 from Marta Silva Zamora, a 75 from Milena Savich and a 79 from Rocio Sanchez Lobato and dropped the 81 of Collins Bradshaw. UGA's Amelia Hill, who is competing as an individual, shot 77.
Individually, Silva Zamora is tied for 14th, Savich is tied for 19th, Hill is tied for 37th, Sanchez Lobato is tied for 54th and Bradshaw is tied for 67th.
Burger's loop equaled both the second-best score in Georgia history and the tournament record for an individual opening-round. Burger also shot 66 in the final round of the Tiger/Wave Invitational as a freshman She owns a five-shot lead over the quartet of LSU's Austin Ernst, Kent State's Mercedes Germino, Arkansas' Emily Tubert and Oklahoma State's Kelsey Vines.
"Emilie has had a hard week," head coach Kelley Hester said. "Her grandfather passed away and I told her to be prepared for something special because she'd have an angel on her shoulder all week."
Burger's bogey-free round included birdies at No. 4, No. 5, No. 10, No. 12, No. 14 and No. 18.
"Emilie is a very hard worker and we've been focusing on making more of the 10-20 foot birdie putts," Hester said. "We've worked on being reactive. A basketball player sees a shot and they shoot. They don't think about their technique or form. Emilie is a very good athlete. We've worked on that reaction process…see the putt and take it…don't think about your technique too much…trust your ability. That was hard for her. Today bodes well. It has been a building process but I thought it was only a matter of time."
The Bulldogs' opening effort was a welcome change from the fall when Georgia often struggled early. UGA's first-round team average of 301.25 was more than 10 shots higher than its second- and third-round averaged.
"We were seven shots better today than our first-round stroke average in the fall," Hester said. "(Assistant coach) Jeff (Hull) and I concentrated on that over the winter and brainstormed on what we could do to get out of the gate better. We changed our practice round routine and it worked well today.
"Even the girls who feel like they didn't play well know what they need to do tomorrow," Hester continued. "Their game was there. They just didn't score as well as they could. I think we're in a good place heading into tomorrow."
Lady Puerto Rico Classic
Rio Mar River Course
Rio Grande, P.R.
Par 72; 6191 Yards
Sunday's First-Round Results
Team Leaderboard
Georgia 294
LSU 294
Texas Tech 296
Arkansas 297
Oklahoma State 300
N.C. State 302
TCU 305
Iowa State 305
Kent State 305
Northwestern 306
Nebraska 309
SMU 310
Michigan 310
Purdue 310
Penn State 321
Individual Leaderboard
Emilie Burger, Georgia 66
Austin Ernst, LSU 71
Mercedes Germino, Purdue 71
Emily Tubert, Arkansas 71
Kelsey Vines, Oklahoma State 71
Alex Lederhausen, Northwestern 72
Madeleine Shells, Nebraska 72
Elin Aridsson, Texas Tech 73
Meagan Bauer, Michigan 73
Chonlada Chayanun, Iowa State 73
Gabrielle Dominguez, Texas Tech 73
Katrina Hegge, LSU 73
Tessa Teachman, LSU 73
Addditional Georgia Scores
T14. Marta Silva Zamora, Georgia 74
T19. Milena Savich, Georgia 75
T37. Amelia Hill, Georgia 77
T54. Rocio Sanchez Lobato, Georgia 79
T67. Collins Bradshaw, Georgia 81
