Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2019 - 20

Maple Grove's Sarah Burnham Rallies Locals in Her First LPGA Major
I
t's not easy to shoulder the hopes of all the golf fans in
one state-especially at your first major home tournament.
But that's what Sarah Burnham, the pride of Maple
Grove, lugged around Hazeltine
National Golf Club at the KPMG
Women's PGA Championship in
June. The local hero qualified for
the tournament by the slimmest of
margins ($3 via the money list, due
to making her first cut as a pro the
previous week) and became the sole
Minnesotan in the field at Hazeltine.
Burnham led the festivities
Thursday morning in the first group,
bringing a few nerves along to the
first tee. With support from her
parents, family and friends following
her in the gallery, Burnham settled
her early nerves, birdieing No. 4 and
bogeying No. 5. Then, she carded
another birdie at the par-4 10th hole
near the shores of Lake Hazeltine.
Trouble began with a double bogey
on the par-5 11th hole and another
at the par-3 13th hole. She finished
strong with a 30-foot birdie putt that
curled in on the left side of the par-3
17th hole, and she made par on the
last hole to right the ship going into
the second round.
" That was one of the coolest
moments I experienced, " Burnham
said. " Even though I was kind of
down today [posting a 6-over 78],
that lifted my spirits up a lot. I was
just so excited to make that long
putt in front of those people. "
According to Sarah's father, Kurt
Burnham, she was more relaxed
coming into round two-and her
play showed it. She faced a tough
challenge to make the cut (which
opened the morning at 3-over par),
but she rose to it with a great driving
performance. Burnham hit 10
fairways in round two (compared to
just six in her opening round) and it
led to a 1-under par 71.
" That definitely made the difference from [Thursday to
right, " Sarah Burnham said. " And I had this really hard chip
and lobbed it, and it just rolled down into the [hazard] across
the way. So, I kind of [chunked] it out of the hazard and then
chipped up. Then I only had a fourfoot
putt, but I missed it for a triple. "
Burnham finished strong with an
eight-foot putt for birdie on No. 17
(her third birdie in three rounds on
the uphill par 3). She looked to the sky
appearing thankful and relieved after
a tough back nine. The birdie put her
at 9-over par as she looked ahead to
the final round.
" Basically, I am going to just try to
hit greens and fairways, and just go
see how low I can go, " Burnham said.
" There's nothing to lose; I've already
made the cut. "
Burnham started on the back nine
in the final round, and a double bogey
on the tough par-4 No. 12 put her
behind the eight ball. With two more
doubles on the front (No. 5 and
No. 6), the 23-year-old showed a
sense of exasperated relief when
she rolled in a birdie putt on the
par-5 No. 7. Her crowd of fans,
however, were elated and let out
a birdie roar they'd been sitting on
all day.
" I told my caddy that I recognize so
SARAH
BURNHAM
" I know I can compete with
the best in the world. If my
game is on one week, I could
be up on the leaderboard. "
-Sarah Burnham
many people, but I'm not sure that I
know everyone's name, " Burnham said
of the fans. " But it was really cool to
see all of them out there. "
Burnham finished the final round at
6-over par (for a four-day total of 303,
15-over par), but the round didn't dim
her hopes for moving forward.
" I didn't play my best game out
there-I know that, " Burnham said of
the final round. " [But] I know I can
compete with the best in the world. If
my game is on one week, I could be up
on the leaderboard. "
Burnham had a great following the
entire tournament-she paused for
Friday], " she said. " I hit more fairways-and it's easier to stop
the ball on the greens from the fairway than from the rough. "
On day three, Burnham played the front nine at even par
before running into some difficulty at the 10th hole, where
she made a triple bogey.
" I hit it in the fairway and hit my [approach] shot a little
autographs and photos often during the round-and it's safe
to say the following is growing. The whole experience made
for an unforgettable week.
" It meant a lot, " Burnham said of playing a major in
Minnesota. " I know [that in] Minnesota we don't get a lot of
events ... so, I really wanted to play in this. Just to be able to
get my card and play in the major in my home state meant so
much to me. "
20
MINNESOTAGOLFER Fall 2019
mngolf.org
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2019
