In Pro Debut, Burnham Wins Connecticut Women's Open

GREENWICH, Conn. -- Sarah Burnham turned professional this spring, not long after concluding a spectacularly successful college career at Michigan State. (She was named the Big Ten Player of the Year both as a junior and as a senior.) The main problem with being a pro who wants to play in tournaments is that there aren't a lot of tournaments to play in. There used to be quite a few mini-tours for men to play in, but most of them have disappeared in the last 10 years. For women, there never were all that many tournaments to begin with.

So when former Spartan teammate Catherine McEvoy suggested to Burnham a couple of weeks ago that she come to Greenwich and play in the Connecticut Women's Open, she jumped at the chance.

"I called up my dad," Burnham recalled, "and I said, 'You think I could go?' He said yeah, and I'm here."  

It was a welcome opportunity to get some competition, and Burnham made the most of it. The three-time MGA Women's Player of the Year opened with a 3-under-par 69 at Innis Arden Golf Club on Tuesday, and she followed that with a 68 on Wednesday as she came from three strokes behind to win. Her 36-hole total of 137 gave her a six-stroke victory. 

This was her first tournament as a professional, and she made $4,000. Not a bad start.  

First-round leader Elsa Diaz struggled on Day 2, shooting 77. But the former University of Richmond star was able to hold on to second place with an overall 143.

Four-time champion Liz Caron, who now lives in Oyster Bay, N.Y., finished third at 146 (73-73). 

As for McEvoy, she shot 71 in the first round but slipped to 78 in the second. Her 149 total earned her a tie for sixth, and she was second among the amateurs, behind only Danielle Bambola (67-81--148). 

Burnham, who made five birdies in the first round, started Wednesday's round in third place. She surrendered a stroke with a bogey at the third hole, but she birdied the 428-yard, par-5 fifth and the 273-yard, par-4 sixth. Although she bogeyed the seventh (309 yards, par 4), she didn't lose any ground, because Diaz hit her tee shot out of bounds and made a double, and Bambola was in the process of making three bogeys in a row (7, 8 and 9).

As Bambola slid back from 5 under to 2 under, Burnham birdied the 368-yard, par-4 eighth and the 324-yard, par-4 ninth, which put her at minus 5. The former Minnesota state high school champion from Wayzata matched her front-nine 34 by making three birdies and a bogey on the the back nine.

"If you were in the rough, you made bogey," she said afterward. "I bogeyed the third after I hit my drive in the left rough. From that point on, I just focused on hitting fairways."

Burnham actually missed two fairways on the inward nine, at the par-5 11th and the 14th. She was in fairway bunkers both times, but she birdied both holes. She sealed the deal by making a 20-foot putt for birdie at the 147-yard, par-3 18th. 


WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL GOLF

Connecticut Women's Open

At Innis Arden Golf Club

Par 72, 5,636 yards

Greenwich, Conn. 

Final results

1. Sarah Burnham, Maple Grove                 69-68--137

2. Elsa Diaz, Williamsburg, Va.                      66-77--143

3. Liz Caron, Oyster Bay, N.Y.                        73-73--146

T4. Danielle Bambola (a), Jamesville, N.Y.    67-81--148

T4. Nathalie Filler, Philadelphia                     74-74--148