Hilton Head sisters witnessed future LPGA stars. Now, they play among best on USC golf
As young sisters, they watched, they learned and now they are competing — for a guitar?
(But it’s a really cool guitar.)
Nearly a decade before the University of South Carolina’s and Hilton Head Island’s own Sophia Burnett teed off Monday in the 2024 Darius Rucker Intercollegiate tournament, she and her sister Camila stood outside the ropes as local spectators at the island’s Long Cove Club. They were in their early teens, watching future stars of ladies’ golf compete and prepare to ascend to the global stage.
As aspiring juniors, they walked stride-for-stride with those who would become current top Ladies Professional Golf Association players including Cheyenne Knight, Leona Maguire, Celine Boutier and Madeline Sagstrom. It was in the golf seasons before COVID-19 when those names ruled the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s greens and Long Cove’s Bermuda grass fairways just north of Coligny Beach.
Nine years after some of their first experiences as young spectators, the two sisters, now 21 and 19, are front and center in the South Carolina collegiate golf world as members of the host team for this year’s tournament. Some say it’s the best trophy to win and with the championship comes a guitar designed and signed by Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker. As golf trophies go, that’s Mount Everest.
The University of South Carolina Women’s golf team finished the tournament in fourth place on the strength of teammate Hannah Darling’s tie for first finish at -5. The Palmetto State University’s effort fell 3 strokes behind the winning Arizona State team who clinched the win on the 54th and final hole of the contest.
The golf mecca beckons
In 2015, the sister duo and family moved to Bluffton for their golf careers, and for the past three days, Sophia drove, pitched, chipped and putted to a respectable +6 after the 54-hole event on the Long Cove course she’s played dozens of times before. Camila, who was out with an injury, cheered her and other teammates on from the sidelines. The tournament is the first and only all women’s regular-season collegiate golf event televised on the Golf Channel.
The sisters and their family are just a few of many drawn to Beaufort County for its internationally known golf communities, training facilities and tournaments, including the RBC Heritage in Sea Pines. Whether it be to live alongside courses built by course architects Jack Nicklaus and Pete Dye, or to vacation and see names like Palmer, Nicklaus, Miller, Stewart, Love and most recently Matt Fitzpatrick win the PGA’s legendary RBC Heritage event — the golf world and Hilton Head are inextricably linked.
This county attracts visitors and residents because of what Sophia calls its “golf culture.”
“When you’re on the island, people talk about golf,” she said. “People understand golf. There are so many golfers, so many golf courses.”
The area has over 26 championship courses, ranging from oceanfront links to traditional layouts. The Long Cove course, designed by Pete Dye, is very strategic, according to Sophia.
“You have to play really smart,” she said. “Especially when the wind picks up like it did today.”
Sophia didn’t win the tournament; although, one of her teammates was part of a four-way tie for first in the individual competition. The group included Mississippi State’s Julia Lopez Ramirez, Texas’ Farah O’Keefe, South Carolina’s Hannah Darling and Northwestern’s Jennifer Cai all who finished at -5 for the three days.
Arizona State won the overall team title and as the South Carolina players watched the award ceremony, Sophia and Camila stood together. They’re comfortable being next to each other after growing up practicing and playing by each other’s side. The sisters attended Hilton Head Preparatory School, and said they’d get out of school around 1 p.m. to spend their afternoons golfing.
To get to where they are took sacrifice and hard work. Camila said she remembers missing the first day of school since late-middle school because of golf tournaments.
Having each other makes it easier, especially when they room right across the hall from each other at the University of South Carolina. “It’s a blessing and a curse,” Camila said.
What’s also a blessing is the women’s team camaraderie, according to Sophia. While only two of seven-person team are blood-relatives, they’re all sisters.
“As a team we act like sisters,” she said. “The culture of this team is that we are all close. We respect each other and we have this family mentality.”
This story was originally published March 7, 2024 at 8:34 AM.
