In a field with 44 competitors, Orange junior Gianni Burnette had her best finish in the 5A East Women’s Golf Regionals at the Keith Hill Golf Club in Lillington.
For the second year in a row, Burnette qualified for the state championships last week.
Playing a full 18 hole course, Burnette finished 13th overall with a 96. She was one of two Orange competitors to compete in the regionals. Maria Wilson finished 30th overall with a 113.
Earlier this month in the Big 7 Conference championships, Burnette finished fifth overall in the individual standings with a 46 on the front nine at the Chapel Hill Country Club on October 19. On the back nine, Burnette finished with a 45.
Burnette has played golf since she was six years old. From an early age, she was taken under the wing of her father’s best friend, who taught the game to younger players at Hillandale Golf Course in Durham.
Burnette was one of the players raised in the Youth Tees program, which started in the prime of Tiger Woods in the early-2000s as the PGA Tour was in a popularity boom to develop younger players.
Through eleven years of playing, Burnette’s love of the game has only grown.
“I love everything about it,” Burnette said. “It’s just so peaceful. It’s different from other sports. It’s very different.”
Since then, Burnette has played regularly at Occoneechee Golf Course in Hillsborough.
“I’ve grown very familiar with it,” Burnette says. “It’s just nicer than other courses I’ve played on. Everything is so well maintained.”
After he finished a 17-year NBA career that included winning the 2015-2016 World Championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers, J.R. Smith joined the North Carolina A&T golf team in 2021. At the age of 36, Smith said that golf was a game was the perfect mixture of challenged chill, pushing a competitor mentally and physically, but also one of the most relaxing things a person can do. Every day, the course is different and you never play the same round twice.
It’s a mindset that Burnette can identify with.
“You want to go out and prove yourself wrong,” Burnette said. “You want to try and get better over time, but you have to be realistic with your goals.”
For a sport that hasn’t always been welcoming or cordial to minority athletes, Burnette says everyone has been very courteous to her on the links.
“There isn’t much in the way of diversity,” Burnette said. “I’ve been playing for so long and I’ve known a few other Black golfers. Most of the time you don’t see very many. But I’ve never met any hostility.”
Last year, Burnette and then-senior Shannon Murphy reached the state championships. Burnette finished tied for 80th in a field of 94 players. Burnette was unclear if she would make the field after play concluded.
“Shannon looked at me and told me I was going to make it,” Burnette said. “And I did.”
There were also two Cedar Ridge players who qualified for the East Regionals this year. Laci Sykes, who is a starter for the Cedar Ridge softball team, and junior Sarah Zylowski each earned the trip to Lillington. Zylowski finished with a 120.
The top individual finisher at regionals. was from a Big 7 Conference school. South Granville senior Genesis Lewis carded a 78, closing with a 38 on the back nine, to finish with the individual championship. She beat out Maria Yllanes, a junior from Havelock, by eight strokes for first place.
There were six squads to qualify as a team for regionals. Fike won the team Eastern Regional championship with 264 strokes, beating out Croatan by 20 strokes.
The 5A State Championships are taking place this week at Stonebridge Golf Club in Monroe.
