Northwestern University Athletics
Kim, No. 7 Wildcats Lead Hurricane Invitational After 18 Holes
2/29/2016 1:45:00 PM | Women's Golf
CORAL GABLES, Florida – Led by sophomore Hannah Kim atop the individual leaderboard, No. 7 Northwestern owns a four shot lead after the first round of the 2016 Hurricane Invitational on Monday. The Wildcats 7-under 277 tied the lowest single-round team score in program history.
The two-time defending champion Wildcats are aiming to reclaim the Hurricane Invitational title for a third straight year this week in Coral Gables at Biltmore Golf Course (Par 71; 6,080yds), a Donald Ross course. Northwestern has turned in two of the six-lowest 54-hole team scores in program history in its last two visits to south Florida.
Monday's 277 is the best single-round team score in program history, equaling their opening round 277 at the 2014 Liz Murphey Intercollegiate. Northwestern enters the second round four shots ahead of second-place Iowa State (-3) and eight shots up on third-place South Florida (+1). The Wildcats 16 birdies as a team in the 5-count-4 format were the most in the field over the first 18 holes.
2016 HURRICANE INVITATIONAL – TEAM LEADERBOARD
2016 HURRICANE INVITATIONAL – INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
Kim opened the tournament with birdies on three of her first six holes and made the turn at 3-under. After a bogey on No. 10, she bounced back with a birdie on 11 and rattled off six straight pars before closing the round with a birdie on 18. The sophomore's 4-under 67 is the second-best round of her college career, and just one shot back of the Wildcats record of 66 (4 times, most recent: Kim, 2015 Mason Rudolph Classic). She will take a one shot lead into Tuesday's second round.
Right on Kim's heels after 18 holes are teammates Sarah Cho and Kacie Komoto tied for fifth-place at 2-under. Cho birdied Nos. 8 and 9 to make the turn at 2-under, and then immediately birdied No. 10 to get within a stroke of the lead. After three bogeys in four holes from Nos. 13-16 put her back at even par, the sophomore wrapped up the round with a flourish, carding an eagle-3 on the Par-5 18th, one of only two eagles in the field on Monday.
Komoto, who earned Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors after Northwestern's last competition played one of the most consistent rounds of any competitor in Coral Gables on Monday. The junior recorded 14 pars, second-most in the field, and birdied No. 18 to card a 3-under 68.
Freshman Stephanie Lau is the fourth Wildcat inside the Top-20 after the first round, riding 13 pars to a 1-over 73 and earning a share of 19th-place. Senior Suchaya Tangkamolprasert, making her spring competition debut, battled through the first 11 holes of the day before playing 1-under over the final seven to finish at 4-over. Freshman Janet Mao, competing as an individual, also carded a 4-over 75 in the first round.
The Wildcats will tee of Tuesday's second round paired with Iowa State and South Florida, beginning at 7:30 a.m. CT on No. 1.
Northwestern – 1/16 • 277-R2-R3=277 (-7)
1 -- Hannah Kim • 67-R2-R3=67 (-4)
T5 -- Kacie Komoto • 69-R2-R3=69 (-2)
T5 – Sarah Cho • 69-R2-R3=69 (-2)
T19 – Stephanie Lau • 72-R2-R3=72 (+1)
T45 – Suchaya Tangkamolprasert • 75-R2-R3=75 (+4)
T45 – Janet Mao* • 75-R2-R3=75 (+4)
* - Competing as an individual
Northwestern is ranked No. 7 in the nation in both the Golfweek and Golfstat rankings this week, the top-ranked team in a Hurricane Invitational field that features two other Top-20 teams (No. 16 Iowa State, No. 17 Purdue) and four more in the Top-40 (No. 30 Louisville, No. 34 East Carolina, No. 36 Purdue and No. 40 Miami), along with Baylor, FIU, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Florida, Texas State, Tulane and Virginia Tech.
Northwestern won last year's event by six strokes, finishing with a 7-over 859, the fourth-lowest tournament score in program history. The 'Cats were led by then-freshman Hannah Kim, who fired a 1-over 214 to share second-place, and senior Hana Lee, who tied for eighth at 3-over.
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