No. 7 #B1GCats Take Aim Friday At Third Big Ten Title In Four Years

4/20/2016 10:23:00 PM | Women's Golf

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – No. 5 Northwestern will defend its team title, and take aim at a third Conference crown in four years, beginning Friday at the 2016 Big Ten Women's Golf Championships. The 54-hole event will unfold at The Fort Golf Resort on April 22-24.

2016 Big Ten Women's Golf Championship – LIVE RESULTS
2015-16 Northwestern Women's Golf Statistics
The Fort Golf Resort (Par 72/6,221 yards)
Big Ten Record Book

Head coach Emily Fletcher, the reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year, has assembled a lineup featuring senior Suchaya Tangkamolprasert, junior Kacie Komoto, sophomores Sarah Cho and Hannah Kim, and freshmen Stephanie Lau and Janet Mao in the 6-count-4 scoring format. The Wildcats will tee off the first round at 8:42 a.m. on Friday at Hole No. 1.

This season Northwestern has been a mainstay in the nation's Top-10, currently sitting at No. 7 in the Golfstat rankings and at No. 8 according to Golfweek. The team boasts two wins this year, capturing the Windy City Collegiate Classic in the fall and the Hurricane Invitational in the spring.

Kim, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, is the No. 2 individual in the nation according to Golfstat statistics, while Lau ranks 11^th and Komoto is 27^th.

Kim draws confidence this season from improved consistency. She finished in the Top-17 in all seven stroke-play events, and won the Hurricane Invitational in March with a program-record 199.

"This spring I think I'm a little more steady," said the sophomore. "Going into Big Tens I'm a little more prepared, I know what to expect just because it's a golf course that we've played before. I think right now, as long as I tidy up my iron shots a little bit, I think I'll be a lot more prepared than I was last year."

Kim is one of four different 'Cats to have been recognized as Big Ten Golfer of the Week this season, along with Komoto (twice), Cho and Lau.

In 2015, the Wildcats surged on Sunday at the same venue they'll attack this weekend to win the team's second Conference title in three years.

Northwestern entered Sunday's final round six shots off the lead but methodically erased the deficit throughout the day. Komoto fired the low score of the tournament's final day, a 2-under 70, to lead the team's 284. The 'Cats and Ohio State shared the crown with a three-round score of 863, nine shots better than third-place Purdue.

Both Kim and Cho recalled a positive energy surrounding the group on Sunday even before they reached the course.

"We were in second going into the third round, and I was rooming with [Suchaya Tangkamolprasert]," said Kim. "The minute we woke up, we stared at each other and were like, 'We got this!' It was just so in the moment. We totally got it that day as a team. We were so on point with our game, and it was so in-spirit, we were cheering for each other from 500 yards away."

Cho echoed her teammate's recollection of the Wildcats' tone prior to the final round, and explained that motivation came from one of the group's veteran leaders.

"Sunday morning our team was really enthusiastic, really pumped up," she says. "The biggest thing was Hana Lee. She was our senior so we wanted to make Big Tens really memorable for her."

The Wildcats head to The Fort defending not only the team championship, but the individual title as well.

Cho became the second Big Ten Individual Champion in program history (2006, Alice Kim), shooting a 3-under-par 213 (72-70-71) for the first victory of her college career. The then-rookie from San Diego dazzled with consistency throughout the weekend, finishing as the only student-athlete in the field to play all three rounds at par-or-better.

Tangkamolprasert and Kim shared ninth with a 2-over 218, with Komoto also securing a Top-20 result in 16^th at 221.

While the terrain this week at The Fort will be familiar, it will present a serious challenge to the competitors.

"I think you have so many opportunities, but it can easily slip away from you," said Cho. "The rough is really thick, so you have to really think about every single shot. The greens are really true, but fast, so you have to be very keen on your putting speed."

"It's a fair golf course as long as you know your layup numbers," added Kim. "It's a hilly golf course, it's challenging in all different ways."

BTN will provide tape-delayed coverage of the event on Sunday, May 1, at 10 a.m. CT, the first of 11 spring championships to be broadcast on the network during the month of May. The hour-long recap will be followed immediately by the 2016 Big Ten Men's Golf Championships at 11 a.m. CT.