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2015 Hurricane Invitational The Biltmore Golf Course Coral Gables, Fla. NU's Place: 1st/16 teams BirdieFire.com Scoring 36-Hole Results  | |
CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Freshman Hannah Kim (Chula Vista, Calif./Otay Ranch) has a two-stroke lead and four Wildcats are among the top nine in the individual standings after two rounds at the Hurricane Invitational, giving Northwestern a whopping 13-stroke lead over the 16-team field.
Showcasing the depth of this program, Northwestern's two players who held the individual lead after 18 holes both carded over-par rounds Tuesday, but the two Wildcats who got off to slow starts in the first round were at or below par in the second to give NU another strong team score of 2-under 282. The Wildcats are at 6-under 562 (280-282) entering Wednesday's final round, 13 shots ahead of host Miami.
While her teammates all had at least a five stroke difference in their scores from the first to the second rounds (for better or worse), Kim found red numbers again to sign for her 10th score at par or better in her 17 rounds as a freshman this season.
Kim turned in a 1-under 70 to build a two-stroke lead entering Wednesday's final round at 3-under 139 (69-70). Kim birdied the par-5 first hole and the par-4 fifth hole early in Tuesday's second round, but gave those shots back at Nos. 8 and 13. A birdie at the par-5 15th got her back to red figures on the day.
Sophomore Kacie Komoto (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou) climbed from 39th place all the way up into ninth by leading Northwestern Tuesday with a 3-under 68. She started out hot, getting to 3-under par through six holes. Though she leaked strokes at No. 9 and No. 13, she came back with birdies at Nos. 15 and 18 to account for her 68. Komoto stands at 1-over 143 (75-68).
Junior Suchaya Tangkamolprasert (Bangkok, Thailand/Bromsgrove Christian School) also climbed up in the individual standings, moving from 60th after the opening round to 28th Tuesday via an even-par 71. Tangkamolprasert looked headed for another over-par day when she stood on the 13th tee at 2-over par, but a trio of birdies on the way home helped her claw back to level par. Tangkamolprasert is at 6-over 148 (77-71) entering the final round.
After sharing the opening round lead with Kaitlin Park (Tustin, Calif./Beckman), Hana Lee (Hacienda Heights, Calif./Wilson) slipped one spot into second with a Tuesday 2-over 73 to enter Monday's final round at 1-under 141 (68-73). One day after carding seven birdies, Lee made two in the second round to go along with four bogeys for her 73.
Park, meanwhile, now is in a ninth-place tie with Komoto following a 4-over 75 on Tuesday that placed her at 1-over 143 (68-75) for the event. Park had three bogeys and 10 pars through 13 holes of play before going birdie-birdie at Nos. 15 and 16. She followed with a bogey at No. 16 and a double bogey at No. 17, however, to account for her 75.
Freshman Sarah Cho (San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines), competing as an individual not in the team lineup, had an incredible 11-stroke turnaround from Monday to Tuesday. After carding a 9-over 80 in the first round, Cho came back with five birdies Tuesday including four in a five-hole stretch on the back nine for her first-career total in the 60s. She jumped from 84th to 37th with the performance.
The third and final round of the Hurricane Invitational begins tomorrow morning, Wednesday, March 4, at The Biltmore Course.
Northwestern - 1st/16 280-282=562 (-6)
T1 -- Hannah Kim -- 69-70=139 (-3)
T2 -- Hana Lee -- 68-73=141 (-1)
T9 -- Kaitlin Park -- 68-75=143 (+1)
T9 -- Kacie Komoto -- 75-68=143 (+1)
T28 -- Suchaya Tangkamolprasert -- 77-71=148 (+6)
T37 -- Sarah Cho * -- 80-69=149 (+7)
* Denotes playing as an individual
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