2015 Big Ten Championships - LIVE STATS
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Four Wildcats shot par-or-better and rank among the Top-9 individuals after Day 1 of the 2015 Big Ten Women's Golf Championships at The Fort Golf Resort. No. 13 Northwestern fired a 4-under 284 as a team on Thursday to sit in second place, three shots off the lead, after the first of three rounds.
Of the eight individuals to finish under-par in Indianapolis on Thursday, three were wearing purple. Kaitlin Park led Northwestern with a 2-under 70, good for sole possession of sixth place just two shots off the lead. The junior from Tustin, Calif., bogeyed her first hole of the day, but settled in to card six straight pars before really hitting her stride around the turn. Park birdied the eighth, tenth and eleventh holes, before adding another at 16.
Right behind Park, tied for seventh place, are sophomore Suchaya Tangkamolprasert and freshman Hannah Kim after matching 1-under 71's on Thursday. Kim tied Park for the team lead with four birdies on Day 1 in her Big Ten Championships career debut, while Tangkamolprasert carded birdies on 6, 10 and 16 on Thursday.
Freshman Sarah Cho, another `Cat making her Championships debut, turned in the most consistent round of any participant on Thursday. The San Diego native led all golfers with 16 pars during an even-par 72, good for a share of ninth place after one round. Senior Hana Lee will try to carry a strong Day 1 finish into Friday, she finished her round with birdies on 16 and 17 sandwiched between a pair of pars.
Saturday's second round will tee off at 7:30 a.m., while Sunday's third round will begin at 7 a.m.
Northwestern -- 2nd/14 · 284-R2-R3=284 (-4)
6 -- Kaitlin Park -- 70-R2-R3=70 (-2)
T7 -- Suchaya Tangkamolprasert -- 71-R2-R3=71 (-1)
T7 -- Hannah Kim -- 71-R2-R3=71 (-1)
T9 -- Sarah Cho -- 72-R2-R3=72 (E)
T17 -- Hana Lee -- 73-R2-R3=73 (+1)
T44 -- Kacie Komoto -- 77-R2-R3=77 (+5)
The field includes all 14 Big Ten schools, three of which are ranked among the top 50 according to the latest Golfweek/Sagarin national rankings. Northwestern leads the way at No. 13, followed by No. 36 Ohio State and No. 39 Purdue.
This week has been the `Cats first look at Indianapolis' The Fort Golf Resort, which will host the 2015 and 2016 Big Ten Women's Golf Championships. The Pete Dye designed course is a 6,221-yard, par-72, challenge that has withstood a good amount of rain this week leading up to the event.
Head coach Emily Fletcher has seen her entire roster improve during the course of a season she feels has prepared them for the challenge this weekend. "I have seen their short games improve significantly," she said. "We won twice this year, and were in the hunt numerous times as well, which I think has allowed the group to get more comfortable playing under pressure. They seem to have grasped that it doesn't have to be perfect for it to be functional and still allow them to score well, which keeps them from putting undue pressure on themselves.
Big Ten Network will air tape-delayed coverage of the 2015 Big Ten Golf Championships on Wednesday, May 6, at 6 p.m. CT.
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