EVANSTON, Illinois – Sophomore Hannah Kim has been selected as the Big Ten Golfer of the Week in recognition of her record-setting performance in winning the 2016 Hurricane Invitational, the Conference announced on Wednesday.
The reigning Big Ten Player of the Year won the first championship of her college career in Coral Gables to lead the way for the Wildcats, who captured the Hurricane team crown for the third consecutive year.
Kim led nearly wire-to-wire at the Par-71 Biltmore Golf Course, sitting atop the leaderboard after Monday's opening round and never surrendering the top spot over the final 36 holes of competition. After a bogey on No. 10 in the first round, Kim carded par or better on each of her final 44 holes of the tournament.
She entered Wednesday's final round with a three-stroke lead, and immediately extended that advantage with birdies on No. 3 and No. 4. After seven pars and a birdie ran her to 3-under after 12 holes, she kicked her performance into overdrive. Kim birdied four of her last six holes of the tournament to end the competition with a blistering 7-under 64.
Kim's 64 shaved two strokes off the program's previous 18-hole record, one shared by three Wildcats, including Kim, herself, this fall at the Mason Rudolph Championship. Her 199 total was the first sub-200 tournament in Wildcats history, besting the previous 54-hole Northwestern record by seven strokes, a 206 by freshman Stephanie Lau in September.
"Hannah was absolutely dominant," said Fletcher. "She was in complete control of every aspect of her game, every step of the way. She works tirelessly and has been poised for a breakthrough win like this, I am not surprised in the least. To do it in record-breaking fashion, I'm just so happy for her."
This is the fourth Big Ten Weekly Honor of Kim's career, and the first this season. She is the fourth Wildcats golfer to earn the recognition this year, joining Kacie Komoto (twice), Sarah Cho and Stephanie Lau.
The Wildcats will return to competition on April 1 when they take part in the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in Athens, Georgia. Northwestern won the stroke play portion of the event, which also features match play, in 2014.
The reigning Big Ten Player of the Year won the first championship of her college career in Coral Gables to lead the way for the Wildcats, who captured the Hurricane team crown for the third consecutive year.
Championship selfie? Championship selfie.
— #B1GCats (@NU_Sports) March 2, 2016
Congratulations, #B1GCats womens' golf!https://t.co/ewO2xlbpxw pic.twitter.com/2NYQJe9fZo
Kim led nearly wire-to-wire at the Par-71 Biltmore Golf Course, sitting atop the leaderboard after Monday's opening round and never surrendering the top spot over the final 36 holes of competition. After a bogey on No. 10 in the first round, Kim carded par or better on each of her final 44 holes of the tournament.
She entered Wednesday's final round with a three-stroke lead, and immediately extended that advantage with birdies on No. 3 and No. 4. After seven pars and a birdie ran her to 3-under after 12 holes, she kicked her performance into overdrive. Kim birdied four of her last six holes of the tournament to end the competition with a blistering 7-under 64.
Kim's 64 shaved two strokes off the program's previous 18-hole record, one shared by three Wildcats, including Kim, herself, this fall at the Mason Rudolph Championship. Her 199 total was the first sub-200 tournament in Wildcats history, besting the previous 54-hole Northwestern record by seven strokes, a 206 by freshman Stephanie Lau in September.
"Hannah was absolutely dominant," said Fletcher. "She was in complete control of every aspect of her game, every step of the way. She works tirelessly and has been poised for a breakthrough win like this, I am not surprised in the least. To do it in record-breaking fashion, I'm just so happy for her."
This is the fourth Big Ten Weekly Honor of Kim's career, and the first this season. She is the fourth Wildcats golfer to earn the recognition this year, joining Kacie Komoto (twice), Sarah Cho and Stephanie Lau.
The Wildcats will return to competition on April 1 when they take part in the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in Athens, Georgia. Northwestern won the stroke play portion of the event, which also features match play, in 2014.