Aurora Kan, the three-time Daily Times Player of the Year at Chichester, and her Purdue
teammates saved their best effort of the fall part of the 2014-15 campaign for
last.
The Boilermakers have been slowly rebuilding since finishing
third at the NCAA Tournament in 2013 at
the end of Kan’s sophomore season. But a young team took a giant step forward
against one of the top fields of the fall in the Landfall Tradition, which
concluded Sunday at the Country Club of Landfall’s Pete Dye Course in
Wilmington, N.C.
And Kan, who won the PIAA Tournament as a senior at
Chichester four years ago, kick-started the Boilers with one of the best rounds
of her collegiate career, a 4-under 68 in Friday’s opening round that put
Purdue ahead of the pack in the team chase with a 283 total. After a lot of ups
and downs this fall, Purdue flashed the ability it possesses when the team puts
it all together.
Purdue fell back with a second-round 295 Saturday and a
final-round 298 Sunday for an 876 total. Still, the Boilers finished in a tie
for seventh with reigning national champion Duke and ahead of five of the
top-25 ranked teams in Division I.
Wake Forest, an ACC rival of Duke’s, took the team title
with an 865 total. The Demon Deacons got a solid showing from freshman Erica
Herr, the two-time PIAA champion from Council Rock North, who finished tied for
11th at even-par 216 after firing a final round of 2-under 70.
Powerhouse Alabama finished second at 868, South Carolina
and Notre Dame shared third place at 871, Virginia was fifth at 872 and
Oklahoma State was sixth at 873. Purdue and Duke were another three shots back
in a tie for seventh.
Kan, too, cooled off a little following her fast start. She
had rounds of 74 and 78 over the weekend to finish in a tie for 24th
at 4-over 220. Marta Martin, a freshman
for Spain, had a breakout performance with rounds of 71, 74 and 73 and was the
low Boilermaker at 2-over 218 and tied for 16th in the individual
standings.
Sophomore August Kim, the Floridian who might be Purdue’s
most talented player, sandwiched a 71 and a 72 around a 77 in the middle round
to match Kan’s 220 total.
Johanna Tillstrom, Purdue’s senior Swede, had rounds of 75,
71 and 75 to finish a shot back of Kim and Kan at 5-over 221 in a tie for 32nd.
Anna Appert Lund, Purdue’s junior Swede, opened with a
1-over 73, a big factor, along with Kan’s 68, in that stunning start for the
Boilermakers. Appert Lund fell back with rounds of 76 and 79 to finish in a tie
for 69th at 228.
Central Florida’s Ashley Holder claimed the individual title
with a 7-under 209 total.
It was a great way for Purdue to finish the fall campaign,
giving the Boilers some positive vibes between now and the start of the spring
campaign. Purdue opens the spring by hosting the Lady Puerto Rico Classic at
Rio Mar Country Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico Feb. 15 to 17.
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