Kim, Kan lead Purdue to second in Dallas

   Aurora Kan, the 2010 PIAA champion as a senior at Chichester, and the Purdue Boilermakers put together an outstanding two days at the Dallas Athletic Club/Southern Methodist University Invitational that concluded Saturday.

   Kan, a senior, had probably the best day of her career at Purdue Friday as she surged to the top of the leaderboard with nine birdies while shooting rounds of 1-under 71 and 2-under 70 for a 3-under 141 total over the par-72 Dallas Athletic Club layout.

   Perhaps inspired by Kan’s first-day heroics, August Kim, a sophomore from Florida, who only trailed her teammate by three shots after two rounds, fired a final-round 71 Saturday for a 1-under 215 total and then won the individual title by defeating Kansas’ Yupaporn Kawinpakorn on the second hole of a playoff.

   Kan fell back a little in the final round with a 4-over 76, but still finished fourth overall in an outstanding field with a 1-over 217 total.

   More importantly, the Boilermakers, who entered the event ranked 42^nd by Golfweek and 36^th by Golfstat, finished second in the team chase behind frontrunning Oklahoma St. Purdue had rounds of 290 and 291 sandwiched around a second-round 302 for an 883 total. Oklahoma State had rounds of 293, 286 and 296 for an 875 total.

   The rest of Purdue’s first five wasn’t bad either. Marta Martin Garcia, a freshman from Spain, sandwiched a pair of 73s around a second-round 80 for a 226 total that left her in a tie for 23^rd. Rounding out the lineup were two of the Boilermakers’ three Swedes with junior Anna Appert Lund (75-80-73) finishing in a tie for 33^rd at 228 and senior Johanna Tillstrom (79-79-74) finishing in a tie for 42^nd at 232.

   Purdue appears to be right on schedule for a strong postseason as the Boilermakers head for the Big Ten Tournament April 24 in Indianapolis.

   One of Kan’s scholastic rivals – indeed one of the two players she beat in a playoff for that 2010 PIAA title – former West Chester East standout Gabby DiMarco teed it up for Kansas. DiMarco, like Kan a senior, had rounds of 75, 81 and 88 to finish 72^nd at 245. The Jayhawks (304-298-311), led by individual runnerup Kawinpakorn, finished eighth at 913.