Purdue trying to weather the storm at NCAA Tournament

   I was a little misled by the original schedule I saw for the NCAA Women’s Tournament, thinking it didn’t get under way until Sunday, but it actually started, and then was stopped by Mother Nature, Friday.

   I have a couple of days off this weekend, but I’ll be back Memorial Day night to wrap up wherever the tournament, which is being played at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla., is at that point. But considering the spike this blog seems to get whenever the subject is this Purdue women’s golf team, I felt I should at least update Friday’s partial results.

   With senior Aurora Kan, the 2010 PIAA champion as a senior at Chichester, and Marta Martin, the freshman from Spain, leading the way, the Boilermakers were among three teams tied for 10^th. The best score among teams that completed the opening round was Duke, the team that won the South Bend Regional that Purdue played at a couple of weeks ago. The defending champion Blue Devils posted a 5-over 293 total. In relation to par, Duke trailed only Stanford, which sits at 3-over, but still has some golf to play.

   Purdue is at 14-over, tied with two other teams that still have some golf to play, Campbell and North Carolina State. The Boilermakers are only two shots back of Arizona, which finished its round at 12-over 300, and sits in fifth place, so their fortunes could swing wildly even with only a few holes to play.

   Kan is at 2-over with three holes to play after carding two birdies in her round. Martin is also at 2-over with two holes to play and she has two birdies and an eagle on her card.

   Coach Devon Brouse undoubtedly had a tough call to make between two of his Swedes, senior Johanna Tillstrom and freshman Linn Andersson, to fill out his five for the NCAA Tournament. He chose Andersson, who was the only Boiler to finish her round Friday and she posted a solid 3-over 75.

The third Swede on the roster, junior Anna Appert Lund has one hole to play and stands at 7-over. Sophomore August Kim, the St. Augustine native playing in her home state, is 8-over with three holes to play.

   Purdue’s sole focus is being among the top 15 teams whenever the third round of team play, originally scheduled to be Sunday, is completed. Those top 15 teams will then compete in a fourth round with the top eight survivors then playing match play. Get into match play in a team event like this, and anything can happen. A-n-y-t-h-i-n-g.