Led by Fassi, Arkansas surges in front at Lady Puerto Rico Classic

   Arkansas came into the Lady Puerto Rico Classic ranked No. 8 by GolfWeek, but the powerhouse Razorback program was missing its big gun when Gabriel Lopez of Mexico qualified for the LPGA Tour in December and moved on to the next level.

   So how do you replace the runnerup in the NCAA Tournament’s individual chase last spring? Easy, just tap your Mexican Connection for the next big thing from south of the border. Hello, Maria Fassi, who graduated from high school in December and headed for Fayetteville.

   Monday, Fassi fired a 5-under 67 over the Greg Norman-designed River Course at Rio Mar Country Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico to get a share of the top spot in the individual standings with first-round co-leader Gabby Barker of Texas Tech at 5-under 139 after two rounds of the Lady Puerto Rico Classic. You think some girls in Mexico growing up when Lorena Ochoa was ruling the LPGA Tour might have been inspired to try to follow in her footsteps? Me too.

   More importantly, Fassi, who matched par with a 72 in Sunday’s opening round, sparked a surge to the top of the team standings for the Razorbacks, who broke the tournament’s team single-round record with a 7-under 281. Combined with an opening-round 289, it gave Arkansas a 6-under 570 total. Arkansas had the old record of 5-under 283.

   Alana Uriell, a sophomore from Carlsbad, Calif., backed up Fassi’s 67 with a 2-under 70 for the Razorbacks that, combined with an opening-round 71, left her alone in fourth place at 3-under 141.

Left in the dust by the Arkansas surge were first-round co-leaders, No. 4 Georgia and No. 26 Texas Tech.

   Georgia’s Bailey Tardy, a freshman from Peachtree Corners, Ga. added an even-par 72 to her opening-round 68 to stand alone in third place at 4-under 140. She led the Bulldogs to a 294 total Monday as they went from six shots ahead of Arkansas to seven shots behind in second place.

   Barker, a sophomore from Caldwell, Idaho, fell back from her opening-round 66 with a 1-over 73, but still has a share of the individual lead with Fassi at 5-under 139. She helped the Red Raiders post a team total of 300 as they slipped to third place at 583, six shots back of Georgia and 13 behind front-running Arkansas.

   Iowa St., led by a 2-under 70 by Parinda Phokan, a freshman from Thailand, is another two shots behind Texas Tech in fourth place at 585 with rounds of 294 and 291. Northwestern, led by a 1-under 71 by Kacie Komoto, a junior from Honolulu, Hawaii, is another three shots back in fifth place at 588 with rounds of 290 and 298. Iowa St. is ranked No. 17 and Big Ten power Northwestern is No. 5 in GolfWeek.

   Rounding out the top five in the individual standings is Kent State’s Wad Phaewchimplee, a junior from Thailand who is at 1-under 143 after rounds of 71 and 72.

   Phokan and Komoto were joined in a tie for sixth at even-par 144 by Georgia’s Harang Lee (69-75), a junior from Spain, and Manuela Carbajo Re (70-74), a senior from Argentina, and TCU’s Kelly McGovern (75-69), a junior from The Woodlands, Texas.

   Host Purdue, ranked No. 20 by GolfWeek, couldn’t gain any ground with a second-round 304, that, combined with an opening-round 302, left the Boilermakers in a tie for 11^th at 606. August Kim, a junior from St. Augustine, Fla., carded a second straight 2-over 74 to lead the way for Purdue. Kim is in a tie for 19^th at 4-over 148.

   Purdue’s two Swedes, senior Anna Appert Lund (78-74) and sophomore Linn Andersson (74-78), are at 8-over 152.