Purdue women, Illinois men in front at Big 10 tourneys

   Devon Brouse does seem to have a way of having his Purdue women’s team ready to play its best golf when the postseason arrives.

   With August Kim, a junior from St. Augustine, Fla. leading a veteran group, Purdue, No. 35 in the latest Golfstat rankings, grabbed the lead with a 5-under 283 Friday in the opening round of the Big 10 Championship at The Fort Golf Resort in Indianpolis.

   Kim fired a four-birdie, one-bogey 3-under 69 over the 6,221-yard, par-72 Fort layout to join a large group tied for third in the individual standings and help the Boilermakers take a one-shot lead over Northwestern, the highest ranked team in the Big 10, a very deserving No. 7 in Division I.

   A year ago senior Aurora Kan, the 2010 PIAA champion at Chichester, was the leader of a Purdue team that came up just short of making the final eight teams that competed in match play at the NCAA Tournament.

   Those four, Kim, senior Anna Appert Lund, sophomore Marta Martin and sophomore Linn Andersson are back with a talented freshman, Covadonga SanJuan, rounding out this year’s five. Appert Lund and Andersson are from Sweden and Martin and SanJuan are from Spain.

   Appert Lund seems to have slipped into the senior leadership role quite nicely as she backed up Kim’s 69 with a  2-under 70 that has her tied for 10^th. Martin also bettered par with a 1-under 71 and is tied for 17^th. SanJuan seemed unfazed by the big stage, carding a 2-over 73 that has her tied for 29^th. Andersson is tied for 45^th following a 3-over 75.

   Purdue arrived at The Fort looking to add to its total of six Big 10 titles, although the Boilermakers haven’t won one since 2013.

   That is partially due to the emergence of Northwestern, which is aiming for its third Big 10 title in four years this weekend. With Stephanie Lau, a freshman from Fullerton, Calif., leading the way with a 3-under 69, the Wildcats are right on Purdue’s heels following their 4-under 284.

   Illinois and Michigan are another shot back in a tie for third at 3-under 285, Indiana is in fifth place at 2-under 286, Rutgers is sixth at 1-under 287, and Penn State, with its trio of home-grown freshmen coming up big, matched par at 288 and sits in seventh place.

   Wisconsin’s Brooke Ferrell, a junior from Edgerton, Wis., grabbed the lead in the individual standings with a sparkling 7-under 65. Rutgers’ Emily Mills, a sophomore from Colts Neck, N.J., is two shots back of Ferrell in second at 5-under 67.

   The Penn State contingent was led by Ariana Coyle Diez, a sophomore from Ireland who joined that large group at 3-under with a 69.

   In addition to Purdue’s Kim, Northwestern’s Lau and Penn State’s Coyle Diez, the rest of the logjam at 3-under included: Ohio State’s Katja Pogcar, a junior from Slovenia; Indiana’s Camille Chevalier, a senior from France; Michigan’s Megan Kim, a sophomore from Redondo Beach, Calif.; and Illinois’ Grace Park, a sophomore from San Jose, Calif.

   Backing up Coyle Diez for the Nittany Lions were freshmen Lauren Waller, the runnerup at the 2014 PIAA Class AAA Tournament at Canon-McMillan, Cara Basso, the 2012 PIAA Class AA champion at Villa Maria, and Jackie Rogowicz, a two-time PIAA runnerup at Pennsbury. Waller had a 2-under 70 and is tied for 10^th, Basso had a 2-over 74 and is tied for 35^th and Rogowicz was another shot back at 3-over 75 and in a tie for 45^th.

   Rounding out the Penn State contingent is Halley Morell, a senior from Brecksville, Ohio who had a 77 and is tied for 61^st.

   Elsewhere in the Hoosier State, the Big 10 Championship for the men teed off at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Ind. and powerful Illinois, ranked No. 3 by Golfstat, took command right from the start with a 9-under 279.

   Mike Small’s Fighting Illini were led by their senior standout Charlie Danielson of Osceola, Wis., who is tied at the top of the individual leaderboard with a 4-under 68 over the 7,083-yard, par-72 Victoria National layout.

   Teammate Edoardo Lipparelli, a freshman from Italy, is in a group of three players tied for third at 3-under 69.

   Maryland posted a 6-under 282 and sits solidly in the second place. The Terrapins also have a player at the top of the individual standings as Joe Brooks, a sophomore from England, matched Danielson’s 4-under 68.

   Iowa is in third place following a 3-under 285 and Purdue, ranked 32^nd, and Michigan State, ranked 42^nd, are tied for fourth at 3-over 291.

   Joining Lipparelli in the tie for third at 3-under 69 are Purdue’s Fernando Barco, a junior from Peru, and Michigan’s Kyle Mueller, a sophomore from Athens, Ga.

   It was a little bit of a slow start for Penn State, ranked 31^st. The Nittany Lions are in eighth place, despite a strong showing by senior JD Dornes, the former Manheim Township standout who carded a 2-under 70 and is tied for sixth.

   Penn State’s outstanding freshman, Charles Huntzinger, of Duluth, Ga., matched par with a 72 and is tied for 15^th. Rounding out the Penn State contingent, Cole Miller, a sophomore who starred at Northwestern Lehigh, is tied for 37^th following a 3-over 75, Geoff Hartelas, a senior from Cromwell, Conn. is tied for 50^th with a 5-over 77, and Chris Houston, a senior from Gilford, N.H., was another shot back in a tie for 55^th with a 78.