Purdue trails by one at 3M Augusta Invitational

   Purdue and Tennessee, the two highest-rated teams in the field, share second place, a shot behind upstart Daytona State College, a junior college power, following Friday’s opening round of the 3M Augusta Invitational at Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.

   The Falcons fired a 1-under 287 over the 6,248-yard, par-72 Forest Hills layout to grab the lead in the team standings. Purdue, No. 23 in the latest Golfstat rankings, and No. 33 Tennessee each matched par at 288 to share second place.

   No. 73 Memphis is in fourth place at 4-over 292 and No. 91 Kennesaw State is another five shots back in fifth in the 14-team field at 9-over 297.

   Daytona State College’s rise to the top of the leaderboard was fueled by Jiwon Jeon, a freshman from South Korea who grabbed a five-shot lead in the individual chase with a brilliant 7-under-par 65.

   Also for the Falcons, Grace St-Germain, a freshman from Canada, is tied for 13^th with a 1-over 73, Kendall Johnson, a freshman from Plant City, Fla., is tied for 19^th with a 2-over 74, Seoyon Kwon, a sophomore from South Korea, is tied for 28^th as their final counter with a 3-over 75 and Claire Becker, a sophomore from Lutz, Fla., is tied for 65^th with an 81.

   Purdue, coming off a solid showing at the Gifford Great 8 Collegiate Match Play Championship earlier this week in Los Angeles, was led by Micaela Farah, a freshman from Peru who shares second place with Memphis’ Michaela Fletcher, a redshirt sophomore from South Africa, at 2-under 70.

Also for the Boilermakers, August Kim, a senior from St. Augustine, Fla. coming off a 3-0 run at the Gifford Great 8, is one of six players tied for fourth at 1-under 71.

   Rounding out the Purdue lineup, Marta Martin, a junior from Spain, is tied for 13^th at 1-over 73 and Covadonga SanJuan, a sophomore from Spain, and Linn Andersson, a junior from Sweden, are tied for 19^th at 2-over 74. The Boilermakers’ Ida Ayu Indira Melati Putri, a sophomore from Bali, teed it up as an individual and is tied for 51^st after carding a 78.

   Joining Kim in the logjam at 1-under 71 are host Augusta’s Jessica Haigwood, a senior from Roswell, Ga., Coastal Carolina’s Malene Krolboll Hansen, a junior from Denmark, Memphis’ Madison Thomas, a sophomore from Shelbyville, Ky., Tennessee’s Hannah Pietila, a senior from Brighton, Mich., and Virginia Tech’s Anne Taylor Hough, a sophomore from Spartanburg, S.C. who is competing as an individual.