Northwestern in command at Hurricane Invitational

   Northwestern is the only top-10 team in the 16-team field at the Hurricane Invitational at the Donald Ross-designed Biltmore Golf Course in Coral Gables, Fla. and through the first two rounds the Wildcats are playing like it.

   With Hannah Kim, a sophomore from Chula Vista, Calif, and Kacie Komoto, a junior from Honolulu, Hawaii, sitting 1-2, respectively, in the individual standings, Northwestern, ranked No. 7 by Golfweek, has a commanding 15-shot lead on the field.

   After tying a program record with an opening-round 277 Monday, Northwestern promptly broke that record with a 9-under 275 score Tuesday for a two-day total of 16-under 552. No. 16 Iowa St., with rounds of 281 and 286, is in second place at 1-under 567. That’s a pretty strong effort for the Cyclones and leaves them eight shots ahead of No. 50 Tulane, which has rounds of 290 and 285 and a 7-over 575 total.

   Kim, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, added a 3-under 68 over the 6,080-yard, par-71 Biltmore layout Tuesday to her opening-round 67 Monday for a 7-under 135 total that gave her a three-shot lead over a trio of players, including her teammate Komoto.

   Komoto has a pair of 69s for a 4-under 138 total. She was matched at that figure by Baylor’s Laura Lonardi, a senior from Italy, who fired a sizzling 6-under 65 Tuesday, and Tulane’s Emily Pattila, a senior from Finland, who had a 70 Tuesday after an opening-round 68.

   Iowa State was led by a trio of golfers from Thailand. Freshman Parinda Phokan has rounds of 69 and 70 and is alone in fifth place at 3-under 139. Two of her teammates are part of a four-way tie for sixth at 1-under 141, freshman Chayanit Wangmahaporn (71-70) and sophomore Nattaporn Siritrai (68-73). They were joined at figure by South Florida’s Nicole Autrique (68-73), a junior from Mexico, and Oklahoma’s Hannah Ward (70-71), a sophomore from Centennial, Colo.

   Autrique helped South Florida (285-292) earn a share of fourth place with host Miami (292-295) at 9-over 577.

   A couple of Northwestern’s Big Ten rivals, Purdue and Minnesota, have had a tough time in Coral Gables and are tied for 11^th at 19-over 587. Purdue improved by a shot with a second-round 293 after an opening-round 294 while the Gophers added a second-round 295 to their opening-round 292.

   The Boilermakers, ranked 35^th by Golfweek, are being led by Linn Andersson, a sophomore from Sweden, who had a 2-over 73 Tuesday after matching par with a 71 Monday and is tied for 20^th at 2-over 144. Marta Martin (71-76), a sophomore from Spain, is tied for 35^th at 5-over 147. Purdue’s August Kim, a junior from St. Augustine, Fla., and Anna Appert Lund, a senior from Sweden, both bounced back from opening-round 76s with 1-over 72s Tuesday and are a shot back of Martin in a tie for 40^th at 6-over 148.