Purdue sitting sixth at MountainView behind Kim

   The Purdue women’s golf team, building off the momentum it gained with a fifth-place finish earlier in the week at the Wildcat Invitational, sits in sixth place following a grueling double round Friday at the MountainView Collegiate.

   The Boilermakers, No. 45 in the latest Golfweek rankings, were right back in Tucson, Ariz., where they had shaken off some early spring doldrums at the Wildcat, for the MountainView, which is hosted by 25^th-ranked Missouri at the 6,227-yard, par-72 MountainView Golf Club.

   Starting to cement her status as Purdue’s best player, August Kim, a junior from St. Augustine, Fla., led the way Friday with rounds of 69 and 74 for a 36-hole total of 1-under 143 that left her in a tie for sixth in the individual chase. Kim finished tied for 10^th individually in the Wildcat, which concluded Tuesday.

   Kim’s 3-under start helped the Boilermakers open the MountainView with an even-par 288. They backed off with a second-round 300 for a 12-over 588 total that left them tied for sixth with New Mexico State (295-291).

   Georgia is the highest-ranked team in the field, a lofty No. 5, and the Bulldogs played like it, led by a brilliant performance by Jillian Hollis, a freshman from Rocky River, Ohio. All Hollis did Friday was blitz the MountainView layout with rounds of 66 and 67 for an 11-under total of 133 that gave her a commanding nine-shot lead in the individual chase.

   Teammate Bailey Tardy, a freshman from Peachtree Corners, Ga., is one of the four players tied for second at 2-under 142 after rounds of 70 and 72. Tardy was recently named to the U.S. team for the Curtis Cup Match against Great Britain & Ireland to be played in Ireland in June.

   The freshmen phenoms enabled Georgia to post rounds of 282 and 288 for a 6-under 570 total that gave the Bulldogs an eight-shot lead on 16^th-ranked Iowa State (290-288), which is at 2-over 578.

Host Missouri (290-291) is third at 5-over 581, the University of Texas at San Antonio (287-295) is fourth at 6-over 582 and New Mexico State (295-291) rounds out the top five at 10-over 586, two shots ahead of Purdue.

   The group tied for second with Georgia’s Tardy at 2-under 142 includes Iowa State’s Chayanit Wangmahaporn (70-72), a freshman from Thailand, Colorado State’s Katrina Prendergast (67-75), a freshman from Sparks, Nev., and UTSA’s Nikki Long (71-71), a sophomore from San Antonio, Texas.

   Joining Purdue’s Kim in the group tied for sixth at 1-under 143 are Kansas State’s Madison Talley (72-71), a junior from Clarksville, Ark., and Texas State’s Lora Assad (73-70), a senior from South Africa.

   Purdue’s Covadonga SanJuan, a rapidly improving freshman from Spain, cracked the top 10 with rounds of 70 and 75 that left her in a tie for 10^th at 1-over 145. Anna Appert Lund (72-75), the Boilermakers’ senior leader from Sweden, is tied for 24^th at 3-over 147, Linn Andersson (77-76), a sophomore from Sweden, is tied for 56^th at 9-over 153 and Marta Martin (80-78), a sophomore from Spain, had an off day and stands in a tie for 74^th at 14-over 158.

   Ida Ayu Indira Melati Putri, a freshman from Bali who is competing as an individual, was also in that group tied for 74^th after rounds of 81 and 77.