Purdue's Kim is Big 10 women's champ; Illinois men roll

   August Kim arrived at Purdue from St. Augustine, Fla. in the fall of 2013 full of promise. There have been ups and downs.

   Then came a crowning moment Sunday at the Big Ten Championship at The Fort Golf Resort in Indianapolis. The junior birdied the final hole to complete a 5-under 67 over the 6,221-yard, par-72 Fort layout and become the eighth player in Purdue history to claim the Big Ten individual title.

   Kim’s career-best round, which featured four birdies on the front nine, gave her a 9-under 207 total that was one shot better than Ohio State’s Katja Pogacar, a junior from Slovenia who matched Kim’s 5-under 67 to finish at 8-under 208.

   Pogacar did get a nice consolation prize as she helped the Buckeyes, No. 36 in the latest Golfstat rankings, catch No. 7 Northwestern for a share of the Big Ten team title, the second straight year the two teams have shared the Big Ten title. It was a third straight title for Ohio State and it was Northwestern’s third title in four years.

   Pogacar and the Buckeyes had the day’s best round, an 8-under 280, while Northwestern fired a 6-under 282 as the teams ended up at 12-under 852. Northwestern was led by Stephanie Lau, a freshman from Fullerton, Calif. who matched par with a final-round 72 to finish in a tie for fourth at 5-under 211.

   Kim’s championship performance helped Purdue, ranked 35^th, post a 3-under 285 and finish alone in third place at 5-under 859.

   Illinois, with a final round of 4-under 284, and Wisconsin, which had a final round of 5-under 283, shared fourth place at 2-under 862.

   Purdue had two other top-20 finishers in Marta Martin, a sophomore from Spain, and Anna Appert Lund, its senior leader from Sweden, both of whom finished tied for 17^th at even-par 216. Martin had a final-round 72 while Appert Lund carded a 2-over 74.

   Purdue was actually able to throw out Appert Lund’s 74 for its team score because a couple of freshmen, Covadonga SanJuan of Spain and Ida Ayu Indira Melati Putri of Bali,  both posted 73s. SanJuan’s 1-over round enabled her to finish tied for 47^th at 8-over 224 and Melati Putri finished tied for 54^th at 10-over 226. Melati Putri was joined at that figure by the last member of the Purdue contingent, Linn Andersson, a sophomore from Sweden who had a final-round 76.

   Wisconsin’s Brooke Ferrell, a junior from Edgerton, Wis., matched par with a 72 to finish alone in third place in the individual chase at 7-under 209. Ferrell had held the individual lead after each of the first two rounds.

   Joining Northwestern’s Lau in a tie for fourth at 5-under 211 were Illnois’ Bing Singhsumalee, a freshman from Naperville, Ill., and Iowa’s Amy Ihm, a senior from Peosta, Iowa. Both finished strong with 4-under 68s.

   Backing up Pogacar for Ohio State was Jessica Porvasnik, a junior from Hinckley, Ohio who carded a 1-nder 71 Sunday to finish tied for seventh 4-under 212. She was joined at that figure by Michigan State’s Sarah Burnham, a sophomore from Maple Grove, Minn. Who had a final-round 73.

Penn State settled for eighth in the team standings, adding a 6-over 294 to a pair of even-par 288s in Rounds 1 and 2 for a 6-over 870 total.

   The Nittany Lions got an outstanding performance from freshman Lauren Waller, the Canon-McMillan product who was the PIAA Class AAA runnerup in 2014. Waller had a final round of 1-over 73 to finish in a tie for ninth at 3-under 213.

   Fellow freshman Jackie Rogowicz, a two-time PIAA runnerup at Pennsbury, also had a final-round 73 to finish tied for 30^th at 4-over 220. Ariana Coyle Diez, a sophomore from Ireland, cooled off after two outstanding rounds with an 80, but finished tied for 39^th at 6-over 222.

   Freshman Cara Basso, the PIAA Class AA champion in 2012 at Villa Maria, had a final-round 74 to finish tied for 44^th at 223. Halley Morell, a senior from Brecksville, Ohio, had a final-round 74 to finish tied for 63^rd at 227 and Grace Chung, a senior from Canada, had a final-round 78 to finish tied for 65^th.

   The 72 teams that will move on to the NCAA regionals will be revealed at 6 p.m. Monday on The Golf Channel.

   Meanwhile, at the men’s Big Ten Championship at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Ind., Illinois showed why it’s ranked No. 3 in Division I by Golfstat.

   The Fighting Illini’s two senior standouts, Thomas Detry of Belgium and Charlie Danielson of Osceola, Wis. went 64 and 65, respectively, over the 7,083-yard, par-72 Victoria National layout to lead Illinois to a phenomenal 24-under 264 in the final round and a 13-shot victory over Iowa in the team standings.

   Illinois had fallen seven shots behind Iowa with a listless 295 in Saturday’s middle round, but apparently Detry and Danielson had no intention of finishing up their collegiate careers without a Big Ten title to celebrate. It was the seventh Big Ten title in eight years for Mike Small’s program.

   The 264 in the final round was an 18-hole Illinois record by four shots and gave it a 26-under 878 total. Give Iowa credit, the Hawkeyes posted a 3-under 285 in the final round to finish at 13-under 851. They were the only other team to finish under par, even if they were no match for the powerful Illini.

   Maryland finished third with a final-round 293 giving it at 2-over 866 total. Michigan, which matched par in the final round with a 288 total, and Michigan State, which also had even-par 288 in the final round, finished tied for fourth at 3-over 867.

   Detry’s spectacular 8-under 64 set the Victoria National course record and gave him a one-shot edge over Danielson in the battle for the individual Big Ten crown. Detry ended up at 10-under 206, one shot ahead of his teammate, whose final-round 65 left him at 9-under 207.

   Michigan’s Kyle Mueller, a sophomore from Athens, Ga., had a final-round 67 to finish third in the individual chase at 7-under 209. Iowa’s Carson Schaake, a junior from Omaha, Neb., finished fourth with a final-round 73 and a 6-under 210 total and teammate Raymond Knoll, a junior from Naperville, Ill., finished fifth at 4-under 212 after a sparkling 67 in the final round.

   Penn State, ranked 31^st, had a final-round 296 to finish ninth at 29-over 883.

   Senior JD Dornes, a Manheim Township product, entered the final round in second place in the individual standings, but fell back with a final-round 78. He still managed a top-20 finish, ending up tied for 20^th at 2-over 218.

   Charles Huntzinger, a freshman from Duluth, Ga., had a final-round 76 to finish tied for 28^th, sophomore Cole Miller, a Northwestern Lehigh product, finished strong with a 73 to finish tied for 32^nd at 222, Geoff Vartelas, a senior from Cromwell, Conn., also had a closing 73 to finish tied for 43^rd at 227 and Chris Houston, a senior from Gilford, N.H., had a final-round 74 to finish tied for 47^th at 228.

   The NCAA men’s regional qualifiers won’t be revealed until May 5.