May 21, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Host Purdue is in seventh place after the first 36 holes of the 2003 NCAA Championships at the Pete Dye-designed Kampen Golf Course. The 20th-ranked Boilermakers shot a 309 on Wednesday, a seven-stroke improvement from their opening-round 316.
No. 3 Southern California is in the lead (608), followed by No. 2 Oklahoma State (611) and No. 4 Pepperdine (613). Just ahead of Purdue are No. 10 Florida and No. 8 Auburn (620).
Senior Kari Damron led the Boilermakers for the second straight day. Damron shot a four-over-par 76, bringing her two-round score to 150 (+6). She is now tied for fifth place, three strokes behind the leader, Oklahoma State sophomore Annie Thurman.
A total of 24 teams and 126 players are in the field.
After shooting a 41 on the front nine, including six bogeys, Damron was happy that she was able to turn things around with birdies on 12, 13 and 17 for a 35 on the back.
"I really didn't do too well, but I hung in there," Damron said. "I made a good comeback on the back nine."
Senior Heather Zielinski made an impressive comeback after shooting an 81 in the first round on Tuesday. Zielinski matched Damron with a second-round 76, and now is tied for 39th (157).
"I did a lot better than yesterday," Zielinski said. "I'm still not exactly where I want to be. I missed a few putts that I would have liked to make."
Freshman Onnarin Sattayabanphot improved by four strokes from the first to second rounds, going from an 81 to a 77. She now is tied for 49th (158).
Rounding out the Purdue roster was senior Heather Suhr, who shot an 80, and junior Beth Hermes, who finished with an 81. Hermes, who now is tied for 108th (167), improved by five strokes. Suhr is now tied for 69th (160).
Purdue head coach Devon Brouse sees room for even more improvement.
"I can't say that I'm happy with the way we've played," Brouse said. "We haven't taken ourselves out of it by any means, but we're going to have to come out and play better the next two rounds than we played the first two. That's what we're going to try to do."
The poor weather from Tuesday disappeared on Wednesday, as sunny skies covered the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex. The temperature, however, remained in the low 60s, as winds persisted.
The NCAA Championships will continue Thursday, with the third of four rounds.
Complete results and tee times can be found at www.purduesports.com or www.golfstat.com.
Purdue Scoring Day One Day Two TotalT5 Kari Damron 74 76 150 (+6)T39 Heather Zielinski 81 76 157 (+13)T49 Onnarin Sattayabanphot 81 77 158 (+14)T69 Heather Suhr 80 80 160 (+16)T108 Beth Hermes 86 81 167 (+23)7 TEAM 316 (+28) 309 (+21) 625 (+49)
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