Athens, Ga. - The Purdue women's golf team endured difficult conditions during a tough first round at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, hosted by the University of Georgia on Friday. One of 11 teams ranked in the top-50 in the tournament, the Boilermakers finished the round in ninth place, with a round of 30-over, 318. Freshman Marta Martin had the low score for Purdue with a two-over, 74, good for sixth overall.
The Madrid native fired a one-under front nine, gave back four shots back through the next eight holes, but finished up with a birdie on the final hole of the round. Senior Aurora Kan carded the second-best score for the Boilermakers, finishing seven-over, 79, while sophomore August Kim and reigning Big Ten Golfer of the Week, Anna Appert Lund, also scored for Purdue with a nine-over, 81, and 12-over, 84, respectively. Just missing the scoring cut, senior Johanna Tillström ended her round with a birdie to finish with a 14-over, 86.
Fourth-ranked UCLA finished stroke play in the lead with a 13-over, 301, seven shots ahead of second place and fifth-ranked South Carolina. Regina Plasencia of Arkansas carded a one-under 71 to top the field on the first day.
With its ninth-place finish, Purdue moves into the Black bracket for the match play portion of the event. The Boilermakers will face No. 22 Auburn in the opening round at 9:00 a.m., before teeing off at 2:20 p.m. against No. 21 Alabama in round two. The Boilermakers finish the tournament Sunday at 8:40 a.m. against 14th-ranked Stanford. To view live scoring of the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, visit BirdieFire.com.