INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Purdue junior August Kim played her best collegiate round at the perfect time, shooting five-under, 67, to win the individual title at the 2016 Big Ten Women's Golf Championships at The Fort Golf Resort on Sunday. Kim finished nine-under, 207, for the tournament, leading the Boilermakers to a third-place team showing at five-under, 859.
In addition to marking her career-best scores for 18 and 54 holes, Kim matched the second-best 54 score in program history, tying Paula Reto's score from the 2012 Insperity Lady Jaguar Intercollegiate. It's the best individual Big Ten Championship performance all-time at Purdue, smashing Reto's four-under, 212, at the 2013 conference tournament. Kim is the eighth player in Purdue women's golf history to win the individual conference title and the first since Reto in 2013. Kim also became the third player in program history to make the Big Ten All-Championships Team, following Laura Gonzalez-Escallon in 2011 and 2012 and Numa Gulyanamitta in 2011.
Kim played bogey-free Sunday afternoon, sinking four of her five birdies on the front nine, and dropping the final birdie on No. 18 to lock up medalist honors. Ohio State's Katja Pogacar, was hot on Kim's heels the whole day, making birdie on No. 14, No. 16 and No. 17 to match the Purdue junior at nine-under with one hole to play, but made bogey on the final hole to leave Kim alone at the top of the leaderboard.
Purdue's remaining three team scores Sunday came from sophomore Marta Martin and freshmen Covadonga SanJuan and Ida Ayu Indira Melati Putri, as the Boilermakers shot three-under, 285, as a team. Martin made four birdies on her way to an even-par, 72, while SanJuan and Putri were both one-over, 73. Despite not needing her final-round, 74, senior Anna Appert Lund matched Martin on the overall tournament scorecards, tying for 17th at even-par, 216.
Northwestern and Ohio State tied for the team title for the second straight season, turning in matching scores of 12-under, 852. The Buckeyes were red hot the final two days, shooting seven-under, 281, yesterday and eight-under, 280, Sunday, while Northwestern shot six-under, 282, Sunday to hang on to the team lead.
The Boilermakers await word of an NCAA Regional bid for the next action. The four regional sites, scheduled for May 5-7, are Stanford Golf Course in California, the Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas, the University Club in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the Shoal Creek Club in Shoal Creek, Alabama.