BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - While birdies were hard to find for all the players at the Shoal Creek NCAA Women's Golf Regional this week, Purdue junior August Kim came up with one at the perfect time Saturday afternoon. Kim dropped in a birdie on her 18th and final hole, making a three on the par-four ninth hole to finish two-over, 74, for the day and nine-over, 225, tying for ninth place and earning the third and final individual qualifying spot for the NCAA Championships.
The Boilermakers played their best day of golf on the third and final day of competition, shooting 16-over, 304, and finishing 11th in the team standings at 72-over, 936. Sophomores Linn Andersson and Marta Martin had solid final days as Andersson made three birdies to shoot two-over, 74, and Marta sank three birdies on her way to four-over, 76. Freshman Cova SanJuan accounted for the final team score of the day, shooting eight-over, 80, to close up the fifth-best team score of the final day.
Northwestern took home the team title at the regional, posting an 18-shot edge over second-place Florida State and finishing 23-over, 887. Oklahoma State, Alabama, Tennessee and Michigan grabbed the final four team qualifying spots, with Michigan earning the final spot at 52-over, 916. California's Marianne Li and Clemson's Lauren Stephenson earned the other two individual qualifying spots, finishing four-over and seven-over, respectively. Li, Northwestern's Janet Mao and Florida State's Matilda Castren shared medalist honors for the regional, shooting four-over, 220.
The NCAA Championships are set for May 20-25 at Eugene Country Club, hosted by the University of Oregon. Stroke play will be contested over the first four days of the championships.