FORMER BOILERMAKER HAS BEST FINISH
August Kim - who was the 2016 Big Ten individual champion during her junior year at Purdue - forced Erynne Lee into a playoff with outstanding play on Sunday.“I did my best, I got the ball as close to the pin as I could and dropped a lot of putts,” said Kim. “Three playoff holes, I think that is the first time I’ve done that. Congrats to Erynne, she played awesome.”
Kim made 13 birdies and just one bogey over her final two rounds at the Donald Ross Course. She posted a 66 on Saturday.
“I needed this week,” said Kim, who missed the cut in two straight events. “I’ve worked a lot on the right things and it definitely showed in my putting.”
Kim was proud to perform well in the state of Indiana. Her first start on Tour came in South Bend and she finished T15 at the Four Winds Invitational.
“We’ve had a lot of success on this exact course,” said Kim about the past Purdue teams and players that have won on the Donald Ross Course like Laura Gonzalez Escallon. “To show up and play the best I have here means a lot to me.”
JAN STEPHENSON WINS HONORS DIVISION BY FOUR SHOTS
Jan Stephenson won her third consecutive Honors Division Championship as part of the Senior LPGA Championship. She posted a 3-over, 75 to best Jane Blalock (7-over) and Sandra Palmer (8-over).“There is something really special about winning,” said Stephenson, who won 16 times on the LPGA Tour. “I told Erynne to really savor each win because when you’re young you worry about the next tournament. I think it’s important to really savor each one. Nowadays I absolutely love to win. I work really hard just for the trophy.”
Stephenson pockets the first-place check of $4,000.
“This definitely helps because this is a tough course,” said Stephenson about getting ready for the Senior LPGA Championship. “I think I can be really aggressive over at the Pete Dye Course because I am more comfortable with the greens over there.”
Stephenson organized dinner with some of the Australian players on the Epson Tour for Sunday night before round one on the Pete Dye Course.
“It’s a really big deal,” said Stephenson of the Senior LPGA Championship. “I wish it were 15 years ago and I felt like I could contend, but I am playing well and it was inspiring to see the Epson Tour players this week. I hung out and watched them play yesterday. It makes me realize that the LPGA is in a great spot. These girls can really, really play.”
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