Purdue Goes Low to Take 16-Shot Lead into Final Round

NEW ORLEANS – The second round of a 54-hole event is usually known as “Moving Day,” but Purdue Women’s Golf remained in the same spot it started Monday. Holding a seven-shot lead, the Boilermakers went low at English Turn Golf & Country Club with a second-round 285 (-3) to increase its cushion to 16 strokes heading into the final round of the Tulane Classic.
 
Not only did Purdue produce the only under-par team round of the day, but the Boilermakers shaved 14 shots off their opening round. Danielle du Toit led the way with a 3-under 69, her third round in the 60s this season, to vault into third on the individual leaderboard. Momo Sugiyama bounced back to her normal strong play, firing a 70 (-2) to sneak into the top five, while Ashley Kozlowski’s even-par 72 kept her at 1-under for the tournament and only two strokes back of Chattanooga’s Kera Healey. Kan Bunnabodee added a 74 (+2) to contribute to the team score.
 
Du Toit drained an 8-footer on the par-5 sixth for her first birdie of the day, sparking her round. She made the turn at level par, and despite bogeying the 10th hole, the senior caught fire on the back nine. Du Toit birdied four of her final seven holes, including both par 3s on the side to shoot the Boilermakers’ low round of the day.
 
Sugiyama recorded three birdies on the front nine before making the turn at 2-under. She could not find a birdie on the back, but she did not make a bogey either. With 10 straight pars to end her round, Sugiyama posted a 70 for a seven-stroke improvement from her opening 18.
 
After being the only golfer in the field to sneak into red figures on Sunday, Kozlowski racked up four birdies over a five-hole stretch on the front, moving to 4-under for the tournament and growing her individual lead. While she ran into a little trouble over three holes on the back, she birdied No. 15 to get herself back to even par for the day. The 72 allowed her to remain 1-under through 36 holes and within striking distance for medalist honors heading into the final round.
 
Bunnabodee began her day with a birdie before adding another at No. 3. Her third birdie of the round came on the par-5 11th, and the…