WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Before the Super Bowl kicks off on Sunday, Purdue Women's Golf tees off at the Tulane Classic to begin its spring season. The event, the first of six tournaments preparing the Boilermakers for the Big Ten Championship and postseason play, is set for three days of stroke play at English Turn Golf & Country Club (Feb. 12-14).
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Momo Sugiyama – So. (10:32 a.m. ET off No. 1)
Arkansas State
Boston College
Cal Poly
Central Arkansas
Charleston Southern
Chattanooga
Howard
Incarnate Word
Iowa
Memphis
Missouri State
Purdue
Rutgers
South Dakota
Southern Miss
Tulane
UTEP
Wichita State
THE COURSE
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
- Sunday, Feb. 12: Round 1 (Tee Times begin at 10 a.m. ET)
- Monday, Feb. 13: Round 2 (Tee Times begin at 10 a.m. ET)
- Tuesday, Feb. 14: Round 3 (Tee Times begin at 9 a.m. ET)
Momo Sugiyama – So. (10:32 a.m. ET off No. 1)
- Ranked No. 44 in Golfstat's national rankings
- Has led Purdue in all four tournaments as a Boilermaker, including a fourth-place finish (75-74-69—218) at the Windy City Collegiate Classic
- Leads the team in scoring average (71.5), birdies (43) and pars (139)
- Has produced the lowest score seven out of 12 rounds this season, including four rounds in the 60s
- Making her fifth appearance as a Boilermaker but playing in her 16th collegiate tournament
- Transferred to Purdue after earning First Team All-Big West accolades as a freshman at Hawaii
- Set new Hawaii single-season records for stroke average (73.40), rounds of par-or-better (13), birdies (85) and 54-hole score (211)
- Making her 2022-23 season debut after missing the fall due to injury
- Earned First Team All-Big Ten accolades last season, becoming the first Boilermaker to earn first team honors since 2018
- Ranked in the Top 100 of Golfstat's national rankings throughout the 2021-22 season
- Appearing in her 20th tournament as a Boilermaker
- Recorded a 73.69 stroke average a season ago, which included three rounds in the 60s
- 2021-22 Academic All-Big Ten
- Preseason B1G honoree
- Has played in 38 tournaments as a Boilermaker, the most on the team, totaling 104 rounds
- Ranks second on the team in stroke average (72.8)
- Tied for the team's best performance at the Illini Invitational, placing 26th at 3-under (72-67-74—218)
- Her 67 (-5) in the second round of the Illini Invitational matched a career low and was the best round of the season by a Boilermaker; it was also her 100th round at Purdue
- Won a men's tournament over the summer, capturing the IGA Challenge Tour's Road to #5 at Akasia Golf Club in her home country of South Africa
- Celebrated her birthday on Friday (Feb. 10)
- Making her collegiate debut
- Served as team captain for Plano West High School for two years and was named MVP
- Earned first team-all-district accolades and placed second at 6A district championship
- Earned a spot on the 2020-21 North Texas High School Golf Coaches Association (NTHSGCA) Honor Team
- Competed in seven AJGA tournaments, racking up three Top-10 finishes that included one Top-5 performance
- Played in the 2022 USGA Women's 4-Ball in Puerto Rico
- Preseason B1G honoree
- Playing in her 21st tournament as a Boilermaker, including her fourth of the season
- Tied for 24th (75-73-76—224) in the competitive Windy City Collegiate Classic, her 2022-23 debut
- Holds a 74.3 stroke average this season after recording a 75.1 stroke average over 12 tournaments last season
- Led Purdue in birdies (86) and pars (379) throughout the 2021-22 season
- Finished in the Top 10 twice as a sophomore, both sixth-place performances (Illini Invitational, Indiana Invitational)
- 2021-22 Academic All-Big Ten
- Playing in her fourth tournament of the season, which also matches her career appearances as a Boilermaker
- Tied for 26th in her Purdue debut, second best on the team, at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship with a 3-over 216 (73-71-72)
- Finished runner-up at the 2022 Pennsylvania Women's Am
- Tied for 16th at the 2022 Canadian Women's Am
- Redshirted a season ago
Arkansas State
Boston College
Cal Poly
Central Arkansas
Charleston Southern
Chattanooga
Howard
Incarnate Word
Iowa
Memphis
Missouri State
Purdue
Rutgers
South Dakota
Southern Miss
Tulane
UTEP
Wichita State
THE COURSE
- The tournament will take place on the Signature Course at English Turn, a par 72 layout measuring 6,326 yards.
- The Jack Nicklaus design hosted PGA Tour events from its inaugural year in 1988 up until 2004, as well as in 2006 following Hurricane Katrina.
- The par-5 15th is the course's signature hole, which features an island green.
- The 18th hole was consistently ranked in the top five hardest holes on the PGA Tour when English Turn was on the schedule.
- Making her season debut and returning to the lineup is 2022 First Team All-B1G golfer Kan Bunnabodee (nicknamed "Tata").
- Bunnabodee, the first Boilermaker to earn first team honors since 2018, missed the entire fall after getting surgery over the summer.
- The Chonburi, Thailand, native was ranked in Golfstat's Top 100 throughout the 2021-22 season, while dealing with her injury.
- The senior has been a staple in the Purdue lineup throughout her career, as she makes her 20th appearance for the Old Gold & Black.
- Sophomore transfer Momo Sugiyama, the first signee by Zack Byrd, has made an immediate impact since joining the Boilermakers from Hawaii, leading Purdue in all four fall tournaments.
- Recording a 71.5 stroke average throughout the fall, Sugiyama has vaulted up Golfstats's national rankings to sit at No. 44 heading into the spring.
- Sugiyama has made a team-high 43 birdies this season, while leading the Boilermakers in pars (139) as well.
- The Australian has recorded a round in the 60s in each of the four tournaments this season, including a pair of 68s for her season-low rounds.
- Sugiyama paced Purdue at the Windy City Collegiate Classic, tying for fourth against a competitive field; her final round 69 (-3) included seven birdies.
- The spring features six tournaments that will prepare Purdue for the Big Ten Championship along with NCAA postseason play.
- Following the Tulane Classic, the Boilermakers head west for The Show in Las Vegas (Feb. 20-21).
- March features a southern swing of two tournaments. Purdue goes to Florida State for the FSU Match Up (March 17-19) before remaining down south and participating in the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic at Georgia (March 24-26).
- A weekend in Oklahoma kicks off the month of April, as the Boilermakers compete in The Bruzzy Challenge at Dornick Hills Country Club (April 1-2).
- In the final tune-up before the conference championship, Purdue tees off at the Lady Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio (April 15-16).
- For the second straight year, the Big Ten Championship takes place in Pittsburgh at Fox Chapel Golf Club (April 21-23).
- The Boilermakers produced a spectacular second round at the Illini Invitational (Oct. 10). Purdue fired an 11-under 277 at Medinah Country Club, the second-lowest round in school history and just two strokes off the program record.
- Danielle du Toit and Momo Sugiyama led Purdue with rounds in the 60s. Du Toit matched her career low with a 67 (-5), while Sugiyama carded a 68 (-4) to tie her best round of the year.
- Jocelyn Bruch added a career-low 70 (-2), while Ashley Kozlowski rounded out the team score with an even-par 72.
- Purdue announced the addition of two Boilermakers on National Signing Day (Nov. 9). Starting the first signing class for head coach Zack Byrd, Jasmine Kahler (Carlsbad, California) and Lana Malek (Hoce, Slovenia) are set to join the team for the 2023-24 season.
- Kahler has shined on the west coast, vaulting up to 29th on Junior Golf Scoreboard's national rankings for the class of 2023. During her 2022 season, she produced a 72.5 stroke average that included a 34.8 average for nine-hole matches and became the 2022 CIF San Diego Player of the Year.
- A member of the Slovenian National Team, Malek is one of the best young golfers in Europe. She qualified for the 2022 World Amateur Team Championship, while also winning the Hungarian Cup and the Hungarian Junior Open Championship. Her 2022 season included runner-up performances at the Slovenian International Amateur Championship and the Hungarian Amateur Open Championship to go along with a third-place finish at the CJGA World Junior Challenge.
- Following the retirement of legendary coach Devon Brouse, Zack Byrd was named the new head coach of Purdue Women's Golf.
- One of the top recruiters in the country, Byrd made the move to West Lafayette after spending four seasons at Ole Miss.
- Byrd helped the Rebels capture the 2021 NCAA National Championship, the first women's team national championship in Ole Miss history.
- Prior to beginning his coaching career, Byrd spent 10 years as a professional golfer; his career featured an appearance in the 2011 U.S. Open and qualifying for the final stage of PGA Tour Q School.
- Byrd hired Lauren Guiao as assistant coach; Guiao made the move to coaching and returned to the program after playing in 20 tournaments over her Purdue career (2017-21).
- Purdue will waste no time in returning to competition, heading out to Las Vegas for The Show next week (Feb. 20-21). Spanish Trail Country Club will play host to the tournament, closing out the Boilermakers' February.