Women’s Golf Begins Season at Home, Hosting the Boilermaker Classic

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Women's Golf begins the 2023-24 fall season at home, welcoming 14 teams to West Lafayette for the Boilermaker Classic (Sept. 4-5). The 54-hole stroke play tournament will be contested on the Kampen-Cosler Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex.
 
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Monday, Sept. 4: Rounds 1 and 2 (9 a.m. ET Shotgun Start)
Tuesday, Sept. 5: Round 3 (9 a.m. ET Shotgun Start)
 
THE LINEUP (+3 INDIVIDUALS)
Jocelyn Bruch – Sr. (Hole No. 1)

• Making her 21st appearance as a Boilermaker
• Played in 10 tournaments a season ago, producing a 75.69 stroke average
• Recorded the team-low round three times throughout the season
• Placed 18th at last spring's Lady Buckeye Invitational for her first career Top 20 finish, carding two rounds of par-or-better (71-76-72—219)
• Led Purdue at The Show in Las Vegas last season, tying for 31st at 6-over (75-71-76—222)
• Won the Hoosier Amateur over the summer
• Two-time Academic All-Big Ten

Momo Sugiyama – Jr. (Hole No. 1)

• Big Ten Preseason Watch List
• Making her 13th appearance as a Boilermaker after playing in all 12 tournaments a season ago
• 2022-23 Second Team All-Big Ten
• Tied Purdue's single-season record with six rounds in the 60s
• Started the 2022-23 season ranked No. 647 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and ended it at No. 201
• Led the team in stroke average (73.31), team-low round (14), rounds in the 60s (6) and pars (410) last season
• In her first season as Boilermaker, recorded three Top 5 performances and led Purdue in six different tournaments
• Held a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout the school year, collecting several academic accolades: WGCAA All-American Scholar Team, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Academic All-Big Ten

 
Ashley Kozlowski – Sr. (Hole No. 2)

• Big Ten Preseason Watch List
• Playing in her 29th tournament as a Boilermaker, more than anyone on the current team
• Appeared in 11 of the 12 tournaments a season ago, ranking second on the team with a 73.75 stroke average
• Made a team-best four eagles throughout the season
• Produced three Top 10 finishes, matching the team high
• Tied for fourth at the NCAA Raleigh Regional with a season-low 213 (-3), nearly qualifying for the national championships as an individual
• Named B1G Women's Golfer of the Week (Feb. 15), becoming the first Boilermaker to earn the honor since 2019 after leading the Boilermakers to a win at the Tulane Classic and placing runner-up for the best finish of her career
• Starred in the classroom as an aeronautical and astronautical engineering major, earning several academic honors: WGCAA All-American Scholar Team, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Academic All-Big Ten

 
Natasha Kiel – Jr. (Hole No. 2)

• Making her first appearance as a Boilermaker, but playing in her 13th collegiate tournament
• Transferred to Purdue after two seasons at Vanderbilt
• Last season, played in eight tournaments and produced a 74.4 stroke average
• Fired a career-low 66 in the second round of the Mason Rudolph Championship last fall
• Landed on the SEC Academic Honor Roll at the conclusion of last season
• Named to the 2021-22 SEC All-Freshman Team

 
Kan Bunnabodee – Sr. (Hole No. 3)

• Big Ten Preseason Watch List
• Enters her fifth season at Purdue and will be making her 28th appearance as a Boilermaker
• Played in all eight spring tournaments after missing the fall due to injury, recording a 74.57 stroke average
• Cracked the Top 20 in four tournaments last season
• Made 14 birdies to lead the 87-player field at last spring's Lady Buckeye Invitational on her way to tying for 14th with a season-best 217 (+1)
• 2021-22 First Team All-Big Ten
• Two-time Academic All-Big Ten

 
Jasmine Kahler – Fr. (Competing as an individual, Hole No. 17)

• Making her Purdue debut
• Produced a 72.5 stroke average during her final high school season, including a 34.8 average for nine-hole matches
• Won the San Diego Section CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) at Torrey Pines and led her team to a fifth-place finish at the CIF State Championship to become the 2022 CIF San Diego Player of the Year
• First team all-league honoree all four years of high school, while posting the lowest scoring differential in the CIF San Diego Section back-to-back years as a junior and senior

 
 
Jade Gu – Jr. (Competing as an individual, Hole No. 17)

• Competing in her ninth tournament as a Boilermaker
• Played in eight tournaments last season, cracking the lineup five times and tallying a 76.54 stroke average
• 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); her second round 71 was a career best
• Was a star in the classroom, earning several academic honors: WGCAA All-American Scholar Team, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Academic All-Big Ten

 
Lana Malek – Fr. (Competing as an individual, Hole No. 18)

• Making her Purdue debut
• Recorded a 74.5 stroke average last year and qualified for the 2022 World Amateur Team Championship
• Was a member of the Slovenian National Team
• Won the Hungarian Cup and the Hungarian Junior Open Championship

 
THE FIELD
Alabama
Ball State
Charlotte
Georgia Southern
Indiana
James Madison
Long Beach State
Louisville
Mercer
Minnesota
Notre Dame
Old Dominion
Purdue
Rutgers
Western Kentucky
 
THE COURSE

• Two championship 18-hole courses make up the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex, both designed by legendary golf course architect Pete Dye.
• The Boilermaker Classic will be contested on the Kampen-Cosler Course, a links-style par 72 that will play at 6,299 yards.
• Kampen-Cosler is rated one of the top collegiate courses in the nation and has been awarded 4.5 stars on Golf Digest's "Places to Play." Kampen-Cosler is ranked as one of the most difficult golf courses in Indiana.
• The course hosted a number of prestigious collegiate and public tournaments, including the 2003 NCAA Women's Golf Championship and the 2005 Women's Western Amateur.

 
HISTORY AT HOME

• The Boilermakers will be hosting a tournament on one of their home courses for the first time since 2019, when the Boilermaker Classic was held on the Ackerman-Allan Course.
• In the 2019 Boilermaker Classic, assistant coach Lauren Guiao placed fifth on the individual leaderboard with rounds of 73 (+1) and 72 (E).
• The last time Purdue hosted an event on the Kampen-Cosler Course occurred during the 2013-14 season; the Boilermakers went head-to-head against Kent State and Iowa in the Purdue Rainy Day Shootout.

 
OLD GOLD AND BLACK IS THE NEW GOLD AND BLACK

• One of the newest Boilermakers is trading in her old gold and black for the official Old Gold and Black, as Natasha Kiel joins the team after spending the past two seasons at Vanderbilt.
• Kiel made 12 tournament appearances throughout her two years with the Commodores, including eight a season ago.
• The New Hope, Pennsylvania, native recorded a 74.4 stroke average both seasons, and her sophomore campaign was highlighted by a career-low 66 in the second round of the Mason Rudolph Championship.
• Kiel is the second transfer recruited to Purdue under head coach Zack Byrd, joining 2022 Second Team All-Big Ten honoree Momo Sugiyama (Hawaii).

 
PRESEASON B1G HONOREES

• A trio of Boilermakers were named Big Ten Preseason Women's Golf Watch List, the conference office announced ahead of the season. Kan Bunnabodee, Ashley Kozlowski and Momo Sugiyama received the recognition.
• Bunnabodee, a 2022 First Team All-Big Ten honoree, enters her fifth season at Purdue and has appeared in 27 tournaments as a Boilermaker. She played in all eight spring tournaments last season after missing the fall due to injury.
• Kozlowski is another veteran, having played in 28 tournaments over her career to lead the 2023-24 squad. Last season, Kozlowski posted a 73.75 stroke average over 32 rounds (11 tournaments) to rank second on the team. Thirteen of those rounds were par-or-better, a team best, which included a season-low 68.
• Sugiyama earned Second Team All-Big Ten accolades after leading Purdue in stroke average (73.31), team-low rounds (14), rounds in the 60 (6) and Top 5 finishes (3) throughout the 2022-23 campaign. Her six rounds in the 60s matched a single-season school record, and she fired a 2-under 142 (73-69) at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic for the second-best 36-hole total in program history.

 
2022-23 RECAP

• In the first season under head coach Zack Byrd, the Boilermakers earned their eighth straight NCAA Regional berth and nearly qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second year in-a-row.
• Byrd's first spring in charge was highlighted by leading Purdue to the team title at the Tulane Classic, the first tournament victory since 2018.
• Purdue produced four Top 5 finishes throughout the season.
• Momo Sugiyama provided an immediate impact in her first season as a Boilermaker. The Hawaii transfer recorded six rounds in the 60s to tie a single-season school record, while earning Second Team All-Big Ten honors at the end of the season.
• Four Boilermakers appeared in at least 10 of the 12 tournaments on the schedule: Sugiyama (12), Danielle du Toit (12), Ashley Kozlowski (11) and Jocelyn Bruch (10). Du Toit graduated, but Purdue returns the other three starters.
• After missing the fall due to injury, Kan Bunnabodee bounced back by playing in all eight spring tournaments and cracked the Top 20 in four of them.

 
A LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE

• After the season-opening home tournament, the Boilermakers travel to nine different states and Puerto Rico as part of their schedule.
• The 2023-24 slate features four tournaments in the fall before six spring tournaments prep Purdue for the Big Ten Championship and NCAA Regionals.
• Purdue will host its second tournament of the year in the spring, except it will take place in Puerto Rico. A regular on the Purdue schedule from 2003-2020, the Puerto Rico Classic makes its triumphant return following a three-year hiatus.

 
NEXT ON THE TEE

• Purdue goes from West Lafayette to East Lansing for the Mary Fossum Invitational (Sept. 17-18), hosted by Michigan State.