Devon Brouse is in his 25th season as the head coach and director of golf operations for the Boilermaker men's and women's golf teams, coaching both teams for 15 seasons, but focusing on just the Purdue women for the last six years. Brouse graduated from Purdue in 1971 with a B.S. in agronomy, returned to his alma mater in 1998 and has led Purdue golf to unprecedented success.
Brouse is one of the finest coaches in collegiate golf. The 2009 Golf Coaches Association of America's Hall of Fame inductee led the women to a top-10 finish in eight straight NCAA Championships (2006-2013), and helped them advance to the NCAA Championships in 18 of the last 20 years (2000-13, 2015-17), including 14 in a row; a feat accomplished by only two other Division I programs - Arizona State and Southern California. Brouse is the only coach in history to earn a spot in both the men's and women's hall of fame, entering the Golf Coaches Association of America's Hall of Fame in 2009, and earning a spot in the Women's Golf Coaches Association record books in 2012. Most recently he joined another elite group in 2013, as he was inducted into the University of North Carolina Golf Order of Merit for his role in leading the North Carolina men's golf team to a string of success in the 1980s and 1990s.
Tyler Duncan, who was recruited and coached by Brouse at Purdue, became the fifth former player of Brouse's to win on the PGA TOUR when he captured the RSM Classic title in St. Simons Island, Georgia, on Nov. 24, 2019. In total, former Brouse players have won 30 PGA TOUR titles, including Davis Love III (x21), Mark Wilson (x5), John Inman (x2), Tom Scherrer (x1) and Duncan (x1).
The Boilermakers advanced to the NCAA Championships in 18 of the last 20 seasons, including August Kim’s individual appearance in 2016, and have qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships in all 20 seasons under Brouse. In addition to their NCAA Championship appearances and team accolades the Boilermakers have shown an impressive string of successes as well. In the last decade they have won an individual title (Maria Hernandez in 2009), a team title (2010), a runner-up finish (2011) and in 2013, came close to repeating as national champions, finishing in third place.
And speaking of national recognition, several of Brouse's golfers have earned national accolades. Hernandez won the Honda Sports Award and PING/NCAA National Player of the Year after her national title in 2009. Hernandez, Maude Aimee LeBlanc, Paula Reto and August Kim all earned first team All-America honors and overall Brouse's players have earned 32 All-America awards in the last decade, including seven first team All-America recognitions.
Brouse's golfers continue to set the pace for the Big Ten Conference. Since 2000, Purdue has had seven Big Ten Players of the Year, seven Big Ten Freshmen of the Year and 35 first team All-Big Ten selections. The Boilermakers took home the first seven Mary Fossum Awards in Big Ten history, awarded for low-stroke season stroke average in the conference. Reto closed the streak in 2013, averaging 72.83 strokes per round through the Big Ten Championships and becoming the sixth straight Boilermaker to claim medalist honors. In 2012, Laura Gonzalez-Escallon was the recipient of the Mary Fossum Award after winning her second Big Ten medal. In 2008, Hernandez turned in the best 72-hole score in conference history, firing a 281 at the Big Ten Championships to earn medalist honors. In 2016, August Kim set the Big Ten 54-hole record at The Fort Golf Resort in Indianapolis, firing a nine-under, 207, and Ida Ayu Indira Melati Putri continued the championship tradition in 2019, tying for medalist honors at TPC River’s Bend to become the ninth conference champion in program history.
In addition to their accolades on the course, the Boilermaker golfers have brought home a wealth of honors in the classroom as well. Most recently Purdue earned the NCAA Public Recognition Award for posting a multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) among the top 10 percent of their sports, marking the program's first such honor. In Brouse's tenure the Boilermakers have collected 29 WGCA All-American Scholar awards, 71 Academic All-Big Ten honors and eight Big Ten Distinguished Scholar certificates.
The Boilermakers assaulted the record books in Brouse’s 21st season, posting the 10th top-10 team finish at the NCAA Championships in his tenure, taking second at the Big Ten Championships and breaking a variety of team and individual records. The team recorded four of the top-10 team single-round scores in program history, and broke both the team records for a 36-hole and 54-hole tournament. They shot four-over par at the rain-shorted Big Ten Championships to set the 36-hole mark and finished 27-under par (837) at the Illini Women’s Invitational to break the previous 54-hole score by eight strokes. Freshman Danielle du Toit put together one of the most outstanding rookie seasons in program history, setting new records for rounds of par or better (17), rounds in the 60’s (4) and finished with the No. 3 freshman stroke average all-time at Purdue. In addition to Putri’s Big Ten individual title, she and Micaela Farah tied the program’s season record for rounds in the 60’s, posting six each.
Brouse put together an incredibly balanced team effort in 2018, as the Boilermakers saw just their first team in program history to have at least five players with at least eight rounds of par or better. Rookie Inez Wanamarta led the charge for Brouse, rewriting the Boilermakers’ freshman record book. Despite an incredible list of players before her, she produced new first-year records for scoring average (73.21), rounds of par or better (12) and 54-hole tournament score (-10, 206). Purdue advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the 22nd straight season.
Kim continued the Boilermakers’ presence at the national tournament in 2016, opening the NCAA Championships with a first-round 68, and tying the second-best 18 by a Purdue individual at the national championships. She advanced to the fourth and final day at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Oregon, earning 1-of-9 individual advancement spots in the tournament. Kim went on to tie for fourth place at the NCAA Championships in 2017, at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Creek, Illinois, shooting three-over, 219, and led her team to an 11th place finish. The Boilermakers took fifth at the NCAA Columbus Regional, securing an automatic bid to the national tournament.
After a one-year hiatus Purdue returned to the NCAA Championships in 2015, securing an automatic bid with a fifth-place showing at the NCAA South Bend Regional. The Boilermakers made an outstanding run at nationals as one of just 15 teams advancing to the fourth round of stroke play with an sixth-place showing after 54 holes (307-302-302=911, +47). Purdue's 12th-place finish at NCAA's marks the 11th top-15 performance at the national championships in school history.
The Boilermakers returned to the top tier of the NCAA Championship leaderboard in 2013, after 2012's ninth-place effort, taking home third place with a four-day total of 289-289-295-300=1173 (+21). Heading into the championship ranked seventh in the country, Reto led the charge with a third-place individual finish, while Aurora Kan earned 15th and Gonzalez-Escallon was 23rd. It marked the eighth consecutive top-10 finish for Purdue at the NCAA Championships.
The Boilermakers followed up their national championship season with a second-place finish in 2011. Purdue took the lead briefly near the turn in the final round at the Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas, but UCLA answered with birdies to win by four strokes. The Boilermakers won four tournaments on the year, including the Battle at Rancho Bernardo Inn which boasted a field of the nation's top teams. The fourth-ranked Purdue women's golf team was unable to pull off a four-peat at the Big Ten Championships, but Gulyanamitta became the fourth-consecutive Boilermaker to win the individual title at the conference tournament.
In 2010, the seventh-ranked Purdue women's golf team recorded the second-lowest four-round team score in NCAA Championships history to win the first national championship by a northern-based school. The Boilermakers fired a 295 in the final round to finish with a one-over par 1,153, which was a school record low score for 72 holes. Just one stroke separated the Boilermakers from second-place Southern California, and it came down to the final group on the last hole before Purdue's fate was decided. The national championship was the fourth tournament win of the season for the Boilermakers.
In 2009, Brouse coached Maria Hernandez to the NCAA individual championship, a first for Purdue and for the Big Ten. In 2009, the Boilermakers won five tournaments, including a second-consecutive Big Ten title, finished second at the NCAA Central Regional and 10th at the NCAA Championships. After winning the NCAA individual title, Hernandez was named the Honda Sports Award as the top collegiate women's golfer, the PING/NGCA National Player of the Year and the Big Ten Suzy Favor Female Athlete of the Year.
After earning a 21-stroke victory at the 2008 Big Ten Championships, the Boilermakers followed up their conference title with a second-place finish at the NCAA Central Regional Championships in Austin, Texas. Purdue carried that momentum into the NCAA Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., capturing fourth place as a team. For the season, the Boilermakers finished first or second in seven of the 11 events in which they competed.
The 2007-08 season was a year of record-breaking performances as the Boilermaker women recorded four of the top five lowest team rounds in school history and 17 of the 28 best individual rounds. Additionally, Purdue was honored with the Big Ten Golfer of the Week Award a record-breaking five times.
The 2006-07 season saw the women advance to the NCAA Championships and a second place finish; a school and conference record. Christel Boeljon tied for second. The Boilermakers won four tournaments during the season and Hernandez became the first Purdue women's golfer to earn first team All-America honors.
In 2005-06, the Boilermakers finished in the top three in every tournament of the regular season, winning the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA West Regional Championships. Brouse led the women to a ninth place finish in the NCAA Championships, tying the previous best finish in school history. The team set a school record with six tournament victories that season. Brouse was awarded both the national Coach of the Year Award and the Labron Harris Sr. Award by the Golf Coaches Association of America. The Harris Award is presented to the college or high school coach and PGA professional whose support of the game through teaching, coaching and involvement in the community has helped ensure the continued growth of the game.
In just his second season, Brouse led the women to their first Big Ten Championships title and did so in record-breaking fashion with a 72-hole team total score of 1,167. Following the Big Ten success, Brouse's team earned it's first-ever NCAA qualification which resulted in a then-school best ninth-place finish in the NCAA Championships.
While with Purdue, Brouse has coached eight Big Ten Players of the Year (Lee Williamson, Gonzalez-Escallon, Gulyanamitta, Hernandez (three times), Stacy Orschell and Onnarin Sattayabanphot) and eight Big Ten Freshman of the Year (Christel Boeljon, Kari Damron, Whitney Frykman, Stefanie Endstrasser, Laura Gonzalez-Escallon, LeBlanc, Chris Mayson and Adam Schenk).
In addition to his coaching duties for both the men's and women's golf teams at Purdue, Brouse is responsible for overseeing operations for the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex. The 36-hole masterpiece features two distinctly challenging courses - the Ackerman-Allen and Kampen layouts. Both were designed by the legendary Pete Dye and Kampen was the site of the 2008 NCAA Men's Championships and the 2003 NCAA Women's Championships. The complex features state-of-the-art practice facilities and ranks among the finest in college golf.
Brouse became the Boilermakers' head coach in 1998 after leading North Carolina to 19 NCAA Championships appearances in 21 years. An eight-time conference coach of the year (three times in the ACC and five times in the Big Ten) and a two-time national coach of the year (2006 and 2010), Brouse has led teams to 18 top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships.
A class "A" member of the PGA, Brouse joined the University of North Carolina in 1973 as the golf director and superintendent of facilities following two years as assistant director of the Indianapolis municipal golf course system. In 1977, he became assistant coach to Mike McLeod and was named head coach on year later when McLeod retired.
Brouse immediately experienced success as North Carolina's head coach, leading the Tar Heels to a second-place finish in the ACC Tournament and a fifth-place showing at the NCAA Championships. Named the ACC Coach of the Year following the 1981, 1991 and 1995 seasons, Brouse led North Carolina to six ACC team championships (1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1995, 1996), 16 top-five conference finishes and 10 top-10 NCAA finishes, including second place in 1991 and third in 1993.
Brouse has been instrumental in the development of several individual players who achieved great success at both the collegiate and professional levels. Under his tutelage, Brouse has mentored 103 all-conference performers, two NCAA individual champions (Maria Hernandez and John Inman), a Fred Haskins Award Winner (John Inman), a Ben Hogan Award Winner (Mark Wilson), two Palmer Cup participants (Max Harris and Lee Williamson), two Walker Cup selections (Frank Fuhrer and Tom Scherrer) and a Solheim Cup selection (Christel Boeljon). Two of his former golfers have won LET tournaments (Boeljon and Hernandez), four of his pupils (Davis Love III, John Inman, Tom Scherrer and Mark Wilson) have won titles on the PGA Tour and Patrick Moore was the leading money winner on the 2002 Buy.com Tour. In addition, Brouse has coached 10 World Amateur selections (John Inman, Shiv Kapur, Maximo Kopp, Santiago Russi, Christel Boeljon, Myrte Eikenaar, Stefani Endstrasser, Maria Hernandez, Thea Hoffmeister and Maude-Aimee LeBlanc).
Hernandez earned a win on the Ladies European Tour in her rookie season while Boeljon picked up her first LET victory in her third year as a professional and qualified as a member of Europe's 2011 Solheim Cup team with a No. 6 ranking on the LET money list. Plus, although not all competed as professionals, the Purdue women's golf team has been represented in seven of the last nine U.S. Women's Open Championships. Reto represented her home country of South Africa at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, and joining her in the professional ranks in impressive fashion have been teammates Maude Aimee Leblanc, Laura Gonzalez Escallon and Numa Gulyanamitta.
A native of Indianapolis, and a 1967 graduate of Decatur Central High School, Brouse was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He and his wife, Kathy, have two sons, Matt and Brent, a daughter, Ashley, and grandsons, Colin, Scott and Tyler.
Coaching Experience
- Head Coach, Purdue University, 1998 to present
- Head Coach, University of North Carolina, 1978 to 1998
Coaching Highlights
- 2010 NCAA Champions (Purdue women)
- 2011 NCAA runners up (Purdue women)
- 2013 NCAA third-place finish (Purdue women)
- 2009 NCAA Individual Champion (Maria Hernandez)
- GCAA Hall of Fame - Class of 2009
- WGCA Hall of Fame - Class of 2012
- University of North Carolina Golf Order of Merit - Class of 2013
- 2006 and 2010 NGCA National Women's Coach of the Year
- 2006 and 2010 Golfweek National Women's Coach of the Year
- 2006 Labron Harris Award Winner
- Five-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2000, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010)
- Three-time Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year (1981, 1991, 1995)
- 1991 and 1995 District III North Coach of the Year
- 2002, 2006, 2009, 2010 Region Coach of the Year
- 39 NCAA championship appearances
- Six Big Ten Titles (2000, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013)
- Six ACC Titles (1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1995, 1996)
- 10 Big Ten individual champions
- Six ACC individual champions
- 2001 NCAA Central regional champions (Purdue men)
- 2002 NCAA Central regional champions (Purdue men)
- 2006 NCAA Western regional champions (Purdue women)
- 66 All-American selections
- 108 All-Conference selections
- 113 Individual tournament titles
- 113 team tournament titles
- 1984 NCAA individual champion (John Inman)