Stacked Field Awaits Womens Golf at Windy City Collegiate Classic

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. After a week off from the season opener, Purdue Women’s Golf Returns to the course for back-to-back tournaments in the state of Illinois. The consecutive weeks of competition begin with the Windy Collegiate Classic, featuring five of the Top 10 teams in the country.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

• Monday, Oct. 3: Rounds 1 and 2 (9:42 am ET off No. 10)
• Tuesday, Oct. 4: Round 3 (Tee Times TBD)

THE LINEUP
Momo Sugiyama So. (10:18 a.m. ET off No. 10)

• In her Purdue debut, tied for 21st to lead the Boilermakers at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship with a 1-over 214 (73-73-68)
• Making her second appearance as a Boilermaker but playing in her 13th 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 (73.4), rounds of par-or-better (13), birdies (85) and 54-hole score (211)
• Captured the individual title at the Couer d’Alene Collegiate, where she carded a 1-under 212 total that included a final round 3-under 69
• Cracked the Top 10 in eight of the 11 tournaments

Danielle du Toit Sr. (10:09 a.m. ET off No. 10)

• Preseason B1G honoree
• Making her 36th appearance as a Boilermaker, the most on the team
• Fired a 69 (-2) in the second round of the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship
• 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
• Led Purdue at the 2022 NCAA Stanford Regional, tying for 14th with a season-low 215 (71-73-71)
• Earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors as a freshman during the 2018-19 season

Jocelyn Bruch R-Fr. (10:00 a.m. ET off No. 10)

• Making her 12th appearance as a Boilermaker, including the second of the season
• Played in 10 tournaments last season, recording a 76.52 stroke average
• Tied for ninth at the 2022 Michigan PGA Women’s Open over the summer, competing against professionals; her performance Featured a hole-in-one during the opening round
• Started last spring by going 3-0 in Big Ten Match Play, helping Purdue finish runner-up
• 2021-22 Academic All-Big Ten

Ashley Kozlowski Jr. (9:51 a.m. ET off No. 10)

• Preseason B1G honoree
• Making her 2022-23 debut but playing in her 18th tournament as a Boilermaker
• Recorded a 75.06 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

Jade Gu R-Fr. (9:42 a.m. ET off No. 10)

• Playing in her second 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

THE FIELD (Rankings WGCA Coaches Poll)

Arizona
#14 Arizona State
#10 Duke
#12 Florida
Iowa State
#23 Michigan
Michigan State
Northwestern (Host)
#7 Oregon
Purdue

#4 South Carolina
#5 Texas
#21 U.S.C
#3 Virginia
Washington

THE COURSE

• Exmoor Country Club is a par 72 that measures 6,442 yards.
• Donald J. Ross, considered the “Dean” of American golf course architects, designed the Exmoor golf course in 1915.
• The layout features design antecedents to the great courses of Scotland: imaginative grass-faced bunkers, challenging green Complexes and 18 holes shaped in natural ways by the land on which they were built.

HISTORY AT THE TOURNAMENT

• Purdue is playing in the Windy City Classic for the ninth consecutive season.
• The tournament annually features one of the toughest fields in the nation, and the Boilermakers’ best finish during the stretch was a sixth-place performance during the 2016-17 campaign.
• This season’s tournament features nine teams ranked in the Top 25 of the WGCA Coaches Poll, including five Top 10 teams.

DEBUT LEADERS

• Two Boilermakers new to the Purdue lineup led the team at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship (Sept. 19-20).
• Momo Sugiyamathe first signee by head coach Zack Byrdproved to make an immediate impact for Purdue Women’s Golf in her debut.
• The Hawaii transfer carded a final-round 68 (-3) and finished tied for 21st to lead the Boilermakers with a 1-over 214 (73-73-68).
• Redshirt freshman Jade Gu was right behind Sugiyama, placing 26th at 3-over (73-71-72216) in her first tournament for Purdue.
• After a double bogey on her first hole, Gu played the final 35 holes of the opening day even par to pace the Boilermakers through two rounds.
• Gu parred 40 of the 54 holes to rank second in the 78-player field in pars.

THE BYRD ERA BEGINS

• 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 US 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).

PRESEASON B1G HONOREES

• A trio of Boilermakers were named Big Ten Preseason Women’s Golf Honorees, the conference office announced ahead of the season. Maybe Bunnabodee, Danielle du Toit and Ashley Kozlowski received the recognition.
• Bunnabodee earned First Team All-Big Ten honors a season ago, becoming the first Boilermaker to land on the league’s first team since 2018; she will miss the fall due to injury.
• Du Toit is the veteran of the group, playing in 34 tournaments as a Boilermaker; she played her best golf late last spring and looks to continue that momentum into her senior season.
• Kozlowski played in a team-high 12 tournaments during the 2021-22 campaign; the Littleton, Colorado, native led the Boilermakers in birdies (86) and pars (379) throughout the season.

MISSING BUNNABODEE

• Purdue is going through the fall campaign with a 2022 First Team All-B1G golfer Maybe Bunnabodee sidelined due to injury.
• Bunnabodee, the first Boilermaker to earn first team honors since 2018, will miss the entire fall after getting surgery over the summer.

NEXT IS THE TEE

• The Boilermakers waste no time returning to action with another tournament in Illinois next week. Purdue heads to historic Medinah Country Club for the Illini Invitational (Oct. 10-11).