Women’s Golf Heads to Florida for the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Following a week off, Purdue Women's Golf continues its spring campaign with another trip south. The Boilermakers join 14 other teams in Sarasota, Florida for the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational at Palm Aire Country Club (Feb. 18-19).
 
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Sunday, Feb. 18: Rounds 1 and 2 (8:15 a.m. ET Shotgun Start)
Monday, Feb. 19: Round 3 (8:30 a.m. ET Shotgun Start)
 
THE LINEUP
Momo Sugiyama – Jr.

• Making her 18th appearance as a Boilermaker after playing in all 12 tournaments a season ago and all five tournaments so far this season
• Holds a team-best 72.07 stroke average and is No. 159 in the national rankings
• Has recorded the team-low round six times this season, more than any other Boilermaker
• Began the spring by leading the Boilermakers at the Purdue Puerto Rico Classic, placing eighth with a career-low 211 (67-73-71) that featured a personal-best round of 67 (-5)
• Tied for ninth at the Boilermaker Classic with a 1-under 215 (73-69-73) to help Purdue claim the tournament title to start the season
• 2022-23 Second Team All-Big Ten
• Tied Purdue's single-season record with six rounds in the 60s last year, while leading the team in stroke average (73.31), team-low round (14), rounds in the 60s (6) and pars (410)
• Held a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout the 2022-23 school year, collecting several academic accolades: WGCAA All-American Scholar Team, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Academic All-Big Ten

 
Natasha Kiel – Jr.

• Making her sixth appearance as a Boilermaker, but playing in her 18th collegiate tournament
• Only Boilermaker with two eagles this season
• Holds a 73.40 stroke average and is 297th in the national rankings
• Has appeared in the lineup in all five tournaments this season
• Tied for 29th at the Schooner Fall Classic with a 213 (71-72-70), her best 54-hole total as a Boilermaker
• Ranked second in par-4 scoring (-1) and tied for ninth (73-72-73—218) to help the Boilermakers win the Mary Fossum Invitational
• Transferred to Purdue after two seasons at Vanderbilt
• Last season, played in eight tournaments and produced a 74.4 stroke average

 
Jocelyn Bruch – Sr.

• Making her 26th appearance as a Boilermaker, second most on the team
• Ranked 179th in the nation and holds a 72.47 stroke average with the help of a team-high three rounds in the 60s
• Has appeared in the lineup in all five tournaments this season
• Fired a career-low 209 (69-70-70) at the Schooner Fall Classic for the 10th-best three-round total in school history
• Seven of her 15 rounds have been par-or-better, a team high
• Paced the field in par-4 scoring (-3) to help the Boilermakers win the Mary Fossum Invitational, tying for seventh on the individual leaderboard for her second career Top 10 (76-70-71—217)
• Cracked the Top 10 for the first time in her career, tying for sixth with a 4-under 212 (69-69-74) to help Purdue win the Boilermaker Classic
• Two-time Academic All-Big Ten

Ashley Kozlowski – Sr.

• Playing in her 34th tournament as a Boilermaker, totaling 95 rounds, more than anyone on the current team
• Holds a 72.60 stroke average and is nationally-ranked at No. 193
• Has appeared in the lineup in all five tournaments this season
• Has recorded a team-best 43 birdies
• Paced the Boilermakers with a 208 (72-70-66) at the Schooner Fall Classic, the seventh-best 54-hole total in program history; her final round 66 was a new career low and the fifth-lowest for a Boilermaker
• Led Purdue to a win in the Mary Fossum Invitational, finishing runner-up individually for the second time in her career with a 214 (73-71-70)
• Appeared in 11 of the 12 tournaments a season ago, ranking second on the team with a 73.75 stroke average
• Stars 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

 
Lana Malek – Freshman

• Making her second appearance in the Purdue lineup but playing in her third tournament as a Boilermaker
• In her lineup debut, tied for 75th at the Purdue Puerto Rico Classic to start the spring (77-77-76—230)
• Competing as an individual, tied for 30th at the Boilermaker Classic (72-73-77—222)
• 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
College of Charleston
Georgia Southern
Grand Valley State
Kent State
Michigan State
Miami (FL)
Nebraska
#25 North Carolina
NC State
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Oklahoma
Purdue
South Dakota State
Tennessee
 
THE COURSE

• The tournament will take place on the Champions Course at Palm Aire Country Club, a par 72 layout measuring 6,191 yards.
• The Champions Course was shaped by Dick Wilson in 1957 before going through a redesign by Mike Benkusky in 2021.
• Known as Desoto Lakes Country Club in 1960, the course hosted a PGA tournament with a $40,000 purse, the largest in Florida at the time. Sam Snead won the event to collect $5,300, while and a young golfer named Arnold Palmer finished fourth and took home $1,475.

 
RANKED BOILERMAKERS

• Purdue enters the tournament ranked 27th in the national rankings after a strong fall that featured a pair of tournament titles.
• Three Boilermakers are ranked in the Top 200 of the national rankings: Momo Sugiyama (159), Jocelyn Bruch (179) and Ashley Kozlowski (193).

 
LAST TIME OUT

• Momo Sugiyama finished in eighth place on the individual leaderboard, securing her fifth Top 10 performance as a Boilermaker and leading the team at the Purdue Puerto Rico Classic (Feb. 4-6).
• Sugiyama's tournament featured an opening round 67 (-5) for a career best, and she ended the event with a team-low 71 (-1) during the final round. Her 5-under 211 (67-73-71) was also a 54-hole career low and the second-best score in relation to par this season by a Boilermaker. Sugiyama made 42 pars over 54 holes to rank second in the 90-player field.
• As a team, No. 22 Purdue placed 10th (+16) on a leaderboard that featured six Top 25 teams, finishing two strokes ahead of No. 9 Ole Miss (+18).
• Natasha Kiel was the second Boilermaker on the leaderboard, tying for 42nd (+6). Jocelyn Bruch was one stroke back of Kiel at 7-over for the tournament, carding a 77 (+5) after consecutive rounds of 73 (+1).

 
FLYING HIGH WITH BYRD

• Victorious in two of their four fall tournaments, the Boilermakers have won multiple tournaments in a season for the first time in seven years.
• Winning the Boilermaker Classic and the Mary Fossum Invitational, Purdue won back-to-back tournaments for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The last time Purdue won its first two tournaments of the season was the start of the 2005-06 campaign.
• Purdue already has three tournament titles in just the second season under head coach Zack Byrd; the Boilermakers won three tournaments over the previous six seasons before Byrd's arrival.
• Eleven of the 50 lowest team rounds in program history have occurred under Byrd, including the school record 270 (-18) at the season-opening Boilermaker Classic as well as the second-best round, a 274 at the Schooner Fall Classic.
• This season, the Boilermakers have produced two of the lowest five team totals (54 holes) in school history, a program-best 837 at the Schooner Fall Classic and an 852 (fifth) at the season-opening Boilermaker Classic.

 
SECOND WIN OF THE SEASON

• Entering the final round eight shots back of host Michigan State, Purdue flipped the script and fired a final round 284 (-4) to win the Mary Fossum Invitational by 10 strokes.
• Purdue was 6-under (290-284-284—858) on the par 72 West Course at Forest Akers GC, the only team to finish under par and just one shot off the tournament record. The Boilermakers defeated a field of 14 other teams that included five Big Ten programs. The three-round total also cracked the Top 10 for one of the lowest 54-hole scores in program history.
• The Boilermakers played the par 4s a combined 5-over to lead all teams, including 16 shots better than Michigan State. Purdue also paced the field in par-3 scoring (-2) and birdies (47).
• Four Boilermakers finished in the Top 10 of the individual leaderboard. Ashley Kozlowski led the way, ending the tournament at 2-under to place runner-up for the second time in her career. Jocelyn Bruch tied for seventh (+1) for her second Top 10 of the 2023-24 campaign.

 
HOME COURSE PROTECTED

• Purdue protected its home course, starting the 2023-24 season by beating 14 other teams to win the Boilermaker Classic (Sept. 4-5).
• The Boilermakers finished the 54-hole event 12-under par (296-270-286—852) on the Kampen-Cosler Course at the Birck Boilermaker Complex, six shots ahead of runner-up Alabama.
• fired a 270 (-18) in the second round to break the program record for team-low round by five strokes, besting the previous record of 275 shot by the 2011 Boilermakers at the Administaff Lady Jaguar Intercollegiate.
• Jocelyn Bruch cracked the Top 10 for the first time in her career. She placed sixth with a 212 (69-69-74).
• Momo Sugiyama finished another tournament in red figures, firing a 215 (-1) with a 69 sandwiched in between rounds of 73. Starting her second season as a Boilermaker, she tied for ninth on the individual leaderboard.

 
NEXT ON THE TEE

• Up next, the Boilermakers make the trek west for The Show in Las Vegas to begin the month of March (March 4-5).
• March features a trio of tournaments. Purdue competes in the Briar's Creek Invitational on the coast of South Carolina (March 11-12). Closing out a busy month, the Boilermakers return to The Bruzzy Challenge at Dornick Hills Country Club in Oklahoma (March 30-31).