Women’s Golf Travels to Florida for 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. 16-17).
 
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Sunday, Feb. 16: Rounds 1 and 2 (8:15 a.m. ET Shotgun Start)
Monday, Feb. 17: Round 3 (8:15 a.m. ET Shotgun Start)
 
THE LINEUP
Jasmine Kahler – So.

• Making her 17th appearance as a Boilermaker, appearing in the lineup for the seventh time this season
• Holds a 75.60 stroke average
• Last time out, paced the Boilermakers at the Purdue Puerto Rico Classic by tying for seventh (74-71-69—214) in a field that featured 23 of the country's Top 100 golfers; her final round 69 (-3) tied a career low
• Led the field in birdies (8) and ranked second in par-4 scoring (-2) while placing sixth at the White Sands Bahamas Invitational (69-77—146), her best finish as a Boilermaker
• Ended the 2023-24 season ranked No. 253 in the national rankings
• Played in 10 tournaments as a freshman, including four in the Purdue lineup (final four of the season)
• Recorded a 74.43 stroke average a season ago
• Led the Boilermakers at the 2024 NCAA Las Vegas Regional, tying for eighth at even-par (71-70-75—216) for her second Top 10 of the season and her first Top 10 as part of the Purdue lineup
• Collected a Top 20 finish in her first Big Ten Championships, ending the tournament with a 1-under 71 to finish 2-over for the week (75-72-71—218); made 40 pars to rank third in the 84-player field
• Competing as an individual last spring, tied for sixth at The Bruzzy with a career-low 213 (73-70-70), her best finish as a Boilermaker; the 213 was the eighth-best 54-hole total by a freshman in program history

 
Momo Sugiyama – Sr.

• Two-time All-Big Ten honoree in both seasons as a Boilermaker
• Ranked No. 145 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking
• Making her 33rd appearance as a Boilermaker, cracking the lineup in every tournament since arriving in West Lafayette
• Holds a 73.08 career stroke average at Purdue, which is tied for the school record set by national champion Maria Hernandez (2005-09)
• Has a 73.94 stroke average this season, ranking second on the team
• Paced Purdue at the Match in the Desert by carding an even-par 72 for a Top 5 performance
• Led the Boilermakers at the prestigious ANNIKA Intercollegiate, tying for 23rd (73-75-71—219)
• Tied for fourth (69-74-73—216) to help Purdue win the season-opening Boilermaker Classic, matching her best finish for the Old Gold and Black
• Last year, produced a team-best 72.45 stroke average for the third-best single-season stroke average in school history
• Carded 19 rounds of par-or-better a year ago, the third most in a single season by a Boilermaker
• Had five Top 10 finishes a season ago, including a fourth-place performance at the Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational (72-75-70—217)
• Tied Purdue's single-season record with six rounds in the 60s during the 2022-23 campaign
• Two-time WGCA All-American Scholar, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and Academic All-Big Ten

 
Natasha Kiel – Sr.

• Ranked No. 27 in the national rankings
• Named to the ANNIKA Award Watch List at the end of the fall
• Making her 21st appearance as a Boilermaker, but playing in her 33rd collegiate tournament
• Leads the team in stroke average (72.61), birdies (58), rounds of par-or-better (9) and rounds in the 60s (4)
• Paced Purdue in four of the team's five fall tournaments, including two victories and a runner-up performance
• Ended the fall with co-medalist honors at the White Sands Bahamas Invitational, leading the field in par-4 scoring (-3) and recording the second-lowest 36-hole total in program history (68-73—141)
• Finished runner-up in a stacked field at the Windy City Collegiate Classic (68-72-73—213) and made 14 birdies over 54 holes
• Medalist of the Boilermaker Classic, her first individual win, while leading Purdue to the team title; fired a career-low 211 (67-76-69) that featured her lowest round as a Boilermaker as well as a hole-in-one in the final round
• Led the Boilermaker Classic field in birdies (13) and par-3 scoring (-4), including playing the par 3s 4-under during the final round
• Tied for 13th at the Mary Fossum Invitational (72-76-71—219) to lead the Boilermakers
• ne of four Boilermakers to crack the lineup for all 13 tournaments last year, her first season at Purdue after transferring from Vanderbilt
• Recorded a 74.29 stroke average to rank third on the team a season ago

 
Lauren Timpf – Fr.

• Making her sixth appearance as a Boilermaker, cracking the lineup for the third time
• Holds a 75.93 stroke average
• Ending the fall by tying for 30th at the White Sands Bahamas Invitational (78-75—153)
• In her first time in the Purdue lineup, tied for 15th at the Mary Fossum Invitational (71-75-74—220), which included leading the Boilermakers in the first two rounds
• Tied for 21st at the season-opening Boilermaker Classic (76-74-76—226), competing as an individual
• Finished her junior golf career ranked No. 98 in the country by Junior Golf Scoreboard
• Three-time MHSAA State Champion
• Recorded a 69.4 stroke average as a senior, leading to medalist honors at 10 events
• Made the Round of 64 at the 2024 U.S. Girls Junior Championship after tying for 33rd in stroke play

 
Samantha Brown – Fr.

• Appearing in the lineup for the eighth time
• Holds a 76.39 stroke average
• Tied for 24th at the White Sands Bahamas Invitational (75-76—151)
• Made 40 pars at the Mary Fossum Invitational to rank second in the 84-player field
• Tied for 30th at the prestigious ANNIKA Intercollegiate with a career-low 221 (78-71-72) that featured her first under-par round as a Boilermaker
• In her collegiate debut, tied for 21st (75-75-76—226) to help Purdue win the Boilermaker Classic
• Finished her junior golf career ranked No. 49 in the country by Junior Golf Scoreboard
• Participated in the 2024 U.S. Women's Open and 2024 U.S. Girls Junior Championship
• Won the 2024 Women's Western Junior
• Four-time all-state honoree, winning 24 of 48 high school tournaments and finishing 1-under par throughout her entire high school career, which included a cumulative 37-under par as a senior
• As a senior, named Indiana Girls Golfer of the Year by USA Today, earning a spot on the All-USA Today HSSA Girls Golf Team

 
THE FIELD
College of Charleston
FIU
Georgia Southern
Grand Valley State
Illinois
Kent State
Kentucky
Maryland
Michigan
#22 Michigan State (Host)
Notre Dame
#25 Ohio State
Oklahoma
#24 Oklahoma State
Purdue
 
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.

 
LAST YEAR IN SUNSHINE

• Ashley Kozlowski, Natasha Kiel and Momo Sugiyama carded under-par rounds to lead Purdue on the final day of the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational.
• As a team, the Boilermakers improved 15 strokes from their opening round, firing a 3-under 285 in the final round to end the tournament in sixth place (+9).
• Sugiyama led the Boilermakers by tying for 16th. Her two-day total of 145 (75-70) tied for the seventh-best 36-hole score in school history.

 
 
LAST TIME OUT

• Sophomore Jasmine Kahler fired a 3-under 69, tying for seventh on the individual leaderboard with a season-low 214 (-2), to lead the Boilermakers at the Purdue Puerto Rico Classic (Feb. 2-4).
• Hosting a stacked field that featured six teams ranked in the Top 25, Purdue entered the tournament as the 10th seed and ended up in that spot. Bouncing back from the opening round (+12), the Boilermakers played the final 36 holes just 2-over to rank fifth among the field over the final two rounds.
• Kahler was the biggest reason for Purdue's improvement, as the California native went 4-under in the last 36 holes herself. She matched her career low with the final round 69, rebounding from a bogey-bogey start.
• In the elite field, Kahler's seventh-place performance was the fourth Top 10 of her career.

 
KIEL LANDS ON ANNIKA AWARD WATCH LIST

• After a fall that featured two individual victories, Natasha Kiel was named to the ANNIKA Award Watch List. The Boilermaker senior was one of 25 golfers to land on the final fall watch list for the award given to the best female in Division I college golf.
• Kiel started her senior season with a bang, winning a pair of tournaments and rising to 19th in the national rankings.
• Through five fall tournaments, she recorded a 71.79 stroke average which would be a single-season school record if maintained throughout the spring. Four of Kiel's 14 rounds were in the 60s, only two away from another school record.
• She started the season by claiming medalist honors and leading Purdue to a team victory at the Boilermaker Classic (Sept. 2-3). Kiel captured her first career individual victory, thanks in large part to a pair of rounds in the 60s. Kiel was 5-under for the season-opening tournament, recording her best 54-hole total as a Boilermaker (67-76-68—211). The New Hope, Pennsylvania, native also led the field in birdies (13) and par-3 scoring (-4) throughout the event. During the final round, she made six birdies and played the par 3s 4-under with two birdies and one par to go along with a hole-in-one on the par-3 17th.
• Kiel picked up her second victory of the season, earning co-medalist honors at the White Sands Bahamas Invitational (Oct. 19-20). The senior finished 2-under (68-73—141) alongside Georgia's Chantal El Chaib, leading Purdue to a runner-up finish to close out the fall season. Kiel's two-round score of 141 was the second-lowest 36-hole total in program history. She led the field in par-4 scoring (-3), while ranking third in par-5 scoring (-1).
• Competing in a stacked field that featured 10 teams that advanced to the national stage of the 2024 NCAA Championships, Kiel proved that she could beat some of the best golfers in the country by securing runner-up honors at the Windy City Collegiate Classic. Her 213 (68-72-73) matched her second lowest three-round total as a Boilermaker. She recorded Purdue's lowest score during all three rounds at Westmoreland Country Club, making 14 birdies over 54 holes.

 
STARTING THE SEASON WITH A W

• Entering the final round of the Boilermaker Classic with a 13-shot cushion, Purdue made sure the lead was never in doubt. A final round 294 (+6), led by a 68 (-4) from medalist Natasha Kiel, allowed the Boilermakers to protect their home course and win their season-opening tournament for second straight season.
• Purdue finished the season opener 15-over par on the Kampen-Cosler Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex, 14 strokes ahead of runners-up Minnesota (+29).
• The Boilermakers controlled the tournament from the start, leading the field in par-3 scoring (+4), par-4 scoring (+28) and pars (178), while ranking second in birdies (35) and par-5 scoring (-4) as a team.

 
WINNING WITH BYRD

• With the win at the season-opening Boilermaker Classic, Purdue captured its fourth tournament title under head coach Zack Byrd, who is in only his third season as head coach.
• Along with winning the past two editions of the Boilermaker Classic, Purdue also claimed victories at the 2023 Tulane Classic and the 2023 Mary Fossum Invitational.
• The four victories mark the most by Purdue in a three-year span since winning six from 2012-14.
• Purdue collected just one tournament title in the five seasons prior to Byrd's arrival.

 
THE REMAINING SCHEDULE

• Up next, Purdue returns to the Briar's Creek Invitational on Johns Island, South Carolina (March 10-11).
• Ending March and rolling into April, the Boilermakers travel to St. Augustine, Florida for the Coach Mo Classic (March 30-April 1).
• Serving as the final tune-up before the conference championship, Purdue welcomes teams back to West Lafayette for the Boilermaker Spring Classic. The spring tournament will take place on the other BBGC Pete Dye course, Ackerman-Allen (April 6-7).
• The Big Ten Championships returns to Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, Maryland, just outside of Baltimore (April 18-20). Last year, the Boilermakers fired an even-par 864 (292-289-283) for their lowest score in the conference tournament since 2016.
• Rounding out the schedule, the Boilermakers plan to hear their names called for postseason play in one of six NCAA Regionals (May 5-7) with sights set on a return trip to the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad, California (May 16-21).