WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – After beginning the 2025-26 season at home, Purdue Women’s Golf makes its first road trip of the season. The Boilermakers travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan for the Wolverine Invitational at the University of Michigan Golf Course.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Sunday, Sept. 7: Rounds 1 and 2 (8:45 a.m. ET Shotgun Start)
Monday, Sept. 8: Round 3 (8:45 a.m. ET Shotgun Start)
THE LINEUP (+1 INDIVIDUAL)
Samantha Brown – So.
- Started the season by leading Purdue at the Boilermaker Classic, tying for ninth by finishing even par (75-72-69—216) for her first career Top 10 performance; her 54-hole total and final round 69 were career lows
- Played the par 5s 4-under throughout the Boilermaker Classic, ranking third in the field
- As a freshman, cracked the lineup in all 14 tournaments
- Held a 75.76 stroke average, leading the team’s freshmen, a season ago
- Led Purdue in eagles (4), including a pair of hole-in-ones, while ranking second on the team in pars (428)
- Making her conference tournament debut, carded a career-low 69 (-3) in the second round of the 2025 B1G Championships
- Led Purdue at the 2025 Boilermaker Spring Classic by tying for 16th (75-72-75—222) on the individual leaderboard; made a hole-in-one in the second round, acing the par-3 17th at Ackerman-Allen
- Helped the Boilermakers win the Coach Mo Classic by tying for 16th (75-73-76—224); made a hole-in-one in the second round
- 2025 WGCA All-American Scholar
Lauren Timpf – So.
- Tied for 15th at the season-opening Boilermaker Classic with a career-low 219 (69-76-74); her opening round 69 (-3) was also her best as a Boilermaker
- Ranked third in the Boilermaker Classic field in par-3 scoring (-2)
- Played in 12 tournaments as a freshman, seven in the lineup and five as an individual
- Cracked the lineup in all three postseason tournaments (Big Ten Championships, NCAA Lubbock Regional, NCAA Championships)
- Produced a 75.94 stroke average
- Recorded the team-low round four times throughout the season
- Played her best golf of the season at the NCAA Lubbock Regional; her 14th-place finish, 54-hole total (73-76-70—219) and final round 70 (-2) were all season bests, and she ranked fourth in the field in par-5 scoring (-5) throughout the week
- Led Purdue at the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational by tying for 30th (75-73-73—221)
- 2025 WGCA All-American Scholar
Ashley Kim – Jr.
- In her Purdue debut, tied for 18th at the Boilermaker Classic (72-73-76—221)
- Transferred to Purdue after spending the past two seasons at Arkansas State and becoming one of the best golfers in program history
- Last season, set Arkansas State’s single-season school record for stroke average (71.70)
- Three-time Sun Belt Conference Golfer of the Week
- Shot par-or-better in 12 of her 20 rounds, the third most in a single season in program history
- Claimed medalist honors and led Arkansas State to a victory at the Maverick Classic by matching the lowest 54-hole total in school history; fired a 12-under 204 (66-68-70), and her 6-under 66 in the opening was the second-lowest round ever by an ASU golfer
- Made 88 birdies as a freshman at ASU, ranking second in program history
Luana Valero – Fr.
- Tied for 28th (73-80-72—225) at the Boilermaker Classic, her collegiate debut
- In the final round of the Boilermaker Classic, eagled the par-4 seventh
- Rose to No. 166 in the world in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and entered Purdue ranked No. 187
- 17 ranked prospect in the world, including No. 3 among players signed by Big Ten programs, according to Golf Channel's Brentley Romine
- Won nine tournaments and racked up 32 Top 10 finishes over three years entering her Purdue career
- Defended her title at the 2025 Camilo Villegas Cup
Michaela Headlee – So.
- Featured in the lineup for the first time in her career, tying for 42nd (75-79-74—228) at the Boilermaker Classic
- Competed in six tournaments as a freshman, all as an individual
- Recorded a 78.47 stroke average
- Tied for 22nd at the Coach Mo Classic (70-80-76—226), which included a career-low 70 in the opening round
- Fired a career-low 225 (73-73-79) to place 28th at the Boilermaker Spring Classic
Ella Weber – Jr. (Competing as an individual)
- Competing as an individual at the Boilermaker Classic, fired a final round 71 (-1) and tied for 61st (81-83-71—235)
- Transferred to Purdue after spending the past two seasons at Michigan State
- Qualified for the 2025 U.S. Women’s Am at Bandon Dunes
- Tied for 11th at the 2025 PGA Women’s Championship of Canada and placed 16th at the Glencoe Invitational, a pair of Canadian pro events
- Made one appearance as a sophomore a season ago, tying for 70th place at the Mary Fossum Invitational at 14-over par 230 (79-81-75)
- Played in four tournaments as a freshman, recording a 75.55 stroke average
THE FIELD
Chattanooga
FIU
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa State
Kennesaw State
Kent State
Michigan (host)
Notre Dame
Oakland
Purdue
Rutgers
South Florida
Virginia
Wisconsin
THE COURSE
- The University of Michigan Golf Course is a par 71 track that will measure 6,227 yards for the Wolverine Invitational.
- Designed by Alister MacKenzie, the course opened in 1931 and underwent a three-year renovation more than 60 years later (1992-94). Arthur Hills led the renovation in the 1990s.
- The course is one of only six courses designed by MacKenzie in the United States. One of the others is Augusta National, home of The Masters.
- The U-M Golf Course is one of six courses that will serves as host of a 2026 NCAA Regional.
SEASON OPENER
- Samantha Brown fired a career-low 69 to vault up the leaderboard and finish ninth to lead Purdue in the season-opening Boilermaker Classic. The sophomore played the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex’s Kampen-Cosler Course even par (75-72-69—216) through three rounds to record her first Top 10 performance for the Old Gold and Black.
- As a team, Purdue (+14) placed fourth as Ole Miss (-2) claimed the team title. The Boilermakers led the field in pars (175) and ranked second in par-4 scoring (+12).
- Brown bested her previous low 54-hole total by five strokes. She found most of her success on the par 5s, playing the holes 4-under throughout the tournament to rank third in the field.
- Lauren Timpf matched her best three-round score of her career, finishing 3-over (69-76-74—219) to tie for 15th. The sophomore’s tournament was highlighted by an opening round 69 (-3), her lowest round as a Boilermaker. Throughout the two days, Timpf played the par 3s 2-under par to rank third in the field.
- Newcomers Ashley Kim (+5) and Luana Valero (+9) placed 18th and 28th, respectively, on the individual leaderboard. Making her debut in the Purdue lineup, Michaela Headlee tied for 48th overall at 12-over.
THE SQUAD
- Samantha Brown and Lauren Timpf are a pair of sophomores that look to lead the team and welcome several newcomers. Brown cracked the lineup in all 14 tournaments a season ago, helping Purdue win a pair of tournament titles. Timpf played in 12 tournaments as a freshman, and her strong play at the NCAA Lubbock Regional was a key factor in the Boilermakers punching their ticket to the NCAA Championships.
- Michael Headlee also returns experience after competing as an individual in six tournaments throughout her freshman campaign.
- Transfers Ashley Kim (Arkansas State) and Ella Weber (Michigan State) join incoming freshmen Ida Lindqvist (Sundsvall, Sweden) and Luana Valero (Medellin, Colombia) as the four newest Boilermakers.
WINNING WITH BYRD AND GUIAO
- Purdue Women’s Golf is in its fourth season under the leadership of head coach Zack Byrd and assistant coach Lauren Guiao. Over the past three years, the dynamic duo has brought the winning tradition back to West Lafayette.
- Purdue has won five tournaments under Byrd and Guiao, the most in a three-year span since winning six from 2012-14.
- After starting off the 2024-25 season with a win at the Boilermaker Classic, a victory at the Coach Mo Classic gave the Boilermakers multiple tournament wins in consecutive seasons for the first time since a six-year stretch from the fall of 2005 to the spring of 2011.
- Purdue has also claimed victories at the 2023 Boilermaker Classic, the 2023 Tulane Classic and the 2023 Mary Fossum Invitational with Byrd at the helm.
- The Boilermakers have advanced to nationals in each of the past two seasons. With the men making the NCAA Championships as well, Purdue was the only Big Ten school and one of only seven programs nationally to send both men’s and women’s teams to the national stage the past two years.
- Purdue collected just one tournament title in the five seasons prior to Byrd's arrival.
ACES ARE WILD
- While hole-in-ones are normally hard to come by, the Boilermakers miraculously made five as a team last year to pace the country.
- Samantha Brown and Natasha Kiel led the way with two apiece. Kiel made her first ace on the par-3 17th in the final round of the Boilermaker Classic at the Kampen-Cosler Course, securing medalist honors and helping Purdue win the first tournament of the season. She added another in the Coach Mo Classic, once again a team victory and individual victory for Kiel.
- Both of Brown's aces occurred this spring. Her first as a Boilermaker was during the second round of the Coach Mo Classic, helping Purdue capture the team title. She made her second in as many events, finding the bottom of the cup during the Boilermaker Spring Classic on the par-3 17th of the Ackerman-Allen Course.
- Competing as an individual, Lana Malek made a hole-in-one during the Boilermaker Spring Classic. She aced the par-3 13th on Ackerman-Allen.
- Qualifying for the first tournament this fall, Michaela Headlee and Luana Valero each made a hole-in-one at the fifth hole on Kampen-Cosler.
2024-25 RECAP
- A season ago, the Boilermakers earned a spot in the NCAA Championships for the 20th time in program history, all since 2000.
- For the second time in the past four NCAA Regionals, Purdue needed to win a playoff to advance to the NCAA Championships. Just like the 2022 NCAA Stanford Regional, the Boilermakers came through in clutch time to win the playoff and earn a berth to the national stage. After a final round 285 (-3) to jump into the Top 5, Purdue took down No. 19 Texas A&M in a 5-on-5 playoff to book a spot to the national championships.
- The Boilermakers’ regular season featured two tournament titles and two runner-up finishes.
- Capturing the Boilermaker Classic and the Coach Mo Classic, Purdue won multiple tournaments in consecutive seasons for the first time since a six-year stretch from the fall of 2005 to the spring of 2011.
- The Boilermakers also placed second at the White Sands Bahamas Invitational in the fall before earning runner-up honors at the Briar's Creek Invitational in the spring.
- Natasha Kiel earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors with the help of three individual wins, and Momo Sugiyama led Purdue in scoring average for the third straight season. Sugiyama’s 73.09 career stroke average was just .01 away from Maria Hernandez’s program record (73.08).
NEXT ON THE TEE
- After a week off, the Boilermakers travel north of the border for the Canadian Collegiate Invitational at Beacon Hall GC in Aurora, Ontario (Sept. 22-23).
A LOOK AT THE REST OF THE SCHEDULE
- In his fourth season leading Purdue Women’s Golf, head coach Zack Byrd put together a schedule that features a pair of home tournaments along with trips to six states, Canada and Puerto Rico.
- Closing out a busy first month of the season, Purdue returns to the Windy City Collegiate Classic (Sept. 29-30). The Boilermakers conclude the fall by going to Chapel Hill, North Carolina for the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational (Oct. 17-19).
- Flipping the calendar to 2026, the Boilermakers serve as hosts of the annual Purdue Puerto Rico Classic at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico (Feb. 1-3). A regular on the schedule from 2003-20, Byrd brought the tournament back for the third straight season.
- Purdue returns to two more tournaments that were on the schedule the past two seasons. The Boilermakers tee it up at the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational in Sarasota, Florida (Feb. 15-16) and the Briar’s Creek Invitational on Johns Island, South Carolina (March 16-17). Nestled in between the two events is the one-day Shootout at Wachesaw at Murrells Inlet, also in Byrd’s home state of South Carolina (March 9).
- Ending the month of March, the Boilermakers travel to St. Augustine, Florida to defend their title at the Coach Mo Classic (March 30-31). 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 12-13).
- After venturing to the east coast the past two years to compete for a conference title, Purdue travels more than 2,000 miles for the 2026 Big Ten Championships. The league tournament is set to take place at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale, California (April 24-26).
- Rounding out the schedule, the Boilermakers plan to hear their names called for postseason play in one of six NCAA Regionals (May 11-13) with sights set on a third straight trip to the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad, California (May 22-27).