WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – After starting the 2026-27 season at home, Purdue Women’s Golf hits the road for the first time by traveling to Nashville for the Mason Rudolph Championship, hosted by Vanderbilt (Sept. 18-20). The Boilermakers join 14 other teams to play 54 holes over three days at the Vanderbilt Legends Club.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 18: Round 1 (Tee Times beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET)
Saturday, Sept. 19: Round 2 (Tee Times beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET)
Sunday, Sept. 20: Round 3 (Tee Times beginning at 9 a.m. ET)
THE LINEUP
Lauren Timpf – Jr.
- B1G Preseason Player to Watch
- Playing in her 27th tournament as a Boilermaker, holding a 74.36 career stroke average
- Led Purdue at the season-opening Boilermaker Classic, making a field-best 16 birdies and placing ninth at 2-over (72-75-71—218) for her fourth career Top 10 performance; also ranked fourth in the field in par-4 scoring (-1)
- Ended the 2025-26 season ranked No. 151 in the nation
- Recorded a 73.00 stroke average a season ago, ranking second on the team
- Named to the 2026 Big Ten All-Championships Team after tying for fifth 74-67-72—213); her 67 (-3) in the second round was a career low
- Last season, led Purdue in pars (416), while ranking second in stroke average (73.00), team-low round (13), rounds in the 60s (3) and Top 20 finishes (7)
- Her second-place performance at the Boilermaker Spring Classic (71-70-73—214) was a career best and the best finish by an individual Boilermaker throughout the 2025-26 season; played the par 5s 5-under, ranking third in the 94-player field
- Two-time WGCA All-American Scholar and 2026 Academic All-Big Ten
Samantha Brown – Jr.
- B1G Preseason Player to Watch
- Playing in her team-leading 29th tournament, holding a career 74.25 stroke average
- At the Boilermaker Classic, led the field in par-3 scoring (-2); recorded her team-leading 11th career individual Top 20 showing by tying for 16th (71-74-76—221)
- Second Team All-Big Ten as a sophomore, ending the season at No. 130 in the national rankings
- Paced Purdue with a 72.69 stroke average, as well as team-low rounds (17), birdies (108) and Top 10 finishes (5)
- Tied the single-season school record with six rounds in the 60s
- Nineteen of her 36 rounds were par-or-better, the third most by a Boilermaker in a single season
- Became Big Ten Golfer of the week after guiding Purdue to a victory at the 2025 Coach Mo Classic; tied for third with a 3-under 213 (75-66-72) for her best finish as a Boilermaker and her lowest 54-hole total
- Two-time WGCA All-American Scholar and 2026 Academic All-Big Ten
Olivia Hemmila – Sr.
- Making her second appearance as a Boilermaker after spending the past three years at Oakland
- In her Purdue debut, tied for 30th at the Boilermaker Classic (74-79-73—226)
- 2026 Horizon League All-League First Team
- Played in all 11 tournaments a season ago, recording a 76.58 stroke average
- Led Oakland to its third straight Horizon League Championships, tying for fourth individually (75-74-82—231) and earning a spot on the Horizon League All-Tournament Team
- Claimed medalist honors and led the team to victory at the NKU Julie Invitational (70-74-77—221); named Horizon League Golfer of the Week
- Fired a 3-under 68 in the opening round of the 2026 NCAA Ann Arbor Regional
- 2026 WGCA All-American Scholar and Horizon League All-Academic Team
Ashley Kim – Sr.
- B1G Preseason Player to Watch
- Making her 15th appearance as a Boilermaker, all in the lineup
- Her 74.13 career stroke average is the best among all active Boilermakers
- Cracked the lineup for all 13 tournaments a season ago, recording a 73.89 stroke average to rank third on the team
- Ranked second on the team in birdies (102) and third in Top 20 finishes (6)
- Led Purdue at the 2025 Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational, tying for 14th (71-73-71—215)
- Tied for fifth at last year’s Wolverine Invitational with a 216 (75-70-71), which included a second round 70 (-1); ranked third in the field in par-5 scoring (-2)
- Transferred to Purdue after spending two years at Arkansas State and becoming one of the best golfers in program history
- 2026 Academic All-Big Ten
Luana Valero – So.
- Making her 15th appearance after cracking the lineup in all 13 tournaments as a freshman
- 2026 Big Ten All-Freshman and three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week
- Her 74.00 stroke average was the fourth best by a freshman in program history
- Recorded three rounds in the 60s and three Top 10 finishes, ranking third and fifth, respectively, by a freshman in Purdue history
- Guided Purdue to a third-place finish, while placing fourth (personal best) on the individual leaderboard, at the 2026 Big Ten Championships (67-69-74—210) to earn a spot on the all-championships team; paced the B1G field with 12 birdies, while ranking second in par-4 scoring (-1) throughout the week
- Her three-day total of 210 (67-69-74) at the B1G Championships was the second-lowest 54-hole tally by a Boilermaker competing in the conference tournament, as well as the lowest of her career; the opening round 67 (-3) was a personal best
- Led the team with four eagles a season ago
Michaela Headlee – Jr.
- Playing in her 18th tournament as a Boilermaker, second of the season
- Recorded a 76.19 stroke average a season ago, appearing in 10 tournaments that included five in the lineup
- Placed ninth at the Boilermaker Spring Classic with a career-low 218 (73-72-73) for her first career Top 10 performance; played the par 5s 5-under to rank third in the field, while ranking fourth in the field with 10 birdies throughout the tournament
- Competing as an individual, fired a season-low 72 (E) in the final round of the 2026 Coach Mo Classic
- Competed as an individual at the 2026 Purdue Puerto Rico Classic and carded a 6-over 222 (76-73-73)
- Featuring in the lineup for the first time in her career, tied for 42nd (75-79-74—228) at the 2025 Boilermaker Classic
- 2026 Academic All-Big Ten
THE FIELD
Arizona State
College of Charleston
Clemson
Florida
FAU
Georgia Southern
Long Beach State
Louisville
Middle Tennessee
Mississippi State
North Carolina
Northwestern
Purdue
Vanderbilt (Host)
Western Kentucky
THE COURSE
- The Vanderbilt Legends Club, designed by Bob Cupp and Tom Kite, has two 36-hole courses and opened in 1992.
- The Mason Rudolph Championship will be contested on the South Course, a par-71 course that will measure 6,390 yards for the tournament.
- Purdue finished runner-up in the 2010 event.
LAST TIME OUT
- Purdue carded an 8-over 296 during the final round of the Boilermaker Classic to leapfrog Indiana and North Florida and finish in fourth place behind a trio of preseason Top 25 teams.
- Lauren Timpf fired a 1-under 71 in the final round to soar into the Top 10 of the individual leaderboard. With the help of 16 birdies through 54 holes, more than anyone else in the 93-player field, the junior placed ninth at 2-over (72-75-71—218) for her fourth career Top 10 performance. She also ranked fourth in the field in par-4 scoring, playing those holes 1-under par.
- Samantha Brown recorded her team-leading 11th career individual Top 20 showing, tying for 16th (+5). She paced Purdue through the first two rounds. Throughout the tournament, Brown went 2-under on the par 3s to lead the field in par-3 scoring.
- Senior transfer Olivia Hemmila played her best golf as a Boilermaker by shooting a final round 73 (+1). The Troy, Michigan, native finished strong by going 2-under on her final five holes without committing a bogey. That included a birdie at the par-3 fifth, her last hole of the tournament.
THE SQUAD
- Purdue returns a veteran squad for the 2026-27 campaign. Seven Boilermakers played in at least nine tournaments a season ago, including four that competed in all 13 events.
- The returning cast includes All-Big Ten golfer Samantha Brown, who tied a school record with six rounds in the 60s last year, as well as a pair of Big Ten All-Championships Team honorees in Lauren Timpf and Luana Valero.
- Valero was also Big Ten All-Freshman after one of the best freshman seasons in program history.
- Two newcomers join the team in senior Olivia Hemmila and freshman Ariana Urrea. Hemmila made the move to West Lafayette after three seasons at Oakland where she earned All-Horizon League First Team honors. Urrea is the lone freshman Boilermaker, playing high school golf in Florida and hailing from Peru.
WINNING WITH BYRD AND GUIAO
- Purdue Women’s Golf is in its fifth season under the leadership of head coach Zack Byrd and assistant coach Lauren Guiao. Over the past four years, the dynamic duo has brought the winning tradition back to West Lafayette.
- Purdue has won six tournaments under Byrd and Guiao, the most in a four-year span since winning six from 2011-14. The Boilermakers have won at least one tournament in four straight seasons for the first time since a streak of nine consecutive years from 2006-14.
- The Boilermakers defended their title at the 2026 Coach Mo Classic, the 17th tournament that the program has won multiple times.
- 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 Boilers collected just one tournament title in the five seasons prior to Byrd's arrival.
NEXT ON THE TEE
- Next weekend, the Boilermakers travel north for the Fighting Irish Classic in South Bend, Indiana (Sept. 26-27).
THE REST OF THE SCHEDULE
- Kicking off the month of October, Purdue returns to the Windy City Collegiate Classic (Oct. 5-6) as three-time tournament champions (2008, 2009, 2010). The Boilermakers conclude the fall by going to Texas for the Abilene Christian Intercollegiate (Oct. 19-21), which will be broadcast live on Golf Channel.
- Flipping the calendar to 2027, the Boilermakers serve as hosts of the Golf Reservation Center Dominican Republic Classic in Punta Cana (Jan. 31-Feb. 2). The tournament replaces the annual Purdue Puerto Rico Classic, as the Boilermakers welcome teams to Cocotal Country Club for the international event.
- Purdue returns to two more tournaments that were on the schedule the past three seasons, both in the state of Florida. The Boilermakers tee it up at the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational in Sarasota (Feb. 14-15) and the Coach Mo Classic in St. Augustine (March 29-30) as the reigning two-time defending champions. Nestled in between the two events is the Puerto Vallarta Invitational in Mexico (March 19-21).
- Serving as the final tune-up before the conference championship, Purdue returns to West Lafayette for the Boilermaker Spring Classic. The spring tournament will take place on the other BBGC Pete Dye course, Ackerman-Allen (April 11-12).
- After venturing more than 2,000 miles west for last year’s conference tournament, Purdue travels east for the 2026 Big Ten Championships at the prestigious Nemacolin Resort in Farmington, Pennsylvania (April 23-25). Last year, the Boilermakers placed third at B1G Championships for their best conference finish since 2019.
- Rounding out the schedule, the Boilermakers plan to hear their names called for postseason play in one of six NCAA Regionals (May 10-12) with sights set on a return to the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad, California (May 21-26).