SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Fighting Irish Classic belonged to Purdue Women’s Golf, as the Boilermakers dominated two days of play to win the tournament by a whopping 22 strokes. Led by medalist Samantha Brown (-4), Purdue finished 1-under as a team to capture the team title at Warren Golf Course on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.
The Boilermakers’ three-round total of 851 (286-277-288) was the fourth-lowest 54-hole score in program history. Purdue led by five after the opening round, and by the end of the day following play on Saturday afternoon, the lead ballooned to 19. The Boilermakers did not let up on Sunday, posting the lowest round of the day and increasing their margin of victory to 22 strokes over Louisville (+21). Wisconsin (+28) rounded out the Top 3, while North Florida and host Notre Dame tied for fourth at 30-over par.
The victory secured the Old Gold and Black a team title for the fifth straight season. It was the seventh win under head coach Zack Byrd, the most in a 5-year span since 2010-14. Purdue paced the field in birdies (50), par-3 scoring (E), par-4 scoring (+11) and par-5 scoring (-2). Individually, all five Boilermakers cracked the Top 15.
Brown earned her first individual title, firing a career-low 209 (70-67-72) for the 10th-best 54-hole total in school history. The Westfield, Indiana native made a field-best 15 birdies throughout the tournament, while also leading the field in par-5 scoring (-3). She finished 4-under par for a three-shot victory over Xavier’s Isabel Brozena, as the two golfers entered the final round tied atop the leaderboard.
Ashley Kim (73-70-72—215) and Luana Valero (73-71-71—215) tied for seventh at 2-over. Valero’s 71 (E) led the way on Sunday, starting out on fire with three birdies through her first five holes. Kim matched Brown with a 72 (+1) during the final round; she began and ended her day with birdies. Valero collected her fourth career Top 10, while Kim earned her second Top 10 performance as a Boilermaker.
Lauren Timpf tied for 11th (+4). She carded a season-low 69 (-2) in the second round, while ranking third in the field in par-4 scoring throughout the tournament (E). Olivia Hemmila was one stroke behind Timpf at 5-over, placing 14th on the individual leaderboard for her best finish at Purdue.
Up next, Purdue kicks off the month of October by returning to the Windy City Collegiate Classic (Oct. 5-6) as three-time tournament champions (2008, 2009, 2010).
BOILERMAKERS
1. Samantha Brown: 70-67-72—209 (-4)
T-7. Ashley Kim: 73-70-72—215 (+2)
T-7. Luana Valero: 73-71-71—215 (+2)
T-11. Lauren Timpf: 71-69-77—217 (+4)
T-14. Olivia Hemmila: 72-73-73—218 (+5)
*T-70. Michaela Headlee: 77-78-84—239 (+26)
*Competing as an individual
TEAM LEADERBOARD
- Purdue: 286-277-288—851 (-1)
2. Louisville: 291-291-291—873 (+21)
3. Wisconsin: 296-295-289—880 (+28)
T-4. North Florida: 296-291-295—882 (+30)
T-4. Notre Dame: 302-286-294—882 (+30)
6. Xavier: 293-290-302—885 (+33)
7. Ball State: 294-298-302—894 (+42)
8. High Point: 306-298-295—899 (+47)
9. Furman: 295-298-310—903 (+51)
10. Florida Gulf Coast: 295-300-309—904 (+52)
11. Youngstown State: 311-308-303—922 (+70)
12. Toledo: 312-304-320—936 (+84)
13. Morehead State: 313-316-310—939 (+87)
14. Stonehill: 323-322-309—954 (+102)