PITTSBURGH – Making her Big Ten Championship debut, Purdue Women’s Golf sophomore Momo Sugiyama fired a 2-under 69 to grab a share of the clubhouse lead in the opening round of the conference tournament. The Boilermaker joined Isabel Sy (Illinois) and Emily Lauterbach (Wisconsin) as the only three golfers to record rounds in the 60s at the difficult par 71 Fox Chapel Golf Club on Friday.
Along with sitting atop the leaderboard. Sugiyama recorded her sixth round in the 60s this season to tie five other Boilermakers for the program’s single-season record. Maria Hernandez (2007-08), Maude-Aimee Leblanc (2009-10), Paula Reto (2012-13), Ida Ayu Indira Melati Putri (2018-19) and Micaela Farah (2018-19) all produced six rounds in the 60s over a single single.
As a team, Purdue carded a 297 (+13) to sit in seventh place but within striking distance. The Boilermakers are just three strokes back of third-place Maryland (+10) and only five shots behind No. 24 Ohio State (+8) in second place. Illinois holds a six-shot lead over the Buckeyes after a 2-over 286 in the opening round. The Boilermakers made 62 pars throughout Friday, pacing the field.
Sugiyama played her first 14 holes bogey free, making four birdies along the way. The Australian took advantage of the par-5 second with a birdie to get into red figures before a deuce at the par-3 third pushed her to 2-under. Making six straight pars to conclude the front, Sugiyama remained at 2-under as she made the turn. Birdies at No. 12 and No. 14, a pair of par 4s, allowed her to soar to 4-under before her first miscue of the day. Despite a double bogey at the 15th, she got one stroke back at No. 16 with her fifth birdie. After playing the par 4s 1-under to lead the field in par-4 scoring, Sugiyama tackled the par-3 17th and the par-5 18th enough to secure her round in the 60s.
Another Boilermaker making her Big Ten Championship debut, redshirt-freshman Jade Gu followed Sugiyama with a 75 (+4). She finished strong as the wind picked up in the afternoon, going 1-over on her final 13 holes and making a pair of birdies along the way. Gu found herself in the top quarter of the leaderboard, tied for 22nd.
Jocelyn Bruch and Ashley Kozlowski contributed to the team’s score, carding rounds of 76 (+5) and 77 (+6), respectively. Both Boilermakers made one birdie…
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