Sugiyama’s 4th-Place Performance Highlights Purdue in Windy City

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. – Momo Sugiyama fired a final round 69 (-3) to surge up the leaderboard and lead Purdue Women’s Golf in the Windy City Collegiate Classic. Facing one of the toughest fields in collegiate women’s golf, Sugiyama ended the 54-hole tournament in fourth place (+2) to highlight the Boilermakers’ performance at Exmoor Country Club.
 
As a team, Purdue finished 11th (+40) in a field that featured nine ranked teams, including five in the Top 10 of the WGCA Coaches Poll. The Boilermakers beat No. 12 Florida (+41) by one stroke, while also finishing ahead of Big Ten foes Northwestern (+42) and Michigan State (+58). Purdue got better each round, firing a 297 (+9) for its lowest team total of the tournament.
 
While most teams struggled mightily with the difficult par 4s, Purdue played them 32-over to rank second in the field. The Boilermakers made 38 birdies as a team throughout the event, fourth most in the event.
 
Sugiyama found the birdie train for Tuesday’s final round, recording seven birdies throughout the day. She began her final 18 on the back nine, making back-to-back birdies to start her round. The Australian added two more birdies without committing a bogey to make the turn at 4-under. Sugiyama kept things going with a birdie on the par-5 first to get to 5-under before her first miscue of the day, a double bogey on No. 2. She played the final seven holes at level par, countering two bogeys with a pair of birdies, to complete her second round in the 60s this season. Along with 75s in the first two rounds, Sugiyama’s 69 moved her into the Top 5 of the 79-player field. Her 12 birdies over 54 holes ranked second among the field.
 
Playing in her first tournament of the season, Ashley Kozlowski tied for 24th at 8-over (75-73-76). The junior completed her second round in the morning, firing a 73 (+1) to pace Purdue. Her final round 76 featured four birdies, including two on par 5s. Kozlowski played the lengthy holes 4-under throughout the week to rank fourth in par-5 scoring.
 
Danielle du Toit added a 75 to chip in for the team’s final round tally. The senior got off to a fast start with four birdies in the first seven holes to…