Du Toit and Sugiyama Pace Purdue in Opening Round

ATHENS, Ga. – Danielle du Toit and Momo Sugiyama shot matching 73s (+1) to lead Purdue Women’s Golf in the first round of the 51st annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic. With 36 holes left to play against a stacked field, the Boilermakers find themselves tied along No. 9 Texas A&M at 10-over par.
 
The top four teams on the leaderboard are Top 25 teams, as No. 10 Auburn (-11) holds an 11-stroke lead in the clubhouse over No. 21 Florida (E). No. 19 Virginia (+1) sits in third place, while No. 4 South Carolina (+2) follows in fourth.
 
Starting on the back nine, du Toit got off to a hot start with back-to-back birdies at Nos. 11 and 12 before rattling off nine straight pars to stay at 2-under. After bogeying the fourth, her first miscue of the day, the senior got the shot back with a birdie on No. 6. A tough finish dropped du Toit out of red figures, but she remained in the Top 20 at the conclusion of the round.
 
Sugiyama parred her first three holes before a bogey on the 13th. However, she played even par the rest of the day to tie for Purdue’s lowest round. Birdies at No. 15 and No. 17 pushed the Boilermaker under par for her round as she made the turn. On front side, her final nine of the day, Sugiyama recorded seven pars but could not find a birdie before signing for her 73.
 
Returning to the lineup, Jocelyn Bruch added a 75 (+3). She drained two birdies at the fifth and seventh to get back to even par on the day. A struggle on her final hole prevented the redshirt sophomore from recording the Boilermakers’ best round.
 
Rounding out Purdue’s scoring, Kan Bunnabodee and Ashley Kozlowski both carded 77s (+5). As a team, Purdue made 62 pars to pace the field. However, the Boilermakers made only nine birdies and look to find more over the next two rounds.
 

Purdue begins the second round Saturday morning (March 25), teeing off the back nine starting at 9:45 a.m. ET. The Boilermakers will be paired alongside No. 9 Texas A&M and the College of Charleston with all three teams tied at 10-over.
 
For updates throughout the remainder of the tournament, follow Purdue Women’s Golf on Twitter @PurdueWGolf.
 
BOILERMAKERS
T20. Danielle du Toit: 73 (+1)
T20. Momo Sugiyama: 73 (+1)
T36. Jocelyn Bruch: 75 (+3)
T55. Ashley Kozlowski: 77 (+5)
T55. Kan Bunnabodee: 77 (+5)
 
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1. #10 Auburn: 277…