Nov 6th – The Sojourn’s Athlete of the Week, presented by Amplify Media, is Kylee Purdy from the #13 nationally ranked Indiana Wesleyan Women’s Golf team.
Purdy is a 5’7” sophomore from West Salem, OH, and a graduate of Northwestern HS.
“I just realized God gave me the talent to play golf,” Purdy said. “I just worked really hard at it, put in a lot of hours that year, and I guess COVID was a blessing for me because that’s when I started playing golf.”
In her freshman season, Purdy was named to the NAIA All-American second team and All-Crossroads League. She had six Top-10 finishes in her first year.
“It definitely added a lot of pressure. I think I’ve talked about it a lot this season with my coaches, just because coming from a season where I really wasn’t expecting much at all, and I don’t think anyone was expecting anything from me either. I felt free and felt like I could live that out very well. But coming into this year, I was scared that I wasn’t going to quality,” Purdy said. “Doubt creeps into [my] mind so quickly.”
IWU Golf’s team motto is FREE: fearless, relaxed, engaged, and enjoy.
“I think [Coach Bloom] really got me with the fearless, relaxed, engaged and enjoy portion of the program,” Purdy said. “Those four words are something that everyone wants to have in their life.”
Senior teammate Sydney Leyerle sees Purdy as a fun teammate who brings joy on and off the course.
“Kylee has been such a blessing on this team,” Leyerle said. “She’s a very fun person to be around and always knows how to make us laugh.”
Head Coach Kyle Boom is in his 6th season leading the Men’s and Women’s Golf teams. He was an IWU Golf graduate, including being a 2x Crossroads League Champion and the 1995 NCCAA Men’s Golf Champion.
“The difficult part is handling her own expectations,” Coach Bloom said. “We have never had a back-to-back All-American. I am hoping she can be the first.”
Leyerle talks positively about Purdy’s leadership as a young sophomore, as she is always there for her teammates.
“It’s been amazing to watch her grow and see who she’s become, both in golf and on the team as a leader and in her walk with Christ,” Leyerle said.
Coach Bloom sees Purdy’s work ethic motivating the team and inspiring hard work.
“She is selfless. She loves grabbing dinner or coffee with each person on the team to get to know them better and see how she can help,” Coach Bloom said. “Kylee welcomed the new freshman and their normal and adjusted the way she thinks and talks with each of them to make them feel welcomed and valued.”
The Wildcats head into the off-season before gearing back up for competition in the spring.
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