PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman Women's Golf travels to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida this week to compete in the 38th Annual PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship at historic TPC Sawgrass. The event begins Monday, May 6, and runs through Wednesday, May 8.
 
Under the direction of head coach Harry Stokes, Bethune-Cookman is charged by Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) individual champion Katie Robinson. The Wildcats are seeking their record 17th minority championship since the inception of the event back in 1986. The Wildcats won eight consecutive PGA Minority titles on the women's side from 2011-19, as the tournament used to be housed at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
 
Bethune-Cookman's last PGA WORKS title came in 2019, as Yudika Rodriguez turned in a 54-hole career-low 8-under (69-67-72), en route to her first individual PGA WORKS individual title. Rodiguez finished six shots ahead of teammate Caitlin Evans-Brand. Sumie Francois tied for third on the final leaderboard for the Cats, while Isabela Miravite finished fifth. Isabell Friberg was seventh to round out the scoring for the Maroon and Gold.
 
ABOUT THE COURSE
Just 12 miles from Jacksonville, Fla., and 20 miles north of historic St. Augustine, TPC Sawgrass offers two championship golf courses that are open for the public to enjoy – THE PLAYERS Stadium Course, Home of THE PLAYERS Championship, and Dye's Valley Course.
 
Ranked as #1 on Golf Advisor's 2017 – Top 10 Golf Courses in the US, TPC Sawgrass is also a three-time recipient of the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.  They have been honored as a top-10 ranked resort golf course in the United States and the top-ranked golf course in Florida, by Golfweek magazine. The Club is also part of the PGA TOUR's acclaimed TPC Network, which includes sister golf courses such as TPC Scottsdale, host of the Waste Management Phoenix Open and TPC Southwind, host of the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
 
Master architect Pete Dye designed both golf courses, with The Stadium Course being the most recognizable thanks to the intimidating par-3, 17th hole that features the famed island green.
 
Each day's round will begin in a shotgun format at 8 a.m., while live video during broadcast times will be available at PGA.com.
 
ABOUT PGA WORKS
The PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship, the most culturally significant championship in collegiate golf, annually hosts student-athletes enrolled in Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and other Minority-Serving Educational Institutions. 197 students from 58 schools competed in 2023.
 
The PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship (PWCC) was created in 1986 to highlight competitive golf programs at the most underserved and underrepresented Minority-Serving Institutions in the country and educate and inspire student-athletes to pursue career opportunities in the business of golf and beyond. PWCC is considered the most culturally significant championship in collegiate golf (75% of 2023 players identified as "non-white").
 
The Championship is a 54-hole, stroke-play event contested across five divisions from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).
 
The individual competition is open to all minority men and women student-athletes playing collegiate golf at the Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, and NJCAA level, or participants who are enrolled in one of the PGA of America's PGA Golf Management University Programs.
 
WILDCATS IN THE FIELD
1. Katie Robinson (Jr.) – American Canyon, Calif.
2. Jenna Werle (Grad.) – Cocoa, Fla.
3. Kyleigh Leaf (R-Sr.) – Brownsburg, Ind.
4. Skylar Kew (Soph.) – Dundas, Ontario
5. Meeya Marquez (Fr.) – Sherman Oaks, Calif.
 
QUOTES FROM STOKES
"I love this event. It has produced so many fond memories, not only Bethune-Cookman traditionally, but many student-athletes across the women's and men's game of golf throughout the years. I love what it stands for. I love the way it's run. I love the atmosphere it has created in continually growing each and every year. I always look forward to the PGA WORKS Championship at the end of the year."
 
"The fact this tournament is at TPC Sawgrass, of all places, is astounding. It shows where PGA WORKS continues to raise the bar each and every year. This is just a phenomenal opportunity for our team, and for everybody competing this year, to play on one of the most iconic holes in all of golf, as well as a course that has produced numerous memories across the game of golf, in general, for years and years. This is an opportunity our team isn't taking lightly, and one I know I will enjoy as a head coach."
 
"I am really looking forward to seeing what Meeya [Marquez] does this week. She has been chomping at the bits to get back in the lineup, and now is her turn. I know she's ready. And as for players like Katie [Robinson] and Jenna [Werle], it's just another day at the office. I know Jenna is focused on avenging her last round at the SWAC Tournament, and I really look for her to have a great tournament this week."
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR BCU
Bethune-Cookman junior Katie Robinson won the 2024 Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship Individual Medalist Award, as the Wildcats finished up play in the 2024 SWAC Women's Golf Championship at The Refuge. Additionally, third-year head coach Harry Stokes walked away as the 2024 Co-Coach of the Year for the SWAC.
 
Robinson, a junior from American Canyon, California, turned in a career-best at The Refuge, lowering her results from a season ago by double-digit strokes. She entered Wednesday's final round tied atop the player leaderboard with Alabama State's Bamboo Kittiyanaruewat. Robinson (78-73-72=223, +7) would finish the day with a tournament-low even-par 72, winning the individual title by two strokes, and claiming her first-ever SWAC Individual title. In the process, she lowered her scorecard each round of the tournament – one of just two Wildcats to claim that distinction.
 
As a team, Bethune-Cookman (320-309-318=947) finished in second place after leading by one stroke heading into the final 18 holes on Wednesday. Alabama State (318-312-313=943) won the title by four strokes, as the Hornets used a 5-over 77 from Kittiyanaruewat to claim the title. Skylar Kew (81-78-80=239, +23) finished tied for eighth and earned her first SWAC All-Tournament award. Beside her on the leaderboard was teammate Jenna Werle (76-76-87=239, +23), as the Cocoa, Florida, native also picked up her first All-SWAC award as a grad transfer for the Wildcats.
 
Kyleigh Leaf (85-82-79=246, +30) carded a final round 7-over 79 to perform her best round of the event, allowing her to finish 13th on the leaderboard. And it was junior Kamary Leaf (87-92-92=271, +55) rounding out the Wildcats in this year's SWAC Championship, as she finished 20th on the final leaderboard.
 
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