Kylee Purdy '23 Recruiting Profile

I’m a very driven and diverse individual who appreciates the opportunity to take on new challenges and adventures. I believe that my “ceiling” as it relates to my potential to be an elite golfer is higher than almost all other high school golfers. Please take a moment to read the story of how I began my golf career as a sophomore in high school and I think you’ll understand and agree. 

I competed and excelled as an athlete in soccer from a very young age, and even as a freshman earned my varsity letter on a team that won our league title and fell just short of regionals. As a result of COVID and its effects on all aspects of life, I was concerned that I may not have a soccer season in the fall of 2020, my sophomore year. I didn’t want to have a fall with no sports, so I decided to not only go out for soccer practice but also for golf. I had golfed occasionally and recreationally but never competitively. Despite that, I posted good enough scores during qualifying to make the varsity boys golf team. Soccer season wasn’t canceled, so I competed at the varsity level in both soccer and golf in the fall of 2020. To be honest, my golf scores as a sophomore were accomplished with almost nothing more than athleticism and a sheer determination to be as good as I could be.

I fell in love with golf and made the decision to forego my soccer career and strive to become a top-level golfer. I began working with a swing coach in March of 2021. He had me completely start over…in other words, there was nothing about my stance or my swing that would allow me to compete at a high level. He worked with me from March of 2021 through the end of July. During that time, I spent hundreds of hours on the golf course implementing the techniques he was teaching me…I was on the golf course literally every day. 

My junior season began in August, and this year instead of being the #5 or #6 golfer on the boys team, I was the #1 golfer. I improved my score at the first tournament by 23 strokes and finished 6th while competing against 120 other guys. I have averaged an improvement of around 15 strokes in each of the tournaments this year. I view it as a blessing to be able to compete against guys and get no advantages. I can’t just settle for an average swing or average distances for a girl…I must constantly be improving every aspect of my game in order to compete and stay on top. 

For sectionals, districts and state, I compete against other female golfers. At sectionals I improved my score from last year by 14 strokes and qualified for districts with a 78. At districts I shot a 77 to finish 2nd and qualify for the state tournament to be played next weekend (October 15th-16th).

While I’m pleased with the progress I’ve made, I know that I’m really only 8 months into my golf career which I consider having begun when I started working with a swing coach. It’s why I believe that while there are other female golfers who have been golfing for many years and can currently post scores a little better than mine, that my “ceiling” is higher than most. With the same dedication and drive that I used to develop my swing, I feel that I can work to sharpen every aspect of my game. I will spend hundreds of hours on the course this spring and summer in preparation for my senior season and will spend hundreds of hours on the course in preparation for the beginning of my college career in the summer/fall of 2023. 

I look forward to competing at the college level in a couple of years. I will bring my competitiveness, determination, dedication, loyalty and kindness to a program that wants to win! 

Beyond athletics, I aim to acquire a degree in broadcast media. I currently produce highlight videos for the Northwestern High School sports teams, and enjoy both the process of shooting the videos and also editing and producing them!