Junior-to-be Lyla Louderbaugh lays groundwork for a big breakthrough

It’s tough to imagine someone setting the table better for a major breakthrough than what KU golfer Lyla Louderbaugh did to close out the 2024-25 school season and at the end of the summer, as well.

After becoming the first women’s golfer in school history to win an individual regional title — helping Lindsay Kuhle’s Jayhawks earn a spot at the NCAA Championships in May — Louderbaugh tore up the U.S. Women’s Amateur match play tournament at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon, riding her hot streak all the way to the semifinals, where she lost in what amounts to overtime over the weekend.

After two rounds of 7-under golf during the stroke play portion of the event last week, the junior-to-be from Buffalo, Missouri, earned the No. 4 seed in match play and won three straight matches to reach the Final Four.

That included a win over the No. 1-ranked amateur woman in the world, Kiara Romero, in the quarterfinals, which took 20 holes to be decided on Friday.

“It was an awesome week here at Bandon,” Louderbaugh said in a KU press release following her semifinal match. “I had so much fun and I’m really proud of myself and how I performed.”

During Saturday’s semis, Louderbaugh won the final three holes to even the match and force the playoff, but fell to 41st seed Brooke Bierman on the 19th hole to bow out of the event one shy of playing for the title.

Match play is a grind no matter what the competition looks like and what level of golf you’re talking about, and Louderbaugh’s ability to stay mentally strong all the way to the semifinals is a huge step in her development.

Just in time, too. With Kuhle’s team losing a large and talented senior class that led the program to its best season in program history last season, Louderbaugh will be asked to carry a big part of the load of moving the program forward.

The smooth and determined lefty, who was initially committed to Missouri State before rerouting to KU, has shown flashes of her competitiveness and talent since her freshman season.

Big gains in consistency and confidence appear to have taken her game to the next level, and she’ll certainly enter the upcoming season as a name to watch in the Big 12 Conference. That makes her a strong candidate for a breakout season.

Last season, as a sophomore, Louderbaugh played in 11 events and 30 rounds for the Jayhawks, finishing fourth on the team with an average of 72.8 per round. That included the solo win at regionals, two top-5 finishes, three top-10s and five rounds in the 60s.

All of those marks were significant steps forward from the season before — a 73.9 average in 10 events and 27 rounds in 2023-24, with no top-10s and three rounds in the 60s — and there's no reason to think she can't improve upon them again as a junior. Especially with a couple of strong showings at big-time events fresh in her memory bank.

She joins senior-to-be Amy DeKock, who also competed at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship last week, as the top returners for the 2025-26 team.

DeKock finished at +6 after stroke play and did not qualify for the match play portion of the recent tournament.

That duo, along with Swedish senior Anna Wallin, will be the only experienced upperclassmen on the 2025-26 roster, which makes what Louderbaugh accomplished during the two recent high-profile events a great and timely sign for the future of the program.

Clearly, she has turned a corner in terms of her game and her confidence, and it’s not hard to see her carrying that into the fall season with the Jayhawks.

Speaking of which, Louderbaugh and her teammates, new and old, will report to campus for the start of school on Aug. 18 and will open the 2025-26 season by hosting The Jayhawk Invitational at The Jayhawk Club in Lawrence Aug. 24 and 25.

That event marks the first of two home meets that the Jayhawks will host this fall. They’ll also host the Marilynn Smith Invitational at Lawrence Country Club in early October.

— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com