March 1, 2008
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico - After two rounds of play at the Puerto Rico Classic, No. 2 Alabama holds a two-stroke lead over No. 4 Oklahoma State, recording a 285 on Saturday for a total of 574. The Cowboys fired a 292 and have a team total of 576. Thirteenth-ranked Duke is in third with at 577 after firing a 285 in the second round.
The Purdue men's golf team lowered its team score by eight strokes in the second round, but was unable to gain any ground in the team standings, remaining in 15th place.
Alabama's Matthew Swan is alone in first place carding a one-under 71, after opening the tournament with a 66. Swan has a one shot lead over Georgia Tech's Chesson Hadley who shot an even-par 72 for a 138.
Three Boilermakers shared team low-round honors by firing 74 on Saturday. Junior Michael Randle followed up his 73 in the first round with a 74 and is tied for 28th with a total of 147. Freshmen Erich Johnston and Maximo Kopp also recorded 74s. Johnston is tied for 58th with a two-round total of 152 (78-74) and Kopp has a score of 154 (80-74), tying him for 67th.
Freshmen David Gersztein and Nakarintra Ratanakul each carded a 78 in the second round. Gersztein is in 71st place with a 156 (78-78) and Ratanakul is tied for 72nd with two-day score of 157 (79-78).
Purdue's Coy Breen is playing as an individual and is tied for 58th after recording a 77 in the second round for a 152 total.
The final round of play begins Sunday with a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. at the Rio Mar Country Club on the River Course a 6,902-yard, par-72 course. The Boilermakers are paired with Minnesota and North Carolina State in round three. Final results can be found at purduesports.com.