WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue men's golf team spring season begins in earnest this weekend when it hosts the 28th annual Puerto Rico Classic at the Rio Mar Resort's River Course in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
The 15-team field is consistently ranked as one of the elite tournaments in collegiate golf, starting Sunday with 18 holes and concluding with the final round on Tuesday.
The field contains six teams ranked in the Golfstat top 50, including No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 3 Georgia Tech. Purdue will be paired with College of Charleston and Alabama in Monday's opening round, teeing off at 8 a.m. ET with a shotgun start.
THE FIELD (Rankings via Golfstat)
- 1 – Oklahoma
- 3 – Georgia Tech
- 19 – Georgia
- 24 – Clemson
- 28 – Tennessee
- 35 – Ole Miss
- 52 – PURDUE
- 53 – Alabama
- 56 – North Carolina State
- 58 – Ohio State
- 65 – Marquette
- 70 – East Carolina
- 81 – Iowa
- 89 – College of Charleston
- 104 - Maryland
PURDUE LINEUP
- Joe Weiler, Junior: Outstanding fall campaign, posting four top-20 finishes in five events, averaging 71.93 strokes per round … was named the Indiana Golf Association Player of the Year after winning the Indiana Amateur and placing second in the Indiana Open … has had a counting score in 14 of 15 rounds this year … leads team with 171 pars and has had just four double-bogeys (or worse) all season … finished T-2 at the Island Resort Intercollegiate and T-3 at the Gopher Invite … was T-10 at the Crooked Stick Invite in last tournament … nine of his 15 rounds this year have been even or under par.
- Andrew Farraye, Sophomore: Owns a 72.53 stroke average, posting four top-20 finishes in the fall … was T-8 at the Pioneer Creek Collegiate and placed T-10 at the Marquette Intercollegiate … has eight rounds of even-par or better, including two rounds of 67 … leads the team in final-round scoring average (70.80) and par-5 scoring average (4.60) … leads team with 53 birdies.
- Nick Dentino, Freshman: Has had an outstanding start to his freshman season, posting a 72.53 stroke average through five events … owns a pair of top-20 finishes at the Island Resort Intercollegiate (T-2) and Gopher Invitational (T-16) … has eight rounds of even-par or better and has had a counting score in 14 of 15 rounds … leads team in second-round scoring average (71.60) and is second on the team in pars made (169) … tied for team lead with three rounds in the 60s.
- Jason Hong, Junior: Owns a 73.75 stroke average with a top-20 finish at the Crooked Stick Invitational (T-13) … five of his 12 rounds have been even-par or better … counting score in 10 of 12 rounds this past fall … owns a team-best seven career top-20 finishes.
- Cole Bradley, Junior: owns a 74.87 stroke average with a top-10 finish at the Marquette Intercollegiate (T-7) … has a career 73.67 stroke average, good for 10th in school history … won the First Coast Amateur in early January.
THE COURSE
The event returns to the River Course at the Rio Mar Resort for the second straight year after playing the Ocean Course in 2018, due to the reconstruction after Hurricane Maria decimated the River Course. Playing 6,902 yards and par-72, the Greg Norman-design wraps around the serene Mameyes River. Inspired by the natural terrain of the land, the holes are integrated into existing foliage creating a lush, verdant course with stunning views of the El Yunque's mountains and the Atlantic Ocean.
WEATHER FORECAST
Sunday: Partly sunny with 50% chance of showers; 82 degrees; E wind 10-15 MPH
Monday: Mostly sunny; 83 degrees; E wind 12-18 MPH
Tuesday: Mostly sunny; 83 degrees; E wind 15-20 MPH
PUERTO RICO CLASSIC HISTORY
This marks Purdue's 22nd appearance in the tournament, while still looking for its first team title. The Boilermakers have finished third three times, including in 2018, missing out on the team title by just three shots. Timmy Hildebrand finished third at the 2017 event, the second-best finish ever by a Purdue golfer at the event (2002 – Lee Williamson; 2nd). Alabama and Georgia Tech have won the tournament six times, followed by Georgia (5) and Florida (4). Georgia Tech has had a medalist in seven tournaments to lead the individual tally. Georgia Tech and Georgia won last year's event at 16-under par while Purdue finished fifth at 5-under par. Three players shared medalist honors at 6-under par 210.
LIVE STATS
Live scoring can be found on golfstat.com.