WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue men's golf team looks to continue its good start when it heads back to suburban Chicago for the Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate, held at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois.
The 13 teams in the field will play 18 holes on three straight days, beginning Saturday and ending Monday. Included in the field are eight teams ranked in the most-recent Golfweek rankings, and five Big Ten teams, including No. 17-ranked Purdue. Purdue has faced one of the toughest schedules to date, ranking 17th early on in strength of schedule.
THE FIELD (Golfweek Rankings)
Competing in what is possibly America's toughest tournament at Olympia Fields, the Boilermakers more than held their own, finishing 10th out of 15 teams, defeating national powers Illinois, Baylor, Florida State, Arizona and California. Purdue was just six shots behind Texas and two shots behind defending National Champion Pepperdine, shooting a 24-over par 864 (288-291-285). Joe Weiler (T-12th) and Herman Sekne (T-24th) led the Boilermakers at 212 and 215, respectively.
PURDUE LINEUP
THE COURSE
In 1999, Rich Harvest Links was named the fifth-best new private course in the U.S. by Golf Digest. The course made its debut on Golf Digest's list of "America's Top 100 Golf Courses" in 2003. Measuring over 7,700 yards from the professional tees, the course requires precision with every shot. The famous fourth hole, Devil's Elbow, has one of the most intimidating tree-lined tee boxes and fairways of any golf course. In addition to a golf course and several private residences, the 2,200-acre rural site houses several antique stage coaches and a collection of vintage and modern vehicles.
The course has hosted the 2017 NCAA Championships, the 2019 Western Junior and the 2015 Western Amateur, in addition to NCAA Regionals in 2007 and 2014. Purdue advanced to the NCAA Championships out of the 2014 Regional hosted at Rich Harvest Farms and competed in the 2017 National Championships.
RICH HARVEST FARMS INTERCOLLEGIATE HISTORY
This will be Purdue's first appearance in the RHF Intercollegiate, but the Boilermakers have had success on the course previously in other tournaments. Purdue last played Rich Harvest Farms in the fall of 2017, placing fourth in the Northern Intercollegiate. Purdue also placed second and fourth at the Northern Intercollegiate in 2015 and 2014, respectively.
WEATHER FORECAST
Saturday: Partly Sunny, 40 percent chance of showers; 79 degrees; SSW wind 5-15 MPH.
Sunday: Showers; 76 degrees; light winds.
Monday: Partly cloudy, chance of showers; 74 degrees; light winds.
LIVE STATS
Will be available on Golfstat.com.
The 13 teams in the field will play 18 holes on three straight days, beginning Saturday and ending Monday. Included in the field are eight teams ranked in the most-recent Golfweek rankings, and five Big Ten teams, including No. 17-ranked Purdue. Purdue has faced one of the toughest schedules to date, ranking 17th early on in strength of schedule.
THE FIELD (Golfweek Rankings)
- (17) Purdue
- (42) Missouri
- (59) Arkansas State
- (60) Northern Illinois
- (72) Marquette
- (82) Kansas State
- (88) Wisconsin
- (96) Miami, Ohio
- (103) Michigan
- (113) Minnesota
- (115) Nebraska
- (169) James Madison
Competing in what is possibly America's toughest tournament at Olympia Fields, the Boilermakers more than held their own, finishing 10th out of 15 teams, defeating national powers Illinois, Baylor, Florida State, Arizona and California. Purdue was just six shots behind Texas and two shots behind defending National Champion Pepperdine, shooting a 24-over par 864 (288-291-285). Joe Weiler (T-12th) and Herman Sekne (T-24th) led the Boilermakers at 212 and 215, respectively.
PURDUE LINEUP
- Joe Weiler, Senior / Bloomington, Indiana
- Continues to play well to start the season, finishing 10th at the Marquette Intercollegiate and T-12 at Olympia Fields.
- All six of his rounds have been 73 or lower.
- Owns nine career top-10 finishes (in 38 events); one more will move him into the top 10 all-time at Purdue. Has 11 career top-20 finishes.
- Owns a career 73.24 stroke average – good for third in school history behind Austin Eoff (72.82) and Timmy Hildebrand (72.92).
- Since the start of the 2019-20 season, 25 of his 51 rounds have been even or under par and is a cumulative 9-over par (71.88 stroke average in that span).
- Cole Bradley, Senior / West Lafayette, Indiana
- Strong start to the 2021-22 campaign with a T-6th finish at Erin Hills (67-70-71= 208). \
- Overcame a slow start at Olympia Fields to shoot a final-round 70 to finish T-42nd.
- Ranks seventh on Purdue's career stroke average list (73.41).
- Has a team-best 11 career top-20 finishes.
- Nine of his last 14 rounds dating to last year have been even or under par; cumulative 1-over par in that span (71.07 stroke average).
- Needs 824 strokes to become just the eighth player in school history to amass 10,000 career strokes – a who's who of Purdue golf.
- Herman Sekne, Sophomore / Oslo, Norway
- Sekne is off to a good start as a sophomore, posting two top-25 finishes (T-12 at Erin Hills; T-24 at Olympia Fields).
- Has posted a team-low score in three of six rounds so far this year.
- Averages 68.50 strokes in the first round this year (67 at Erin Hills; 70 at Olympia Fields).
- All six rounds have been 74 or lower.
- Owns a 73.41 career stroke average in 27 rounds.
- Nels Surtani, Sophomore / Indianapolis, Indiana
- Will compete in his first career event this weekend.
- Was a three-time team MVP at Park Tudor High School in Indianapolis.
- Won sectionals as a freshman and junior and finished fourth at the state meet as a freshman.
- Nick Dentino, Junior / Carmel, Indiana
- Had a good start to the season, finishing 5th at the Washington County Individual, ran concurrently with the Marquette Intercollegiate.
- Finished strong at Olympia Fields, shooting a 1-over par 71 in the final round.
- Has had just one double bogey in 90 holes so far this season.
THE COURSE
In 1999, Rich Harvest Links was named the fifth-best new private course in the U.S. by Golf Digest. The course made its debut on Golf Digest's list of "America's Top 100 Golf Courses" in 2003. Measuring over 7,700 yards from the professional tees, the course requires precision with every shot. The famous fourth hole, Devil's Elbow, has one of the most intimidating tree-lined tee boxes and fairways of any golf course. In addition to a golf course and several private residences, the 2,200-acre rural site houses several antique stage coaches and a collection of vintage and modern vehicles.
The course has hosted the 2017 NCAA Championships, the 2019 Western Junior and the 2015 Western Amateur, in addition to NCAA Regionals in 2007 and 2014. Purdue advanced to the NCAA Championships out of the 2014 Regional hosted at Rich Harvest Farms and competed in the 2017 National Championships.
RICH HARVEST FARMS INTERCOLLEGIATE HISTORY
This will be Purdue's first appearance in the RHF Intercollegiate, but the Boilermakers have had success on the course previously in other tournaments. Purdue last played Rich Harvest Farms in the fall of 2017, placing fourth in the Northern Intercollegiate. Purdue also placed second and fourth at the Northern Intercollegiate in 2015 and 2014, respectively.
WEATHER FORECAST
Saturday: Partly Sunny, 40 percent chance of showers; 79 degrees; SSW wind 5-15 MPH.
Sunday: Showers; 76 degrees; light winds.
Monday: Partly cloudy, chance of showers; 74 degrees; light winds.
LIVE STATS
Will be available on Golfstat.com.