WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue men's golf team wraps up its final preparations for the postseason by hosting the 18th annual Boilermaker Invitational on Saturday and Sunday at the Ackerman-Allen Golf Course.
Action gets underway Saturday at 9 a.m. ET, as 13 other teams descend on the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex. This marks the first time the event will be played at Ackerman-Allen, as renovations are currently being made to the Kampen Course. The teams will play 36 holes on Saturday, followed by 18 holes on Sunday.
Purdue, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin will be among the favorites as a total of six Big Ten teams will be in the field. This will be Purdue's last event until the Big Ten Championships on April 29 to May 1, at the Pete Dye Course at the French Lick Resort.
THE FIELD (Golfstat Rankings)
21 Illinois
32 Purdue
51 Indiana
98 Wisconsin
112 Rutgers
120 Illinois State
122 Troy
140 Minnesota
163 Ball State
165 Eastern Michigan
169 Miami, Ohio
188 Loyola Chicago
235 Butler
269 IUPUI
LAST TIME OUT
The Boilermakers pieced together a strong result, placing fifth at the prestigious Calusa Cup at Calusa Pines Golf Club in Naples, Florida. The tournament featured seven of the nation's top-23 teams with Purdue defeating No. 8 Georgia and No. 22 Clemson in head-to-head fashion. Cole Bradley led the way for Purdue with a 1-over par 217, good for ninth place. Andrew Farraye posted the lowest 18-hole score of the week for the Boilermakers in the final round with a 69, catapulting to a 19th-place finish at 6-over par 222.
PURDUE LINEUP
THE COURSE
Playing on the course for the first time in Boilermaker Invitational history, Ackerman-Allen Golf Course is ranked as the 11th-best course in Indiana by Golf Digest. Renovated in 2015 and 2016, the course, a Pete Dye design, is an 18-hole, parkland-style, par-72 championship golf course featuring large bent-grass greens, fairways and tees. The layout presents a challenge for golfers of all abilities with rolling hills, tree-lined fairways, white sand bunkers, and minimal water hazards. Ackerman-Allen offers five sets of tees with the championship tees playing over 7,500 yards.
BOILERMAKER INVITATIONAL HISTORY
The 18th annual playing of the event will be contested on the Ackerman-Allen Golf Course for the first time. The Boilermakers have won the title just twice (2004, 2011) and have finished second six times, including in three of the last five years. The Boilermakers were third a year ago at 5-under par 859, seven shots behind champion Kent State.
WEATHER FORECAST
Saturday: Mostly cloudy, 44 degrees, NW wind 10-15 MPH
Sunday: Sunny, 60 degrees, SW wind 5-12 MPH
LIVE STATS
Will be available on Golfstat.com.
Action gets underway Saturday at 9 a.m. ET, as 13 other teams descend on the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex. This marks the first time the event will be played at Ackerman-Allen, as renovations are currently being made to the Kampen Course. The teams will play 36 holes on Saturday, followed by 18 holes on Sunday.
Purdue, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin will be among the favorites as a total of six Big Ten teams will be in the field. This will be Purdue's last event until the Big Ten Championships on April 29 to May 1, at the Pete Dye Course at the French Lick Resort.
THE FIELD (Golfstat Rankings)
21 Illinois
32 Purdue
51 Indiana
98 Wisconsin
112 Rutgers
120 Illinois State
122 Troy
140 Minnesota
163 Ball State
165 Eastern Michigan
169 Miami, Ohio
188 Loyola Chicago
235 Butler
269 IUPUI
LAST TIME OUT
The Boilermakers pieced together a strong result, placing fifth at the prestigious Calusa Cup at Calusa Pines Golf Club in Naples, Florida. The tournament featured seven of the nation's top-23 teams with Purdue defeating No. 8 Georgia and No. 22 Clemson in head-to-head fashion. Cole Bradley led the way for Purdue with a 1-over par 217, good for ninth place. Andrew Farraye posted the lowest 18-hole score of the week for the Boilermakers in the final round with a 69, catapulting to a 19th-place finish at 6-over par 222.
PURDUE LINEUP
- Herman Sekne / Sophomore / Oslo, Norway
- Sekne continues to excel, leading the team with a 70.24 stroke average, which is currently first for a single season in school history.
- Owns five top-20 finishes and has top-10 finishes in four of seven events.
- Leads the team with 86 birdies and 15 of his 21 rounds have been even or under-par.
- Saw a streak of 12 straight rounds of even-par or better end at the Calusa Cup, the second-longest streak in school history.
- In his last five tournaments, Sekne is a cumulative 31-under par.
- Owns eight rounds in the 60s, already the fourth most in school history in a single season.
- Ranked No. 45 nationally according to Golfstat, and No. 51 by Golfweek.
- Joe Weiler / Senior / Bloomington, Indiana
- Second on the team in stroke average (70.90) and rounds of par or better (14). His stroke average currently ranks third in school history.
- Has had a counting score in 20-of-21 rounds this season.
- Has a top-20 finish in six-of-seven events this season, including five finishes in the top 12.
- Owns the fourth-lowest career stroke average in school history (73.00).
- Andrew Farraye / Junior / St. Augustine, Florida
- Owns a 73.33 stroke average and a cumulative 24-over par tally.
- Has seven top-20 performances in 23 career events.
- Posted a final-round 69 to surge to a top-20 finish at the elite Calusa Cup.
- Posted a 2-0-1 with a pair of dominating wins at the Big Ten Match Play Championships.
- Cole Bradley / Senior / West Lafayette, Indiana
- Owns a 71.95 stroke average with three top-10 finishes.
- Finished T-9th at the prestigious Calusa Cup.
- Leads the team with 240 pars.
- Became the eighth player in school history to have amassed over 10,000 career strokes.
- Owns the fifth-best career stroke average in school history (73.28).
- Luke Prall / Sophomore / Carmel, Indiana
- Owns a 73.78 stroke average in six events, three coming as an individual.
- Finished T-22nd at the Marquette Intercollegiate.
- Good performance at the Calusa Cup, finishing 29th.
- Has six rounds (out of 18) of even-par or better.
THE COURSE
Playing on the course for the first time in Boilermaker Invitational history, Ackerman-Allen Golf Course is ranked as the 11th-best course in Indiana by Golf Digest. Renovated in 2015 and 2016, the course, a Pete Dye design, is an 18-hole, parkland-style, par-72 championship golf course featuring large bent-grass greens, fairways and tees. The layout presents a challenge for golfers of all abilities with rolling hills, tree-lined fairways, white sand bunkers, and minimal water hazards. Ackerman-Allen offers five sets of tees with the championship tees playing over 7,500 yards.
BOILERMAKER INVITATIONAL HISTORY
The 18th annual playing of the event will be contested on the Ackerman-Allen Golf Course for the first time. The Boilermakers have won the title just twice (2004, 2011) and have finished second six times, including in three of the last five years. The Boilermakers were third a year ago at 5-under par 859, seven shots behind champion Kent State.
WEATHER FORECAST
Saturday: Mostly cloudy, 44 degrees, NW wind 10-15 MPH
Sunday: Sunny, 60 degrees, SW wind 5-12 MPH
LIVE STATS
Will be available on Golfstat.com.