COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 28-ranked Purdue men's golf team pieced together the third-best round of the day and moved up two spots to finish third at the Big Ten Championships held at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio.
Purdue totaled a 54-hole total of 46-over par 886 (288-301-297) on the difficult Scioto layout to place third, 23 shots behind winner Northwestern and eight shots behind runner-up Illinois. The Boilermakers passed both Michigan State (+49) and Ohio State (+50) on the final day as Purdue defeated Michigan State by 15 shots and Ohio State by five shots in round three.
The third-place finish is Purdue's highest since finishing second in the 2019 Championships.
"The Big Ten is extremely lucky to be able to compete at venues like Scioto. This was just an amazing test of golf," said head coach Rob Bradley. "This is definitely not the finish we wanted. We came in with a goal of winning Big Tens, but we need to learn from it and get ready for Regionals on our home course. We just didn't do enough things to win."
Scioto Country Club was more than a formidable opponent this weekend. In Sunday's third round, the scoring average was 76.60, just off the 76.79 from Saturday's wind-blown second round. In the final two rounds, the 140 completed rounds were averaging almost 7-over par on the par-70 layout. Hole No. 8 yielded no birdies during the three rounds and No. 16 and No. 14 recorded just 11 combined birdies during the three rounds. Just one hole, the par-5 6th hole, played under-par during the week.
Leading the Boilermakers was senior Herman Sekne, who recorded a top-five finish at 7-over par 217 (73-72-72). Sekne made many clutch putts late in the round to save par and record his second straight top-10 finish in the Big Ten Championships (T-9 last year). His fifth-place finish was just the second top-five finish in the Big Ten Championships under Bradley, earning a spot on the Big Ten's All-Championships Team.
Sekne also was awarded the Les Bolstad Award, given to the Big Ten player with the lowest stroke average during the season. He recorded a 70.27 average during the season, becoming the first Boilermaker in 17 years to earn the award.
Sekne recorded his fifth top-five finish in his nine events played this season. He now has 18 career top-10 showings in his 36 events played.
"Obviously, Herman winning the Bolstead Award is huge for him and shows the kind of year he has had this season. He's been so consistent all season and we're looking forward to seeing what he can do at Regionals," said Bradley.
Peyton Snoeberger and Kent Hsiao also recorded T-11 finishes, giving Purdue three players in the top 12. Snoeberger and Hsiao finished at 11-over par 221, narrowly missing a top-10 finish. Snoeberger recorded rounds of 71-77-73, while Hsiao went 70-75-76.
Nels Surtani (74-77-78) and Sam Easterbrook (74-79-76) finished tied for 39th at 19-over par 229.
Purdue will play in the NCAA Regionals at the Kampen-Cosler Course on May 13 through 15, but will find out the opposition in the NCAA Championships selection show on Wednesday, May 1, at 2 p.m. ET on The Golf Channel.
Purdue totaled a 54-hole total of 46-over par 886 (288-301-297) on the difficult Scioto layout to place third, 23 shots behind winner Northwestern and eight shots behind runner-up Illinois. The Boilermakers passed both Michigan State (+49) and Ohio State (+50) on the final day as Purdue defeated Michigan State by 15 shots and Ohio State by five shots in round three.
The third-place finish is Purdue's highest since finishing second in the 2019 Championships.
"The Big Ten is extremely lucky to be able to compete at venues like Scioto. This was just an amazing test of golf," said head coach Rob Bradley. "This is definitely not the finish we wanted. We came in with a goal of winning Big Tens, but we need to learn from it and get ready for Regionals on our home course. We just didn't do enough things to win."
Scioto Country Club was more than a formidable opponent this weekend. In Sunday's third round, the scoring average was 76.60, just off the 76.79 from Saturday's wind-blown second round. In the final two rounds, the 140 completed rounds were averaging almost 7-over par on the par-70 layout. Hole No. 8 yielded no birdies during the three rounds and No. 16 and No. 14 recorded just 11 combined birdies during the three rounds. Just one hole, the par-5 6th hole, played under-par during the week.
Leading the Boilermakers was senior Herman Sekne, who recorded a top-five finish at 7-over par 217 (73-72-72). Sekne made many clutch putts late in the round to save par and record his second straight top-10 finish in the Big Ten Championships (T-9 last year). His fifth-place finish was just the second top-five finish in the Big Ten Championships under Bradley, earning a spot on the Big Ten's All-Championships Team.
Sekne also was awarded the Les Bolstad Award, given to the Big Ten player with the lowest stroke average during the season. He recorded a 70.27 average during the season, becoming the first Boilermaker in 17 years to earn the award.
Sekne recorded his fifth top-five finish in his nine events played this season. He now has 18 career top-10 showings in his 36 events played.
"Obviously, Herman winning the Bolstead Award is huge for him and shows the kind of year he has had this season. He's been so consistent all season and we're looking forward to seeing what he can do at Regionals," said Bradley.
Peyton Snoeberger and Kent Hsiao also recorded T-11 finishes, giving Purdue three players in the top 12. Snoeberger and Hsiao finished at 11-over par 221, narrowly missing a top-10 finish. Snoeberger recorded rounds of 71-77-73, while Hsiao went 70-75-76.
Nels Surtani (74-77-78) and Sam Easterbrook (74-79-76) finished tied for 39th at 19-over par 229.
Purdue will play in the NCAA Regionals at the Kampen-Cosler Course on May 13 through 15, but will find out the opposition in the NCAA Championships selection show on Wednesday, May 1, at 2 p.m. ET on The Golf Channel.