WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The No. 29-ranked Purdue men's golf team opens its spring season on Sunday when it hosts the elite Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
The tournament covers three rounds in three days as 15 teams descend upon paradise for what is considered one of college golf's elite events.
The Boilermakers are coming off a strong fall season and looking to improve its national SpikeMark ranking as they host one of the elite fields of the collegiate golf season. Purdue finished in the top three in three of its five events in the fall, including a pair of wins at the Windon Memorial Classic and Purdue Fall Classic. Purdue is averaging a sizzling 283.29 stroke average.
Nine of the top 45 teams, including five teams ranked in the top 15, make up this weekend's field. Purdue owns an 8-1-0 head-to-head record against the field, the lone loss coming to Tennessee.
THE FIELD (SpikeMark Rankings / as of Feb. 9)
4 Mississippi
6 Tennessee
9 East Tennessee State
13 Virginia
15 Oklahoma
25 Ohio State
29 Purdue
30 North Florida
43 Georgia
55 South Carolina
70 College of Charleston
72 Marquette
93 Minnesota
111 Wisconsin
135 Iowa
LAST TIME OUT
Purdue put the finishing touches on outstanding fall season, winning the Purdue Fall Classic in dramatic fashion. It marked Purdue's second win of the fall season, which also included a victory at the Windon Memorial Classic. Purdue owns a 44-19-3 (.689) head-to-head record entering this week and is the third-highest ranked Big Ten team.
TEAM NOTES
PURDUE LINEUP
THE COURSE
Stretching along the Grand Reserve beachfront peninsula, with El Yunque rainforest as a backdrop, patrons will experience an epic 18 holes of championship golf. After competing at the Rio Mar Country Club since its inception, the Puerto Rico Classic has moved to the Grand Reserve Golf Club for the first time in 2022.
PUERTO RICO CLASSIC HISTORY
One of the elite tournaments in collegiate golf, the 2024 edition of the Puerto Rico Classic will be the 31st playing of the event – the third time, however, being at the Grand Reserve. Ten different teams have won the event, with Georgia Tech leading the way with seven championships (1993, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019, 2020). Purdue has played in the event 24 times and finished in the top 3 three times. In its last four appearances, Purdue has finished third (2018), fifth (2019), eighth (2020). fourth (2022) and 10th (2023).
WEATHER FORECAST
Sunday: Mostly sunny, 81 degrees; E wind 5-15 MPH
Monday: Mostly sunny, 82 degrees; E wind 10-15 MPH
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, 83 degrees; E wind 10-15 MPH
LIVE SCORING
Will be available on golfstat.com.
The tournament covers three rounds in three days as 15 teams descend upon paradise for what is considered one of college golf's elite events.
The Boilermakers are coming off a strong fall season and looking to improve its national SpikeMark ranking as they host one of the elite fields of the collegiate golf season. Purdue finished in the top three in three of its five events in the fall, including a pair of wins at the Windon Memorial Classic and Purdue Fall Classic. Purdue is averaging a sizzling 283.29 stroke average.
Nine of the top 45 teams, including five teams ranked in the top 15, make up this weekend's field. Purdue owns an 8-1-0 head-to-head record against the field, the lone loss coming to Tennessee.
THE FIELD (SpikeMark Rankings / as of Feb. 9)
4 Mississippi
6 Tennessee
9 East Tennessee State
13 Virginia
15 Oklahoma
25 Ohio State
29 Purdue
30 North Florida
43 Georgia
55 South Carolina
70 College of Charleston
72 Marquette
93 Minnesota
111 Wisconsin
135 Iowa
LAST TIME OUT
Purdue put the finishing touches on outstanding fall season, winning the Purdue Fall Classic in dramatic fashion. It marked Purdue's second win of the fall season, which also included a victory at the Windon Memorial Classic. Purdue owns a 44-19-3 (.689) head-to-head record entering this week and is the third-highest ranked Big Ten team.
TEAM NOTES
- Purdue has won a tournament in three straight years and in six of the last seven seasons.
- There have been 18 rounds in school history of 276 or better. Seventeen of them have come during the Rob Bradley era.
- The 13 lowest, 54-hole tournament scores in school history have come under Rob Bradley.
- Purdue has advanced to eight of nine possible NCAA Regionals during the Rob Bradley era. However, Purdue's last appearance in the NCAA Championships came in 2017.
- The Kampen-Cosler course will host the NCAA Regional Championships in mid-May for the first time since 2017. The course has undergone a massive renovation with new bunkers, new shaping on ponds and a new clubhouse (in progress) that exceeds a $20 million price tag.
PURDUE LINEUP
- Herman Sekne – Senior; Oslo, Norway
- 69.21 stroke average; 3 top-10, 4 top-20; 10 rounds of par or better
- Nels Surtani – Junior; Indianapolis, Indiana
- 72.36 stroke average; 1 top-20; 6 rounds of par or better
- Sam Easterbrook – Freshman; Tomworth, England
- 72.57 stroke average; 1 top-10, 1 top-20; 6 rounds of par or better
- Kent Hsiao – Junior; Taipei, Taiwan
- 72.53 stroke average; 1 top-10, 2 top-20; 5 rounds of par or better
- Peyton Snoeberger – 5th year; Williamsport, Indiana
- 71.92 stroke average; 1 top-10, 1 top-20; 6 rounds of par or better
- Nick Dentino – 5th year; Carmel, Indiana
- 73.57 stroke average; 2 rounds of par or better
- Justin Sun – Redshirt Freshman; Shenchen, China
- 74.13 stroke average; 1 round of par or better
- Kentaro Nanayama – Sophomore; Jakarta, Indonesia
- 74.38 stroke average; 1 round of par or better
THE COURSE
Stretching along the Grand Reserve beachfront peninsula, with El Yunque rainforest as a backdrop, patrons will experience an epic 18 holes of championship golf. After competing at the Rio Mar Country Club since its inception, the Puerto Rico Classic has moved to the Grand Reserve Golf Club for the first time in 2022.
PUERTO RICO CLASSIC HISTORY
One of the elite tournaments in collegiate golf, the 2024 edition of the Puerto Rico Classic will be the 31st playing of the event – the third time, however, being at the Grand Reserve. Ten different teams have won the event, with Georgia Tech leading the way with seven championships (1993, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019, 2020). Purdue has played in the event 24 times and finished in the top 3 three times. In its last four appearances, Purdue has finished third (2018), fifth (2019), eighth (2020). fourth (2022) and 10th (2023).
WEATHER FORECAST
Sunday: Mostly sunny, 81 degrees; E wind 5-15 MPH
Monday: Mostly sunny, 82 degrees; E wind 10-15 MPH
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, 83 degrees; E wind 10-15 MPH
LIVE SCORING
Will be available on golfstat.com.