WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue men’s golf team started hot, but struggled down the stretch in the opening round of the Puerto Rico Classic.
Purdue is tied for 11th after an opening-round score of 5-under par 283, sitting 17 shots behind No. 1-ranked Virginia (-22, 268). Ohio State (-21) and LSU in third. Five teams are tied for fourth (Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Iowa, Oklahoma) at 12-under par 276.
Purdue started the day, playing holes one through five in a combined 7-under par for its five players. However, the Boilermakers then went on a dry-spell for birdies and managed just seven birdies the rest of the day to fall off the pace.
Sam Easterbrook, last year’s medalist, led the Boilermakers with a 3-under par 69, good for 25th place after 18 holes. It marked his 20th career round in the 60s.
Jenson Forrester and Will Harvey are tied for 45th at 1-under par 71. Supapon Amornchaichan is 59th at even-par 72, while Kentaro Nanayama is 67th at 1-over par 73.
Playing as individuals, Andre Zhu is 17th at 4-under par 68, while Yilin Sun in 85th at 8-over par 80.
Purdue will tee off round two at 7:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday and be paired with Marquette and North Florida.