NAPLES, Fla. – The Purdue men’s golf team started strong, but slipped in the middle of the round, finishing the first round of the Calusa Cup in sixth place.
The Boilermakers totaled a 2-over par round of 290 to sit seven shots behind tri-leaders Louisville, Florida and Eastern Michigan. USF is in fourth place at 4-under par 284, while Iowa is fifth at 1-over par 289.
Virginia (+6) and Miami, Ohio (+16) round out the field.
Sam Easterbrook led the Boilermakers in round one at 2-under par 70, good for T-7th place after 18 holes. Easterbrook was even-par through the front nine, but birdied three straight holes in the middle of the back nine to move into the top 10 and two shots off the pace.
Will Harvey and Andre Zhu are tied for 20th at 1-over par, Jenson Forrester is tied for 24th at 2-over par 74 and Kentaro Nanayama is tied for 31st at 4-over par 76.
Purdue will tee off the second round at noon on Monday, paired with South Florida.