WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue men’s golf team looks to keep its postseason magic going when it travels to Carlsbad, California, and the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa for the for the 2026 National Championships.
The appearance in college golf’s final weekend marks the third straight year that Purdue has reached the National Championships, the first time for the program since making 19 straight trips from 1949 to 1967. The streak is the longest-active streak in the Big Ten and ninth longest in the country.
Longest Active NCAA Championship Streaks
19 Texas (2007-26)
15 Oklahoma (2011-26)
12 Vanderbilt (2014-26)
6 Florida, Florida State (2021-26)
5 Auburn, Texas A&M (2022-26)
4 Virginia (2023-26)
3 Purdue, Oklahoma State, Tennessee (2024-26)
Purdue is one of three Big Ten schools to advance to the National Championships, joined by UCLA and USC.
THE SCHEDULE
• Friday, May 29 – 10:47 a.m. to 11:31 a.m. ET – Off hole 1, paired with Mississippi State and Arkansas State
• Saturday, May 30 – 4:07 p.m. to 4:51 p.m. ET – Off hole 10, paired with Mississippi State and Arkansas State
• Sunday, May 31 – Top-15 teams after two rounds tee off in morning; Teams placed 16 through 30 tee off in afternoon.
• Monday, June 1 – 1:30 p.m. to 4:04 p.m. ET – Off hole 1 and 10; Cut to the the top-15 teams and nine individuals after 54 holes.
• Tuesday, June 2 – 9:50 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. ET – Off hole 1 and 10; Quarterfinal match play.
• Tuesday, June 2 – 4:15 p.m. to 5:05 p.m. ET – Off hole 1 and 10; Semifinal match play.
• Wednesday, June 3 – 5:25 p.m. to 6:05 p.m ET – Off hole 1; National Championship match.
THE FIELD (National Rank / NCAA Championship Seed)
1 / 1 Auburn
2 / 2 Florida
3 / 3 Texas
4 / 4 Virginia
5 / 5 Oklahoma State
6 / 6 Arkansas
7 / 7 Louisiana State
8 / 8 Ole Miss
10 / 9 North Carolina
11 / 10 Vanderbilt
12 / 11 Arizona
13 / 12 Arizona State
14 / 13 Pepperdine
15 / 14 Stanford
16 / 15 Oklahoma
18 / 16 Tennessee
20 / 17 Texas A&M
22 / 18 BYU
23 / 19 Georgia
26 / 20 Florida State
28 / 21 USC
29 / 22 Duke
30 / 23 UCLA
33 / 24 Louisville
37 / 25 Mississippi State
39 / 26 Arkansas State
40 / 27 Purdue
42 / 28 San Diego
56 / 29 Chattanooga
57 / 30 Memphis
THE UNDERDOG
• During the 11 NCAA Regional appearances dating to 2014, Purdue has outperformed its seed in eight of them.
• Since 2014, Purdue has advanced to the National Championships five times when outside a top-5 Regional seed, tied with BYU for the most advancements in the country.
• 2014 – Sugar Grove, Illinois (8th seed; placed 3rd)
• 2015 – Lubbock, Texas (10th seed; placed T-5th)
• 2016 – Stillwater, Oklahoma (6th seed; placed 5th)
• 2017 – West Lafayette, Indiana (7th seed; placed 5th)
• 2018 – Kissimmee, Florida (7th seed; placed 9th)
• 2019 – Pullman, Washington (10th seed; placed T-9th)
• 2022 – Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (5th seed; placed 7th)
• 2023 – Salem, South Carolina (7th seed; placed 12th)
• 2024 – West Lafayette, Indiana (5th seed; placed 2nd)
• 2025 – Auburn, Alabama (7th seed; placed 4th)
• 2026 – Corvallis, Oregon (8th seed; placed 4th)
RECORD-BREAKING RUN
• Purdue played in its 11th NCAA Regional in the last 12 chances after missing Regionals in 2021 -- although we contend that Purdue would have played in Regionals if it played in the fall season of 2020.
• Purdue’s 11 Regionals appearances in the last 12 years are the second most in the Big Ten (Illinois - 12; Purdue - 11; Northwestern - 9; Ohio State - 8; does not include new West Coast Big Ten teams).
PURDUE GOLFERS IN THE NCAA REGIONAL / NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
-- Supapon Amornchaichan
• 2026 Regionals; Trysting Tree GC – 68-68-75=211 (-2); T-21st
• 2025 Nationals; La Costa Resort – 73-69-72-71=285 (-3); T-9th
• 2025 Regionals; Auburn GC – 72-73-72=217 (+1); T-15th
-- Sam Easterbrook
• 2026 Regionals; Trysting Tree GC – 67-69-72=208 (-5); T-9th
• 2025 Nationals; La Costa Resort – 82-75-77=234 (+18); T-139th
• 2025 Regionals; Auburn GC – 73-77-77=227 (+11); T-52nd
• 2024 Nationals; La Costa Resort – 84-XX-XX=84 (+12); N/A
• 2024 Regionals; Kampen-Cosler Course – 72-76-74=222 (+6); T-44th
-- Jenson Forrester
• 2026 Regionals; Trysting Tree GC – 75-74-76=225 (+12); 72nd
• 2025 Nationals; La Costa Resort – 84-71-80=235 (+19); T-144th
• 2025 Regionals; Auburn GC – 71-79-72=222 (+6); T-31st
-- Will Harvey
• 2026 Regionals; Trysting Tree GC – 70-68-71=209 (-4); T-13th
-- Kentaro Nanayama
• 2026 Regionals; Trysting Tree GC – 67-77-76=214 (+1); T-40th
• 2023 Regionals; Cliffs at Keowee Falls – XX-XX-68=68 (-4); N/A
TEAM NOTES
• Purdue’s 18-hole team average of 284.06 is the lowest in school history, ahead of the pace set by the 2021-22 team (286.63).
• Purdue has posted 20 team rounds of even-par or better, the most in school history, three rounds ahead of the 2021-22 team (17). Twenty of the 35 team rounds have been even-par or better.
• With it’s current national ranking of No. 40, Purdue has been ranked in the nation’s top 50 in five straight years for the first time since team rankings started being calculated in 2000.
• Purdue has posted five, 54-hole team scores of 850 or lower, tied for the most in a season in school history (2024-25). Since 2013-14, Purdue has posted 26 team scores of 849 or lower. Before 2013-14, Purdue had just three team scores of 849 or lower in school history.
• Purdue has all six of its “regulars” averaging between 70.71 and 72.87 strokes per round.
• Purdue has finished top six in five straight tournaments. In the fall season, Purdue finished in the top six four times in six events.
• The Boilermakers have posted just 13, individual top-10 finishes this season. However, Purdue has 25, top-20 showings.
• Five of Purdue’s six regulars have recorded rounds of 67 or better. The lone individual that hasn’t is Supapon Amornchaichan, who finished ninth at last year’s NCAA Championships.
BOILERMAKER FUN FACTS
• Purdue will be looking to become the 17th school to win multiple National Championships, after winning the title in 1961. Purdue will also be aiming to become the first “Northern” school to win multiple National Championships.
• However, Purdue is also shooting for its first top-20 finish at the National Championships since 2004, and going for its first visit to Monday’s fourth round and subsequent match-play competition.
• Purdue head coach Andrew Sapp is the first Big Ten coach since Illinois’ Mike Small (2002, 2003) to take a Big Ten team to the National Championships in his first two seasons.
• Head coach Andrew Sapp has taken two Big Ten schools to multiple National Championships (Michigan --> 2009, 2011; Purdue --> 2025, 2026), in addition to North Carolina in 2017. He is believed to be the only Big Ten coach to take multiple conference schools to nationals.
• Purdue’s 32 appearances in the National Championships are tied for the 20th most in NCAA history.
• Purdue’s 32 appearances are the fourth most among all current Big Ten teams (USC - 59; Ohio State - 49; UCLA - 40).
• Among Northern schools (above 40 degree North latitude), Purdue’s 32 appearances are the second most in NCAA history (BYU - 36).
• For the second straight year, Purdue is the most Northern school competing at the NCAA Championships (Purdue - 40.4259° N; BYU - 40.2335° N).
• Sam Easterbrook is the third player in school history to finish top nine in both the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Regional Championships in the same season. Chris Mayson (T-2, T-8) in 2002 and Herman Sekne in 2024 (T-4, T-5) are the only other Boilermakers to do so.
• Sam Easterbrook needs five birdies to surpass the single-season birdie record he set last year (140). He has 136 birdies on the season.
• Junior Sam Easterbrook has recorded 16 career top-10 finishes in just 37 events. The school record is 20, set by Lenny Hartlage (1984-87) and Lee Williamson (1999-02).
• Sam Easterbrook ranks second on the single-season stroke average list (70.71), behind just All-American Herman Sekne (70.41; 2023).
• Freshman Will Harvey played the last five holes in 3-under par at the NCAA Corvallis Regional to help Purdue reach the National Championships. He owns a 72.00 stroke average, the lowest by a freshman in Purdue history.
• Supapon Amornchaichan has one career top-10 finish. It came in last year’s NCAA Championships where he finished ninth as a freshman.
• Jenson Forrester will be playing in his third NCAA National Championships after helping East Tennessee State make the tournament in 2024. He was a part of the Purdue squad that made the event in 2025.
WEATHER FORECAST
• Friday, May 29 – Mostly Sunny, 69 degrees; W wind 5-10 MPH
• Saturday, May 30 – Partly Sunny, 71 degrees; W wind 10-15 MPH
• Sunday, May 31 – Partly Sunny, 74 degrees; W wind 5-10 MPH
• Monday, June 1 – Partly Sunny, 74 degrees; SW wind 5-10 MPH