BAYONNE, N.J. – Senior Jenson Forrester shared medalist honors and the Purdue men’s golf team finished as the runners-up at the inaugural New York Harbor Cup held at prestigious Bayonne Golf Club.
The Boilermakers finished with a 54-hole total of 23-under par 829 (277-270-282), two shots behind champion Kansas. Purdue entered round three one shot back of Kansas, but just couldn’t get over the hump against the Jayhawks as Purdue stayed in range of the Jayhawks until the final hole.
Little Rock and Michigan State finished tied for third 12 shots back at 11-under par.
Purdue’s 829 is the sixth-best, 54-hole score in Purdue history.
Purdue played the tournament without All-American candidate Sam Easterbrook, who is with the Great Britain and Ireland team for this weekend’s Walker Cup.
“I thought it was a really solid start to the season obviously with Sam at the Walker Cup. We needed guys to step up to compete to win this tournament and we were right there at the end. We would’ve liked to come home with the team trophy but hats off to Kansas. They played great golf over the last two days,” head coach Andrew Sapp said. “We’re proud of Jenson and the way he played today, picking up his first college victory. He played fantastic all week. Also thought Micah Sheffer played outstanding in his first career event, picking up a top-10 finish and playing the way he did.”
Forrester had an outstanding week to pace the Boilermakers, picking up his first collegiate win with a tally of 12-under par 201 (69-64-68). His 201 score is tied for the third-lowest, 54-hole score in Purdue history and he becomes the first Boilermaker to win a season-opening event since the 2008-09 season.
His 64 in the second round was a career-best round and his 201 was his best 54-hole score by four strokes.
Redshirt freshman Micah Sheffer also turned in an impressive performance during the week, finishing tied for sixth at 6-under par 207 (68-66-73). Sheffer’s 207 is the fourth-best, 54-hole score by a Purdue freshman in school history.
Supapon Amornchaichan picked up his second career top-10 finish, placing tied for 10th at 3-under par 210 (70-70-70), while Will Harvey was tied for 13th at 2-under par 211 (70-70-71). Andre Zhu was tied for 38th at 8-over par 221 (74-72-75), while playing as an individual, freshman Toku Fujiwara was tied for 30th at 5-over par 218 (72-76-70).
Purdue will next compete in the Inverness Intercollegiate in Toledo, Ohio, on Sept. 13 through 15.