WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Following a successful season-opening week, the Purdue men’s golf team steps up in competition early next week when it travels to Toledo, Ohio, for the Inverness Intercollegiate.
Eighteen teams will take on the famed Inverness Club course by playing 18 holes on three straight days from Sunday through Tuesday. One of America’s greatest golf courses plays host to an event that features 12 teams that ranked in the top 50 of last year’s final rankings.
In its second event of the fall season, Purdue will now be full strength as Sam Easterbrook returns from helping Great Britain and Ireland win the Walker Cup. Easterbrook missed the opening tournament as several other Boilermakers stepped in his absence at the New York Harbor Cup.
The Boilermakers finished second in the New York Harbor Cup in their opener, fueled by a trio of top-10 finishes by Jenson Forrester (co-medalist), Micah Sheffer (T-6th) and Supapon Amornchaichan (T-10th).
This week’s 18-team field features seven teams that reached last year’s NCAA Championships, including defending National Champion Virginia. Five of the seven teams reached the final 15. In this year’s preseason GCAA Top 25, five of the top nine-ranked teams are in the field.
THE FIELD (Final 2026 Clippd Rankings)
1 Auburn
4 Virginia
6 Texas Tech
7 Louisiana State
10 Vanderbilt
12 Ole Miss
16 Oklahoma
18 Tennessee
31 Clemson
33 Wake Forest
42 Purdue
75 Ohio State
82 Loyola Marymount
86 East Tennessee State
87 Michigan
90 Iowa
160 Toledo
194 Austin Peay
TEAM NOTES
• Purdue’s last three season-opening tournament finishes have been first (2024 - Island Resort Intercollegiate), second (2025 - Island Resort Intercollegiate) and second (2026 - New York Harbor Cup).
• Purdue’s tournament score of 829 in the New York Harbor Cup was the sixth-lowest 54-hole score in Purdue history.
• The Boilermaker counting team had 61 birdies against two double-bogeys in the season-opening New York Harbor Cup.
• Purdue had five rounds in the 60s and 12 rounds of even-par or better during the New York Harbor Cup.
• Purdue had four players finish in the top 13 at the New York Harbor Cup.
PURDUE LINEUP
• Sam Easterbrook (Sr. / Tamworth, England)
... All-American candidate who missed the season-opening New York Harbor Cup as he played for Great Britain and Ireland in The Walker Cup.
... Had an outstanding summer, narrowly missing qualifying for The Open Championship twice and reaching the quarterfinals of The Amateur Championship.
... Ranked 70th in the most recent WAGR (World Amateur Golf Rankings) rankings and has gone 34 holes in collegiate competition without a bogey or worse.
... Ranks second in school history in career stroke average (71.87) and has 16 top-10 showings in 38 career events.
... Needs just seven rounds of even-par or better this coming season to break the school record of 65 set by Austin Eoff (2014-17).
• Supapon Amornchaichan (Jr. / Bangkok, Thailand)
... Recorded second career top-10 finish with a T-10 showing at the New York Harbor Cup (70-70-70=210).
... Over the summer, Amornchaichan qualified for the professional Singha Classic in Thailand. Then finished 27th overall after being in the top five through the first two rounds.
... Had a strong sophomore season, posting a 72.64 stroke average in 33 rounds played.
... Recorded three top-20 finishes and had 17 rounds of even-par or better, including eight rounds in the 60s.
... Recorded back-to-back top-15 finishes with a T-12 showing at the Fighting Irish Classic (72-69-70=211; +1), and then a T-13 placement at the Purdue Fall Invitational (68-68-80=216; even). Was the 36-hole leader at the Purdue Fall Invitational.
... Had a good NCAA Regional at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Oregon, placing tied for 21st at 2-under par 211 (68-68-75).
• Jenson Forrester (Sr. / Wolverhampton, England)
... Won first career collegiate tournament at the New York Harbor Cup, earning medalist honors with a 12-under par 201 (69-64-68), tied for the third-lowest 54-hole score in Purdue history. Subsequently, named Big Ten Golfer of the Week on Thursday for the first time in his career.
... Won the prestigious Tillman Trophy at 14-under par 274, earning him exempt status for the 2027 Tier I Clutch Pro Tour schedule as well as a start on the Hotel Planner Tour (Challenge Tour).
... Forrester had an up-and-down junior season, appearing in 12 events and posting a 72.82 stroke average for the season.
... Finished the year with two top-20 showings and 15 rounds of even-par or better.
... Played well at the NCAA National Championships, finishing tied for 55th at 1-over par 217 (72-71-74).
... Also subbed in for the last two rounds at the Big Ten Championships, shooting even-par over the last two rounds (70-70) to help Purdue surge to sixth after a tough first day.
... Placed tied for eighth as an individual at the Purdue Fall Invitational (70-71-73=214; -2).
• Will Harvey (So. / Westfield, Indiana)
... Finished tied for 13th at the New York Harbor Cup at 2-under par 211 (70-70-71).
... Qualified for the U.S. Amateur after finishing tied for fourth in qualifying at the Aurora Country Club (Illinois).
... Harvey had one of the top freshman seasons by a Purdue golfer in school history, appearing in 12 events with a 72.34 stroke average.
... Posted the lowest stroke average by a freshman in Purdue history and finished with six top-20 placings and 15 rounds of even-par or better.
... Posted the lowest round by a freshman in Purdue history with a 64 at the Island Resort Intercollegiate during his second career round.
... Posted a birdie-bogey-birdie-birdie-birdie finish at the NCAA Corvallis Regional to help Purdue advance to the NCAA National Championships by one shot. His birdie on 18 was a downhill, 10-foot putt that proved to be the difference.
... Finished as runner-up at the Purdue Fall Invitational (70-71-70=211; -5), missing out on medalist honors by one shot.
... Finished tied for fourth (73-66-70=209; -7) and tied for sixth (73-68-76=217; +4) in back-to-back events at the Calusa Cup and Hoosier Collegiate.
... Placed tied for 13th at the NCAA Corvallis Regional (70-68-71=209; -4).
• Micah Sheffer (Fr. / Brownstown, Indiana)
... Finished T-6th in his first career collegiate tournament, posting a 6-under par 207 (68-66-73) at the New York Harbor Cup.
... Sheffer had a busy and successful summer, winning the Indiana Match Play Championship.
... Also finished as the runner-up, losing in a playoff at the Indiana Open Championship.
... Finished in the top 10 at the North Atlantic Amateur (5th), the Rice Planters Amateur (3rd) and the Kenridge Invitational (9th).
... Arrived at Purdue at the semester break and redshirted during the spring season (2025-26).
... One of the state’s top athletes, Sheffer arrives at Purdue after starring on the golf course, the football field and hardwood.
... Two-time all-conference honoree and team MVP in golf, before opting not to play his junior season and playing junior tours instead.
... Named the 2025 Golfweek Player of the Year and won four events on the AJGA and Golfweek Junior Tours last summer.
... A standout quarterback for Brownstown Central, Sheffer led Brownstown Central to the Class 2A state championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium.
... Threw for over 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for over 400 yards. Led an offense that averaged over 50.0 points per game.
... On the hardwood, he was a varsity starter for two years, including as a sophomore helping Brownstown Central to the 2024 state championship, alongside current Purdue basketball player Jack Benter.
PREVIOUSLY AT THE INVERNESS INTERCOLLEGIATE
This marks Purdue’s fourth appearance in the Inverness Intercollegiate, finishing 10th in 2024, 8th in 2022 and tied for fourth in 2015. Supapon Amornchaichan finished 50th and Sam Easterbrook finished 73rd in the 2024 event, at a course that played par-69 after going through renovations.
THE COURSE
The Inverness Club is considered one of America’s great golf courses, hosting many championship events over the years, and is set to host the U.S. Amateur in 2029 and the U.S. Open in 2045. Previously, it hosted U.S. Opens in 1920, 1931, 1957 and 1979, and PGA Championships in 1986 and 1993.
Inverness has been ranked in the top 100 golf courses in the United States every year since Golf Digest has released rankings, ranked 62nd. Inverness is ranked in the top 100 world rankings by Golf Magazine, ranked #67 in the World for 2025-2026 and ranked #48 on Golfweek Magazine’s America’s Top 200 Classic Courses.
WEATHER FORECAST
Sunday: Partly Cloudy, 81 degrees; WNW winds 10-15 MPH
Monday: Mostly Sunny, 68 degrees; ENE winds 5-10 MPH
Tuesday: Partly Cloudy, 86 degrees; SSW winds 10-20 MPH