WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Will Harvey and Jenson Forrester recorded top-5 finishes and Purdue held off a mid-third round charge by Toledo to win the Purdue Fall Invitational for the second straight year.
The Boilermakers totaled a 54-hole total of 4-under par 1,076 (357-358-361) to defeat a strong Toledo squad by eight shots. Ball State was third at 16-over par 1,096, while Indiana and Northern Illinois rounded out the top five.
The tournament featured “play 6, count 5” scoring instead of the usual “play 5, count 4” scoring that most college golf tournaments use. The reasoning was to get more players on the counting teams instead of playing as individuals.
The win was Purdue’s first of the season and marked the second straight season that Purdue has won the event. The Boilermakers have now registered a tournament victory in six straight seasons, matching the longest streak in school history (1958-63). It marked the fifth win in the third season under head coach Andrew Sapp.
It wasn’t easy in Tuesday’s final round as Toledo whittled the lead to three shots midway through the third round, before the Boilermakers righted the ship and made several key birdies down the stretch to put some distance between them and the Rockets.
Leading the Boilermakers was sophomore Will Harvey, who recorded his third career top-five finish, placing fourth at 5-under par 211 (71-70-70). Harvey played the final 10 holes in 2-under par, posting birdies on 15 and 16 to record his best finish of the year. He now has three top-20 finishes on the year.
Jenson Forrester had another strong tournament, placing tied for fifth at 4-under par 212 (70-68-74). Forrester started slow, making bogeys on two of his first three holes, before making pars on 15 straight holes to end his round. It marked his second top-five finish of the year.
Andre Zhu had his best tournament of the fall, finishing tied for 12th at even-par 216 (69-75-72). Zhu bogeyed his first hole of the day, birdied number11 (9th hole of the day), and made 16 pars.
Micah Sheffer finished 28th at 5-over par 221 (77-72-72), while Supapon Amornchaichan was tied for 29th at 6-over par 222 (71-73-78) and Sam Easterbrook tied for 35th at 8-over par 224 (76-75-73).
Playing as an individual, Toku Fujiwara was tied for 44th at 10-over par 226 (75-74-77).
Purdue will end the fall season on Oct. 26 to 28 at the Ka’Anapali Classic in Lahaina, Hawai’i.