April 23, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Freshman Adam Schenk shot even par on the first day of the Boilermaker Invitational to grab a share the individual lead and propel the Purdue men's golf team to the 36-hole lead in its final tune up before the Big Ten Championships.
The Boilermakers were tied with Bowling Green and Idaho for the team lead after the opening round, as each team shot 296 (+8) in the morning session. The Old Gold & Black tallied a second-round team score of 297 (+9) in the afternoon to move its total to 593 (+17).
The Boilermakers will head into Sunday's final round with a three-stroke lead on second-place Idaho and a six-shot advantage over third-place IUPUI.
Schenk opened the day with a one-over 73 before coming back with a 71 (-1) in the afternoon to finish the day at even par with a total of 144. He will open play on Sunday tied with Northern Illinois' Jeff Dick atop the leader board, one stroke in front of IUPUI's Ben Engle.
Freshman Sam Fu also carded a 73 (+1) in the day's opening session, riding that to a total of 150 (+6) that was good for a share of 12th after the first day of competition. Seniors Erich Johnston and Nakarintra Ratanakul each shot 151 (+7) on Saturday to enter into a tie for 15th place, while junior William Sjaichudin shot 153 (+9) to wrap up the day in a tie for 19th.
Sophomore Henry Plager, playing as individual, turned in one of his best days as a Boilermaker, shooting 146 (+2) to earn a share of fourth place with 18 holes to play. Plager carded an even-par 72 in the second round, matching the best 18-hole score of his collegiate career.
Freshman Edward Peters shot 153 (+9) as an individual to enter into a tie for 19th, senior David Gersztein and junior Tyler Duncan recorded totals of 155 (+11) to finish the day tied for 26th, and junior Scott Busch tallied a 157 (+13) to hit the clubhouse in a tie for 38th place.
The final 18 holes of the Boilermaker Invitational will be contested on Sunday with tee times starting on both the front and back nine at 9 a.m. ET. There is no admission charge for entrance to the tournament.