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STILLWATER, Okla. --- For the second time in the last three years, the Purdue men's golf team has advanced to the NCAA Championships, finishing fifth at the NCAA Stillwater Regional.
The Boilermakers struggled in Wednesday's final round, but made some big shots late in the round to advance with score of 46-over par 910 (303-299-308). Oklahoma State won the regional with a 7-over par 871. Oklahoma (890), Clemson (901) and Louisville (907) round out the NCAA qualifiers. Augusta finished sixth at 48-over par 912.
The Boilermakers are making their 28th NCAA Championships appearance of all-time and their second in three years under head coach Rob Bradley. The 28 appearances are the 20th most in NCAA history.
Prior to Bradley's arrival, Purdue hadn't been in the NCAA Championships since 2005. Purdue and Illinois are the only Big Ten teams to reach the NCAA Championships since the 2014 event (Illinois -- 3; Purdue -- 2).
Purdue made the turn to the back nine roughly 10 shots clear of Augusta, but struggled in the early portion of the back nine. Holding a tenuous lead heading into the par-3 15th hole, Purdue's counting team played the final four holes in just 3-over par to hold off a late surge by Augusta.
"We definitely didn't have our best stuff today, but we made it through and that is obviously the most important thing," Bradley said. "We had a big finish by Stuart Macdonald, who really responded after a tough start by making a really big birdie for us on No. 18. Fernando Barco really stepped up today when we needed it, playing the back nine in 1-under. He made a lot of clutch shots today and kept us steady."
Barco led the Boilermakers in the final round with a 1-over par 73 to finish the Stillwater Regional in a 10th-place tie at 7-over par 223 (75-75-73). Barco was 3-over par through four holes, but finished the final 14 holes in 2-under par to record his fifth top-10 finish of the season.
Barco was solid all week, sharing the tournament lead in pars made (40). In his two NCAA Regional appearances, Barco has finished T-14 and T-10.
Macdonald finished his final round with a 5-over par 77, but played the final 16 holes in just 1-over par after a quadruple bogey on No. 2. Macdonald finished tied for 52nd (88-75-77).
Austin Eoff recorded a 78 to finish his NCAA Regional in a 58th-place tie at 26-over par 242 (78-88-78).
Brian Carlson shot an 80 to finish tied for 34th at 15-over par 231 (77-74-80). Carlson ended his round double bogey-bogey-bogey, but also recorded a big birdie on No. 15 late in the round.
Jarle Volden shot an 81, but finished his first NCAA Regional in a 27th-place tie at 13-over par 229 (73-75-81). Volden's first- and second-round scores loomed large for the Boilermakers on days that other players struggled.
Volden was third in the tournament field with 39 pars.
As a team, Purdue was second in the tournament field in pars made (169). Bradley stressed all week that par was a good score and the results verified that.
Purdue will now have a week off before departing for the Eugene Country Club next week.
"The good thing is that we have a little bit of time to work on some things and fix some issues from this week, but I'm really proud of our effort and attitude all week and we are excited to be heading to Oregon," Bradley added.
The NCAA Championships will run from May 27 to June 1 from the Eugene Country Club in Eugune, Oregon. The 30 teams that advanced will play 54 holes of stroke play from Friday to Sunday. On Monday, May 30, the top 15 teams from stroke play will play 18 holes to determine the top eight seeds for match play, which will begin on May 31. The National Championship match will be contested on June 1. The Golf Channel will provide several hours of live coverage from the Eugene Country Club.