Complete Results
RIO GRANDE, P.R. ââ'¬" The Purdue men's golf team had another steady round Tuesday, placing seventh overall at the Puerto Rico Classic at the Rio Mar Resort. The Boilermakers finished just four shots out of fifth place at the elite tournament that featured nine top-50 squads.
"We beat a lot of good teams this week, but we really need to start and finish our rounds better," head coach Rob Bradley said. "We let today's round get away from us at the end and that can't happen if we are going to win tournaments. This is a really good team and I am excited to see them improve and get better as the season progresses."
Purdue ended the three-day event with a 5-over par 869 (297-283-289) to finish 24 shots behind tournament champion Clemson (845; -19). Georgia (-8), Georgia Tech (-5), North Carolina State (-5), Ohio State (+1), Kentucky (+3), Purdue (+5), Middle Tennessee State (+6), Northwestern (+11), No. 19-ranked Mississippi (+14), No. 24-ranked North Carolina (+17), Virginia Tech (+21), Alabama (+25), UNC Greensboro (+28) and Maryland (+36) rounded out the field.
Purdue has now finished in the top seven in four of the last six Puerto Rico Classics, considered one the elite collegiate golf tournaments in the country. In its first 13 appearances in the tournament, Purdue had three top-seven placings.
After a rough first round, Purdue played the final 36 holes in a combined 4-under par. Purdue finished second in the field in par-5 scoring (-14) and had four eagles during the three days, three of them coming in Monday's second round.
Sophomore Timmy Hildebrand had a sensational tournament, finished tied for third at 5-under par 211 (74-67-70). His placing marked his second straight top-10 finish and third straight top-20 showing after finishing T-8th at the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate and T-17th at the Tavistock Invitational. His 211 was a career-best, 54-hole score and he has now played his last two tournaments in a combined 12-under par.
Hildebrand now has a 72.71 stroke average this year, good for sixth on the Purdue single-season list.
"Timmy has really stepped up for us and he played outstanding golf this week," Bradley said. "He is continuing to get better and I am excited that his hard work is paying off for him."
Fernando Barco also had a strong tournament, finishing T-12th at 1-under par 215 (73-73-69). Barco rolled in six birdies on the day while recording his first top-20 finish of the year. Barco's final round 69 marked his ninth career round in the 60s and first since last year's Big Ten Championships (first round).
"Fernando also had a really solid finish and looks like he is close to breaking through for us," Bradley added.
Brian Carlson finished tied for 36th at 5-over par 221 (76-69-76), Austin Eoff was tied for 53rd at 10-over par 226 (78-74-74) and Jarle Volden was tied for 57th at 11-over par 227 (74-76-77).
Purdue will be off until March 4 and 5, when it heads to Scottsdale, Arizona, for the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate.
MGOLF Finishes 7th at Puerto Rico Classic
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