Purdue Surges to 2nd After 36 Holes

April 15, 2017

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ââ'¬" The Purdue men's golf team pieced together the best second round of the afternoon and is in position to win its first team title of the year at the Boilermaker Invitational, held at the Kampen Course this weekend.

Purdue sits in second place after shooting a combined 11-over par 589 (294-293) on a windy day at the Kampen Course. Winds blew greater than 20 miles per hour, while gusting to almost 35 miles per hour, for most of the day, making scoring difficult and getting around the course a major struggle altogether.

Purdue, however, surged late in its second round, playing the final seven holes a combined 3-under par. It had played the first 11 holes a combined 11-over par.

Kent State, ranked 11th in the latest Golfweek national rankings, leads at 5-over par 581 (285-296). Purdue is in second (+11), and is followed by 16th-ranked UNLV at 13-over par (291-298). UCF (+16), Wisconsin (+19) and Northwestern (+19) round out the top six.

Austin Eoff turned in one of his best rounds of his senior season in Saturday's second round, posting a 3-under par 69 to finish 36 holes in third place at even-par 144. His second-round 69 was one of just four rounds in the 60s during the entire day, featuring an eagle, two birdies, 14 pars and one bogey in extremely gusty conditions.

Eoff kick-started his second round with an eagle on the par-4 8th hole, holing out from the fairway from about 60 yards to move to 2-under for his round. He bogeyed the par-4 12th hole, but then posted back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 to move to 3-under par, where he stayed for the rest of the round.

Eoff's 69 marked his 61st career round of even-par or better and his 23rd round in the 60s. He trails Wisconsin's Nick Robinson by three shots and Kent State's Bjarki Petursson by two shots for individual medalist honors.

He also became the seventh player in school history to accumulate 10,000 career strokes, coming in just his 138th career round.

Sophomore Timmy Hildebrand continued his strong season on Saturday, placing tied for sixth at 2-over par 146 (71-75) after 36 holes. Hildebrand posted his 11th round of even-par or better in the first round, alternating birdie and bogey for six straight holes on the front nine, before completing the back nine with eight pars and one birdie for a 1-under par 71.

Senior Fernando Barco grinded for the entire day, sitting in T-10th at 3-over par 147 (73-74). Barco managed just four birdies in his 36 holes, but avoided the big scores and recorded 25 pars during his day, many coming from key up-and-downs from precarious situations off the green.

Brian Carlson is tied for 25th at 6-over par 150 (75-75), while Jarle Volden is tied for 39th at 8-over par 152 (77-75).

Individually, Thomas Lewis is tied for 31st at 7-over par 151 (77-74) and Chad Phillips is tied for 60th at 12-over par 156 (78-78).

Due to anticipated weather conditions Sunday, the final round will be a shotgun start at 8:45 a.m. ET, on the Kampen Course. Purdue will tee off hole Nos. 1 through 3, and be paired with Kent State and UNLV.