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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Purdue men's golf team shot a 4-over par 292 to finish day one of the NCAA Golf Regionals in a fifth-place tie at the Kampen Course. The Boilermakers are just five shots off the pace as 10 teams are within 10 shots of the lead after 18 holes.
The Kampen Course showed its teeth under nearly-perfect scoring conditions. The stroke average for the day was 74.81 strokes, the second-highest average of the six regionals being contested around the country. Just five holes played under par during the day and the 17th hole, the hardest of the day, played 0.79 strokes over par.
UNLV was the only team under par, shooting a 1-under par 287, while Illinois and eighth-seeded New Mexico are tied for second at even-par. South Carolina is fourth at 3-over par 291, while Purdue, Florida and Auburn are all tied for fifth. Saint Mary's is eighth at 6-over par, while Augusta (296) and Richmond (297) are all within striking distance.
"We played solid today on a really tough golf course. Austin (Eoff) played a really solid round and the other guys hung in there and played well," head coach Rob Bradley said. "Austin's been playing really solid coming in and that is a pretty standard round for him out here. He's so steady and hitting the ball well."
Eoff led the Boilermakers in round one with a 1-under par 71, that featured 15 pars, two birdies and one bogey. He played the front nine in 2-under par, and outside of a hiccup on 17, played an outstanding round to sit in a tie for seventh.
"I played well on the front nine and just didn't have a great back nine. I hit my driver really well and really had to grind it out today, because the course is playing really tough," Eoff said. "I've played this course for four years and they had pins in places I've never seen. I knew par would be a good score."
Timmy Hildebrand is tied for 24th at 1-over par 73 after posting 13 pars on the day. Hildebrand also bogeyed the par-3 17th hole to drop him to 1-over par. Hildebrand hit 16 greens in regulation during his round.
"It was all right today. It's going to get harder the next two days when the wind starts blowing, so I would have liked to have gone lower. We didn't do anything special, but we didn't hurt ourselves either," Hildebrand said. "We need to get out there and play our game. That's how we are approaching the next two days."
Jarle Volden and Fernando Barco are tied for 30th at 2-over par 74. Barco was 1-under at the turn, but then double-bogeyed the par-5 10th and bogeyed the par-4 12th to fall to 2-over par. He played the last six holes in even-par.
Volden was even-par through 16 holes, before bogeying the final two holes to fall to 2-over par.
Brian Carlson shot an 11-over par 83.
The Boilermakers played hole No. 17, in a combined 6-over par. The final three holes (16-18) saw the field make just 12 birdies and 21 scores of double-bogey or worse.
Bradley thinks the Boilermakers can make a move tomorrow.
"I think we are in a really good spot. Being at home, this is a golf course that we can go compete on and put ourselves in a position to win. We've done that after round one," Bradley added. "This was a good scoring opportunity today, but the course is just playing hard. The rough is up and the greens are faster and it's going to play tougher over the next two days. We have a chance in the next couple days."
Purdue will tee off the second round off hole No. 10, beginning at 8 a.m. ET, and be paired with Saint Mary's and Augusta.
Purdue In the Hunt at NCAA Golf
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