Final Results
PHILADELPHIA – The Purdue men's golf team recorded its best finish at the Big Ten Championships since 2001 with a runner-up showing at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
Purdue totaled a 54-hole tally of 33-over par 873 (282-309-282) to finish just five shots behind champion Illinois and 10 shots ahead of third-place Michigan State. Michigan was fourth at 45-over par 885 and Nebraska finished fifth at 46-over par 886.
Nearly perfect conditions greeted the golfers Sunday, a far cry from Saturday's round that was played in a near-hurricane. The teams responded as Purdue and Illinois waged a final-round shootout that would go down to the final few holes.
Purdue's finish almost guarantees the Boilermakers to reach their sixth straight NCAA Regional competition. The Boilermakers were ranked 61st in the latest Golfstat rankings with the magic number appearing to be No. 62 on the cutline. Purdue will undoubtedly move up in Wednesday's rankings release, before Wednesday's selection show on the Golf Channel.
"The guys had a lot of pressure on them coming into the weekend and needed to play well in order to make NCAA Regionals. We responded really well to that and played well enough to give us a shot at the championship on Sunday," said head coach Rob Bradley. "We need to be more consistent in our decision-making which will get us over the hump, but overall, this was a great weekend for us and I'm proud of the way we responded."
With its backs against the walls during the last two events, Purdue has posted runner-up finishes at the Boilermaker Invitational and the Big Ten Championships to move the Boilermakers into NCAA Regional play.
Purdue and Illinois waged a back-and-forth battle all day Sunday, with Purdue grabbing a two-shot lead through 11 holes, before holes 12 and 13 did in the Boilermakers. Purdue's counting team played the two holes in 3-over par, while Illinois played the pair of holes in 2-under par, turning a two-shot deficit into a three-stroke lead. The five-shot swing was the final difference as Illinois recorded a 28-over par 868 to Purdue's 873.
Timmy Hildebrand continued his excellent senior season with a T-6th finish at 5-over par 215 (69-74-72). The Westfield, Indiana, native recorded his sixth top-10 of the season, good for the fourth most in a season in school history. He has posted eight top-20 finishes in his 11 events played, and it was the second top-10 finish of his career at the Big Ten Championships (T-10th in 2017).
Jarle Volden also recorded a top-10 showing with an eighth-place finish at 8-over par 218 (68-80-70). He posted two rounds of even-par or better, his 14th rounds out of 26 of even-par of better this season.
Jason Hong surged in the final round, shooting a 2-under par 68, moving up 19 spots to T-29th at 14-over par 224 (79-77-68). Hong led Purdue's mid-round surge with four birdies in a five-hole span before bogeying two of the last seven holes to fall back to 2-under par. Nonetheless, his 68 was a season-low round.
Cole Bradley finished T-31st at 15-over par 225 (75-78-72) while Joe Weiler was T-48th at 19-over par 229 (70-85-74).
Purdue will now break for final exams, before heading to NCAA Regionals on May 13-15.
"It will be nice for us to be able to play and practice every day and work on tightening things up for regionals," Bradley said. "We are looking forward to regionals. We have shown some really good things the last two events and there is no doubt in my mind that we can get through regionals and make it back to Nationals."
The 2019 Division I Men's Golf Championship selections are set to be announced May 1, at 9 p.m. ET. The selections announcement will air live on the Golf Channel's Golf Central and be streamed live on the Golf Channel website. Eighty-one teams and 45 individuals will be selected to compete at one of six regional championship sites, including Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Washington; Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, California; TPC Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina; University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Kentucky; University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Georgia; and University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas.
Six 54-hole regional tournaments will be conducted May 13-15. Thirteen teams and ten individuals not on those teams will compete at each of three regionals while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals not on those teams. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals. NCAA team and individual medalist titles will be decided May 24-29, at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
PHILADELPHIA – The Purdue men's golf team recorded its best finish at the Big Ten Championships since 2001 with a runner-up showing at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
Purdue totaled a 54-hole tally of 33-over par 873 (282-309-282) to finish just five shots behind champion Illinois and 10 shots ahead of third-place Michigan State. Michigan was fourth at 45-over par 885 and Nebraska finished fifth at 46-over par 886.
Nearly perfect conditions greeted the golfers Sunday, a far cry from Saturday's round that was played in a near-hurricane. The teams responded as Purdue and Illinois waged a final-round shootout that would go down to the final few holes.
Purdue's finish almost guarantees the Boilermakers to reach their sixth straight NCAA Regional competition. The Boilermakers were ranked 61st in the latest Golfstat rankings with the magic number appearing to be No. 62 on the cutline. Purdue will undoubtedly move up in Wednesday's rankings release, before Wednesday's selection show on the Golf Channel.
"The guys had a lot of pressure on them coming into the weekend and needed to play well in order to make NCAA Regionals. We responded really well to that and played well enough to give us a shot at the championship on Sunday," said head coach Rob Bradley. "We need to be more consistent in our decision-making which will get us over the hump, but overall, this was a great weekend for us and I'm proud of the way we responded."
With its backs against the walls during the last two events, Purdue has posted runner-up finishes at the Boilermaker Invitational and the Big Ten Championships to move the Boilermakers into NCAA Regional play.
Purdue and Illinois waged a back-and-forth battle all day Sunday, with Purdue grabbing a two-shot lead through 11 holes, before holes 12 and 13 did in the Boilermakers. Purdue's counting team played the two holes in 3-over par, while Illinois played the pair of holes in 2-under par, turning a two-shot deficit into a three-stroke lead. The five-shot swing was the final difference as Illinois recorded a 28-over par 868 to Purdue's 873.
Timmy Hildebrand continued his excellent senior season with a T-6th finish at 5-over par 215 (69-74-72). The Westfield, Indiana, native recorded his sixth top-10 of the season, good for the fourth most in a season in school history. He has posted eight top-20 finishes in his 11 events played, and it was the second top-10 finish of his career at the Big Ten Championships (T-10th in 2017).
Jarle Volden also recorded a top-10 showing with an eighth-place finish at 8-over par 218 (68-80-70). He posted two rounds of even-par or better, his 14th rounds out of 26 of even-par of better this season.
Jason Hong surged in the final round, shooting a 2-under par 68, moving up 19 spots to T-29th at 14-over par 224 (79-77-68). Hong led Purdue's mid-round surge with four birdies in a five-hole span before bogeying two of the last seven holes to fall back to 2-under par. Nonetheless, his 68 was a season-low round.
Cole Bradley finished T-31st at 15-over par 225 (75-78-72) while Joe Weiler was T-48th at 19-over par 229 (70-85-74).
Purdue will now break for final exams, before heading to NCAA Regionals on May 13-15.
"It will be nice for us to be able to play and practice every day and work on tightening things up for regionals," Bradley said. "We are looking forward to regionals. We have shown some really good things the last two events and there is no doubt in my mind that we can get through regionals and make it back to Nationals."
The 2019 Division I Men's Golf Championship selections are set to be announced May 1, at 9 p.m. ET. The selections announcement will air live on the Golf Channel's Golf Central and be streamed live on the Golf Channel website. Eighty-one teams and 45 individuals will be selected to compete at one of six regional championship sites, including Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Washington; Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, California; TPC Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina; University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Kentucky; University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Georgia; and University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas.
Six 54-hole regional tournaments will be conducted May 13-15. Thirteen teams and ten individuals not on those teams will compete at each of three regionals while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals not on those teams. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals. NCAA team and individual medalist titles will be decided May 24-29, at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas.