WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue men's golf team faces an early-season challenge as it heads the prestigious Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, for the Inverness Intercollegiate.
Action starts with 36 holes on Monday and concludes with the final 18 holes on Tuesday as 16 teams descend on one of America's top courses.
According to last year's final Golfstat rankings, 15 of the teams ended the year ranked in the top 100 and 11 of them were ranked in the top 40, including top-10 teams Oklahoma (No. 1), Texas Tech (No. 8) and Washington (No. 10). A year ago, Purdue compiled a 12-4-0 head-to-head record against teams in the field, including a 12-1-0 mark against teams outside the top 15 (Oklahoma 0-2-0; Georgia Tech 0-1-0; everyone else 12-1-0).
THE FIELD (Golfstat Rankings – End of 2022 season)
1 Oklahoma
8 Texas Tech
10 Washington
11 Georgia Tech
16 Notre Dame
28 PURDUE
31 East Tennessee State
32 Ohio State
34 Charlotte
38 Louisville
40 SMU
51 Virginia
68 Iowa
91 USC
94 South Alabama
102 Toledo
LAST TIME OUT
Purdue overcame a sluggish opening round to move up eight spots and finished tied for fifth at the season-opening and rain-shortened Badger Invitational. After having just one player shoot even-par or better in the opening round (294; +6), four players recorded under-par rounds in the second round to move Purdue into fifth place to finish the tournament at 3-under par 573. Nick Dentino (T-16) and Nels Surtani (T-19) led the Boilermakers, who were playing without top golfer Herman Sekne.
TEAM NOTES
With its top-five finish at the Badger Invitational, Purdue has played 108 tournaments under head coach Rob Bradley, finishing in the top five in 58 of them.
Purdue has 28 rounds of 279 or better during the Rob Bradley era. Prior to his arrival, Purdue had 16 rounds of 279 or better in school history.
Eight of the top-10 single-season team scoring averages have come in the Rob Bradley era.
Since the start of last year, Purdue owns a 90-40-0 (.692) head-to-head winning percentage.
PURDUE LINEUP
-- Herman Sekne / Junior / Oslo, Norway
All-American candidate who was second in school history a year ago with a 71.17 stroke average.
Recorded top-10 finishes in five events last year. Was named Big Ten Golfer of the Week four times, the second-most honors in league history (Jeff Overton).
Won the Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate and Boilermaker Fall Invitational in back-to-back tournaments, the latter by a whopping seven shots.
Recorded nine rounds in the 60s, but just two in his last five events during the spring.
One-of-two golfers (Cole Bradley) to have three career tournaments of 205 or better. He's played in 17 events.
Finished T-16th at the elite World Amateur Team Championship in early September, helping Norway to a fourth-place team finish. Moved from 143 to 124 in the WAGR official rankings.
Missed the season-opening event with an injury, but is back this weekend.
-- Nick Dentino / Senior / Carmel, Indiana
Finished tied for 16th at the season-opening Badger Invitational, shooting 2-under par 142 (74-68).
His finish was his highest finish since his freshman year (T-16 at the Gopher Invitational).
His 68 in the second round was his lowest tournament score since the Marquette Intercollegiate as a freshman.
Recorded no double-bogeys or worse in the opening event.
-- Andrew Farraye / Grad Student / St. Augustine, Florida
Finished tied for 29th at the season-opening Badger Invitational, shooting even-par 144 (74-70).
Since the start of last year, 12 of his 29 rounds have been even or under par.
Owns a team-best nine career top-20 showings and is second with nine career rounds in the 60s.
Qualified through local qualifying into final qualifying for the U.S. Open, and lost in a playoff to qualify for the U.S. Amateur.
Had three top-30 finishes in official WAGR events this past summer.
-- Luke Prall / Junior / Carmel, Indiana
Bounced back from a tough opening round at the Badger Invitational, to shoot 2-under par 70 in the second round, for a total of 4-over par 148 (78-70).
Won the Indiana Amateur in June, becoming the fifth Boilermaker in the last 13 years to win the event.
Competed in the inaugural Battle at Birck, being teamed with quarterback Austin Burton.
-- Nels Surtani / Junior / Indianapolis, Indiana
Recorded his third career top-20 finish (in five events) with a T-19 showing at the Badge Invitational (72-71=143).
Only Purdue player last week to have both rounds be at even or under-par.
Eight of his 14 career rounds have been at even- or under-par.
Had a strong summer, winning both the Golfweek Hoosier Amateur and Northern Amateur. Also placed 24th at the prestigious Monroe Invitational.
Placed in the top 20, including T-3 in the fall, at the Purdue Fall Invitational and Boilermaker Invitational last season.
THE COURSE
The Inverness Club is a private golf club in Toledo, Ohio. Opened in 1903, the club has hosted four U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, two NCAA Men's Championships, and the Solheim Cup. Inverness is the only club to have hosted the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Senior Open, and U.S. Junior Amateur Championships. From 1935 to 1954, it also hosted the Inverness Invitational Four-Ball. Byron Nelson served as the club's head golf professional from 1940 to 1944 and considered it his "home course." S.P. Jermain, the club's founder and first Board President, was credited with conceiving the idea for the Ryder Cup. The championship course was designed by architect Donald Ross. The Inverness Club is set to host the 2027 U.S. Women's Open and the 2029 U.S. Amateur.
In preparation for championships, the course has been renovated four times. In 2016, Inverness Club engaged golf course architect, Andrew Green, who carefully researched original drawings and historic photography to restore the artistry of Donald Ross's design. In addition, Green modernized tee boxes and bunkering systems that are fitting to today's championship courses. Green's design has restored Ross's classic championship design, with Inverness Club now playing over 7,700 yards.
Inverness was ranked #47 on Golfweek Magazine's America's Top 200 Classic Courses and #88 by Golf Digest.
INVERNESS INTERCOLLEGIATE HISTORY
This marks Purdue's first appearance in the Inverness Intercollegiate since the 2015-16 season. The Boilermakers finished tied for fourth out of 15 teams, shooting 35-over par 887 (302-286-299) behind California, East Tennessee State and Michigan. Austin Eoff led the Boilermakers with a sixth-place finish at 5-over par 218 (75-70-73), while Fernando Barco was tied for 13th at 9-over par 222 (73-71-78).
WEATHER FORECAST
Monday: Partly sunny, chance of showers, 64 degrees.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, 64 degrees.
LIVE STATS
Will be available on Golfstat.com.
LIVE VIDEO
Monday's live video on YouTube.
Tuesday's live video on ESPN+.
Action starts with 36 holes on Monday and concludes with the final 18 holes on Tuesday as 16 teams descend on one of America's top courses.
According to last year's final Golfstat rankings, 15 of the teams ended the year ranked in the top 100 and 11 of them were ranked in the top 40, including top-10 teams Oklahoma (No. 1), Texas Tech (No. 8) and Washington (No. 10). A year ago, Purdue compiled a 12-4-0 head-to-head record against teams in the field, including a 12-1-0 mark against teams outside the top 15 (Oklahoma 0-2-0; Georgia Tech 0-1-0; everyone else 12-1-0).
THE FIELD (Golfstat Rankings – End of 2022 season)
1 Oklahoma
8 Texas Tech
10 Washington
11 Georgia Tech
16 Notre Dame
28 PURDUE
31 East Tennessee State
32 Ohio State
34 Charlotte
38 Louisville
40 SMU
51 Virginia
68 Iowa
91 USC
94 South Alabama
102 Toledo
LAST TIME OUT
Purdue overcame a sluggish opening round to move up eight spots and finished tied for fifth at the season-opening and rain-shortened Badger Invitational. After having just one player shoot even-par or better in the opening round (294; +6), four players recorded under-par rounds in the second round to move Purdue into fifth place to finish the tournament at 3-under par 573. Nick Dentino (T-16) and Nels Surtani (T-19) led the Boilermakers, who were playing without top golfer Herman Sekne.
TEAM NOTES
With its top-five finish at the Badger Invitational, Purdue has played 108 tournaments under head coach Rob Bradley, finishing in the top five in 58 of them.
Purdue has 28 rounds of 279 or better during the Rob Bradley era. Prior to his arrival, Purdue had 16 rounds of 279 or better in school history.
Eight of the top-10 single-season team scoring averages have come in the Rob Bradley era.
Since the start of last year, Purdue owns a 90-40-0 (.692) head-to-head winning percentage.
PURDUE LINEUP
-- Herman Sekne / Junior / Oslo, Norway
All-American candidate who was second in school history a year ago with a 71.17 stroke average.
Recorded top-10 finishes in five events last year. Was named Big Ten Golfer of the Week four times, the second-most honors in league history (Jeff Overton).
Won the Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate and Boilermaker Fall Invitational in back-to-back tournaments, the latter by a whopping seven shots.
Recorded nine rounds in the 60s, but just two in his last five events during the spring.
One-of-two golfers (Cole Bradley) to have three career tournaments of 205 or better. He's played in 17 events.
Finished T-16th at the elite World Amateur Team Championship in early September, helping Norway to a fourth-place team finish. Moved from 143 to 124 in the WAGR official rankings.
Missed the season-opening event with an injury, but is back this weekend.
-- Nick Dentino / Senior / Carmel, Indiana
Finished tied for 16th at the season-opening Badger Invitational, shooting 2-under par 142 (74-68).
His finish was his highest finish since his freshman year (T-16 at the Gopher Invitational).
His 68 in the second round was his lowest tournament score since the Marquette Intercollegiate as a freshman.
Recorded no double-bogeys or worse in the opening event.
-- Andrew Farraye / Grad Student / St. Augustine, Florida
Finished tied for 29th at the season-opening Badger Invitational, shooting even-par 144 (74-70).
Since the start of last year, 12 of his 29 rounds have been even or under par.
Owns a team-best nine career top-20 showings and is second with nine career rounds in the 60s.
Qualified through local qualifying into final qualifying for the U.S. Open, and lost in a playoff to qualify for the U.S. Amateur.
Had three top-30 finishes in official WAGR events this past summer.
-- Luke Prall / Junior / Carmel, Indiana
Bounced back from a tough opening round at the Badger Invitational, to shoot 2-under par 70 in the second round, for a total of 4-over par 148 (78-70).
Won the Indiana Amateur in June, becoming the fifth Boilermaker in the last 13 years to win the event.
Competed in the inaugural Battle at Birck, being teamed with quarterback Austin Burton.
-- Nels Surtani / Junior / Indianapolis, Indiana
Recorded his third career top-20 finish (in five events) with a T-19 showing at the Badge Invitational (72-71=143).
Only Purdue player last week to have both rounds be at even or under-par.
Eight of his 14 career rounds have been at even- or under-par.
Had a strong summer, winning both the Golfweek Hoosier Amateur and Northern Amateur. Also placed 24th at the prestigious Monroe Invitational.
Placed in the top 20, including T-3 in the fall, at the Purdue Fall Invitational and Boilermaker Invitational last season.
THE COURSE
The Inverness Club is a private golf club in Toledo, Ohio. Opened in 1903, the club has hosted four U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, two NCAA Men's Championships, and the Solheim Cup. Inverness is the only club to have hosted the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Senior Open, and U.S. Junior Amateur Championships. From 1935 to 1954, it also hosted the Inverness Invitational Four-Ball. Byron Nelson served as the club's head golf professional from 1940 to 1944 and considered it his "home course." S.P. Jermain, the club's founder and first Board President, was credited with conceiving the idea for the Ryder Cup. The championship course was designed by architect Donald Ross. The Inverness Club is set to host the 2027 U.S. Women's Open and the 2029 U.S. Amateur.
In preparation for championships, the course has been renovated four times. In 2016, Inverness Club engaged golf course architect, Andrew Green, who carefully researched original drawings and historic photography to restore the artistry of Donald Ross's design. In addition, Green modernized tee boxes and bunkering systems that are fitting to today's championship courses. Green's design has restored Ross's classic championship design, with Inverness Club now playing over 7,700 yards.
Inverness was ranked #47 on Golfweek Magazine's America's Top 200 Classic Courses and #88 by Golf Digest.
INVERNESS INTERCOLLEGIATE HISTORY
This marks Purdue's first appearance in the Inverness Intercollegiate since the 2015-16 season. The Boilermakers finished tied for fourth out of 15 teams, shooting 35-over par 887 (302-286-299) behind California, East Tennessee State and Michigan. Austin Eoff led the Boilermakers with a sixth-place finish at 5-over par 218 (75-70-73), while Fernando Barco was tied for 13th at 9-over par 222 (73-71-78).
WEATHER FORECAST
Monday: Partly sunny, chance of showers, 64 degrees.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, 64 degrees.
LIVE STATS
Will be available on Golfstat.com.
LIVE VIDEO
Monday's live video on YouTube.
Tuesday's live video on ESPN+.