WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue men's golf team opens its anticipated 2022-23 season Sunday when it travels to University Ridge Golf Club in Madison, Wisconsin, for the Badger Invitational.
Purdue is looking to continue its surge on the national level, having made eight NCAA Regional appearances in the last nine seasons with three trips to the National Championships during the Rob Bradley era.
Excitement is high for the program after a very strong summer that saw several players win individual medalist honors. Four players that saw action in the NCAA Regionals last year return, headlined by All-American candidate and 2022 first-team All-Big Ten honoree Herman Sekne. Four players on the counting team in Wisconsin own top-10 finishes during their career, and the one golfer that hasn't had a top-10 finish, Peyton Snoeberger, reached the Round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur in mid-August.
The field in Wisconsin features a wide variety of squads, including three SEC teams and four Big Ten teams among the 18 teams competing.
Purdue will tee off Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET, off hole No. 1, being paired with Texas A&M and Wisconsin.
THE FIELD (Golfstat Rankings – End of 2022)
15 Texas A&M
21 Ole Miss
26 South Carolina
28 Purdue
30 South Florida
60 UAB
75 Cincinnati
93 Marquette
97 Wisconsin
115 Nebraska
121 Campbell
125 Illinois State
139 Augusta
140 Northern Illinois
145 Western Carolina
159 South Dakota State
164 Maryland
190 Western Kentucky
LAST TIME OUT
Purdue placed seventh at the NCAA Palm Beach Regional last May with four players seeing action in the Regional round. Herman Sekne placed T-28th, Andrew Farraye was T-38th and Nick Dentino (two rounds) and Peyton Snoeberger (one round) played as well. In 2022-23, the Boilermakers will be looking for their eighth NCAA appearance in nine possible trips under Bradley.
TEAM NOTES
PURDUE LINEUP
THE COURSE
The University Ridge Golf Course is a public golf course and the official home course to the University of Wisconsin men's and women's golf teams. Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed the course, which opened in 1991. With five sets of tees ranging from 5,005 to 7,289 yards, University Ridge offers something for players of every ability level. The wide-open front nine rolls through a preserved prairie and marshland, while the first six holes of the back nine are cut out of a dense Wisconsin woodland. The course opens up again at the 554-yard signature 16th hole, which features three fairways and 12 bunkers. The 18th is the perfect finishing hole as a climb of 182 feet between woodland and prairie is required to complete the 443-yard par 4.
BADGER INVITATIONAL HISTORY
This marks Purdue's first appearance in the Badger Invitational.
WEATHER FORECAST
Sunday: Cloudy, showers likely, 63 degrees.
Monday: Cloudy, showers likely, 65 degrees.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, 73 degrees.
LIVE SCORING
Will be available on Golfstat.com.
Purdue is looking to continue its surge on the national level, having made eight NCAA Regional appearances in the last nine seasons with three trips to the National Championships during the Rob Bradley era.
Excitement is high for the program after a very strong summer that saw several players win individual medalist honors. Four players that saw action in the NCAA Regionals last year return, headlined by All-American candidate and 2022 first-team All-Big Ten honoree Herman Sekne. Four players on the counting team in Wisconsin own top-10 finishes during their career, and the one golfer that hasn't had a top-10 finish, Peyton Snoeberger, reached the Round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur in mid-August.
The field in Wisconsin features a wide variety of squads, including three SEC teams and four Big Ten teams among the 18 teams competing.
Purdue will tee off Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET, off hole No. 1, being paired with Texas A&M and Wisconsin.
THE FIELD (Golfstat Rankings – End of 2022)
15 Texas A&M
21 Ole Miss
26 South Carolina
28 Purdue
30 South Florida
60 UAB
75 Cincinnati
93 Marquette
97 Wisconsin
115 Nebraska
121 Campbell
125 Illinois State
139 Augusta
140 Northern Illinois
145 Western Carolina
159 South Dakota State
164 Maryland
190 Western Kentucky
LAST TIME OUT
Purdue placed seventh at the NCAA Palm Beach Regional last May with four players seeing action in the Regional round. Herman Sekne placed T-28th, Andrew Farraye was T-38th and Nick Dentino (two rounds) and Peyton Snoeberger (one round) played as well. In 2022-23, the Boilermakers will be looking for their eighth NCAA appearance in nine possible trips under Bradley.
TEAM NOTES
- Purdue will play its first of five scheduled fall events this weekend at the Badger Invitational at University Ridge GC in Madison. A simultaneous "individual" tournament will be played at a nearby course.
- The Boilermakers are coming off one of their top seasons in school history, finishing 28th in the final Golfstat national rankings. Gone from last year's roster are two players that played 284 combined rounds with 32 top-20 finishes between them (Joe Weiler and Cole Bradley).
- Purdue set a school record a year ago with 17 team rounds of even-par or better and with a 286.63, 18-hole stroke average. For the first time in school history, Purdue was under-par as a team for the entire season (5-under par cumulative).
- The 2022-23 season will be Rob Bradley's 10th year at Purdue. The Boilermakers have won eight team titles in the last seven years. From the 2003-04 to 2014-15 (12 years), Purdue won a total of eight team titles. Purdue has won at least one team title in five of the last seven years under Bradley.
- Of Purdue's last 12 team rounds in the fall season, 10 of them have been even or under par, dating to the start of last year.
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.
- Nick Dentino / Senior / Carmel, Indiana
- Appeared in eight events a year ago with a 73.36 stroke average. Posted a top-5 finish at the Washington Country Individual to start the season.
- Also finished T-22 at the Boilermaker Invitational during the spring.
- Played outstanding golf in qualifying sessions, shooting a 68 in the opening round at Kampen. Also played well and teamed with Aidan O'Connell to win the Battle at Birck.
- Finished T-8 at the Canadian Amateur.
- Has four career top-20 showings.
- Andrew Farraye / Grad Student / St. Augustine, Florida
- Ended last season on a high note with three straight top-20 finishes (T-19 at Calusa Cup; T-11 at Boilermaker Invitational; T-9 at Big Ten Championships).
- Currently 13th on career strokes average list (73.79 in 76 career rounds).
- Posted two top-10 and four top-20 showings last season and has nine career top-20 finishes.
- 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.
- Peyton Snoeberger / Senior / Williamsport, Indiana
- Coming off an outstanding summer, where he qualified for the Round of 32 match play at the U.S. Amateur and was second at the Indiana Open.
- Placed in the top 15 at both the Purdue Fall Invitational and Boilermaker Invitational last season.
- Three of his seven rounds a year ago were even- or under-par.
- Nels Surtani / Junior / Indianapolis, Indiana
- 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.
- Six of his 12 career rounds have been at even- or under-par.
THE COURSE
The University Ridge Golf Course is a public golf course and the official home course to the University of Wisconsin men's and women's golf teams. Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed the course, which opened in 1991. With five sets of tees ranging from 5,005 to 7,289 yards, University Ridge offers something for players of every ability level. The wide-open front nine rolls through a preserved prairie and marshland, while the first six holes of the back nine are cut out of a dense Wisconsin woodland. The course opens up again at the 554-yard signature 16th hole, which features three fairways and 12 bunkers. The 18th is the perfect finishing hole as a climb of 182 feet between woodland and prairie is required to complete the 443-yard par 4.
BADGER INVITATIONAL HISTORY
This marks Purdue's first appearance in the Badger Invitational.
WEATHER FORECAST
Sunday: Cloudy, showers likely, 63 degrees.
Monday: Cloudy, showers likely, 65 degrees.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, 73 degrees.
LIVE SCORING
Will be available on Golfstat.com.