WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The No. 28-ranked Purdue men's golf team begins its spring season in paradise when it hosts the 30th Puerto Rico Classic at the Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
The Boilermakers are coming off a strong fall season and looking to improve its national golfstat ranking as they host one of the elite fields of the collegiate golf season. Purdue finished in the top five in four of its five events in the fall, owning an 18-hole stroke average of 287.75. The Boilermakers' No. 28 national ranking is third among Big Ten teams.
According to this year's early Golfstat rankings, eight of the 13 teams are ranked in the top 45, with three more squads being in the top 100. Purdue owns a 9-5-0 record against teams in the field, but is 0-3-0 against the three teams ahead of the Boilermakers in the rankings (Tennessee, Oklahoma, Ohio State).
THE FIELD (Golfstat Rankings / as of Feb. 11, 2023)
9 Tennessee
16 Oklahoma
24 Ohio State
28 Purdue
31 Georgia
42 East Tennessee State
44 Ole Miss
45 Marquette
60 South Carolina
81 Wisconsin
89 Iowa
163 College of Charleston
188 Maryland
LAST TIME OUT
Purdue finished fourth out of 15 teams at the elite Isleworth Collegiate, shooting a 54-hole total of 2-under par 862 (291-283-288), falling to top-10 ranked teams Auburn, Florida and Illinois. Herman Sekne led the Boilermakers with a 4th-place finish at 7-under par 209, while Nels Surtani was tied for seventh at 5-under par 211.
PURDUE LINEUP
THE COURSE
Stretching along the Grand Reserve beachfront peninsula, with El Yunque rainforest as a backdrop, patrons will experience an epic 18 holes of championship golf. After competing at the Rio Mar Country Club since its inception, the Puerto Rico Classic has moved to the Grand Reserve Golf Club for the first time in 2022.
PUERTO RICO CLASSIC HISTORY
One of the elite tournaments in collegiate golf, the 2023 edition of the Puerto Rico Classic will be the 30th playing of the event – the second time, however, being at the Grand Reserve. Ten different teams have won the event, with Georgia Tech leading the way with seven championships (1993, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019, 2020). Purdue has played in the event 23 times and finished in the top 3 three times. In its last four appearances, Purdue has finished third (2018), fifth (2019), eighth (2020) and fourth (2022).
WEATHER FORECAST
Sunday: Sunny, 83 degrees, E winds 10-20 MPH
Monday: Showers early, sun later, 83 degrees, ESE winds 10-20 MPH
Tuesday: Showers early, sun later, 83 degrees, E winds 10-15 MPH
LIVE SCORING
Will be available on Golfstat.com.
The Boilermakers are coming off a strong fall season and looking to improve its national golfstat ranking as they host one of the elite fields of the collegiate golf season. Purdue finished in the top five in four of its five events in the fall, owning an 18-hole stroke average of 287.75. The Boilermakers' No. 28 national ranking is third among Big Ten teams.
According to this year's early Golfstat rankings, eight of the 13 teams are ranked in the top 45, with three more squads being in the top 100. Purdue owns a 9-5-0 record against teams in the field, but is 0-3-0 against the three teams ahead of the Boilermakers in the rankings (Tennessee, Oklahoma, Ohio State).
THE FIELD (Golfstat Rankings / as of Feb. 11, 2023)
9 Tennessee
16 Oklahoma
24 Ohio State
28 Purdue
31 Georgia
42 East Tennessee State
44 Ole Miss
45 Marquette
60 South Carolina
81 Wisconsin
89 Iowa
163 College of Charleston
188 Maryland
LAST TIME OUT
Purdue finished fourth out of 15 teams at the elite Isleworth Collegiate, shooting a 54-hole total of 2-under par 862 (291-283-288), falling to top-10 ranked teams Auburn, Florida and Illinois. Herman Sekne led the Boilermakers with a 4th-place finish at 7-under par 209, while Nels Surtani was tied for seventh at 5-under par 211.
PURDUE LINEUP
- Herman Sekne / Junior / Oslo, Norway
- Named Big Ten Golfer of the Week for the fifth time after finishing 2nd at the Purdue Fall Invitational.
- Recorded 10th career top-10 showing with his finish at Isleworth.
- Has 28 even- or under-par rounds among his 63 career rounds played.
- Has nine top-10 finishes in his last 12 events dating to last season.
- Has four straight top-10 showings, tied for the second-longest streak in school history.
- Ranks first in career stroke average by over half-a-stroke (72.05). Austin Eoff is second at 72.82 strokes.
- Since the start of last year, Sekne is a cumulative 23-under par (71.02 strokes per round; 2,983 strokes – 42 rounds).
- Won the Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate and Boilermaker Fall Invitational in back-to-back tournaments, the latter by a whopping seven shots.
- One-of-two golfers (Cole Bradley) to have three career tournaments of 205 or better. He's played in 18 career events.
- Finished T-16th at the elite World Amateur Team Championship in early September, helping Norway to a fourth-place team finish.
- Played in the elite Jones Cup Invitational during the winter, finishing 14th.
- Has risen to 60th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) and 19th in the NCAA individual rankings.
- Nels Surtani / Junior / Indianapolis, Indiana
- Strong showing in the fall, owning a 72.79 stroke average with three top-20 showings and a 7th-place finish at Isleworth.
- Recorded a top-20 finish at the Purdue Fall Invite, posting a T-16 finish at 5-over par 221 (70-77-74).
- Has 13 rounds of even-par or better, in 26 career rounds, and five top-20 finishes in nine career events.
- Came up big in the third round at Inverness, firing a 3-under par 68, the second-lowest round of the day. Moved him up 32 spots to finish T-42.
- Recorded his third career top-20 finish (in five events) with a T-19 showing at the Badger Invitational (72-71=143).
- Had a strong summer, winning both the Golfweek Hoosier Amateur and Northern Amateur. Also placed 24th at the prestigious Monroe Invitational.
- Peyton Snoeberger / Senior / Williamsport, Indiana
- Finished T-12th at the Purdue Fall Invite, shooting 3-over par 219 (74-73-72).
- Leads the team in third-round scoring (70.50).
- Big final round of even-par 70 at Marquette to help Purdue to a fifth-place team finish.
- Strong performance at Inverness, finishing T-12 as an individual at 3-over par 216. It marked his third top-15 performance in his last four events (T-14 at Purdue Fall Invite; T-11 at Boilermaker Invite; T-53 at Badger Invite; T-12 at Inverness).
- 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.
- Kent Hsiao / Sophomore / Taipei, Taiwan
- Had an outstanding winter session, moving into the lineup through qualifying.
- Will be playing the first round in Puerto Rico on his birthday.
- Has played in two events this season, finishing tied for fourth at the Purdue Fall Individual at the Ackerman-Allen Golf Course (74-69-71=214; -2).
- Andrew Farraye / Senior / St. Augustine, Florida
- Has played in four events this season, owning a 74.00 stroke average with two rounds of par or better.
- Worked his way back into the lineup in the winter qualifying.
- Owns 10 career rounds in the 60s and 10 top-20 finishes.
THE COURSE
Stretching along the Grand Reserve beachfront peninsula, with El Yunque rainforest as a backdrop, patrons will experience an epic 18 holes of championship golf. After competing at the Rio Mar Country Club since its inception, the Puerto Rico Classic has moved to the Grand Reserve Golf Club for the first time in 2022.
PUERTO RICO CLASSIC HISTORY
One of the elite tournaments in collegiate golf, the 2023 edition of the Puerto Rico Classic will be the 30th playing of the event – the second time, however, being at the Grand Reserve. Ten different teams have won the event, with Georgia Tech leading the way with seven championships (1993, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019, 2020). Purdue has played in the event 23 times and finished in the top 3 three times. In its last four appearances, Purdue has finished third (2018), fifth (2019), eighth (2020) and fourth (2022).
WEATHER FORECAST
Sunday: Sunny, 83 degrees, E winds 10-20 MPH
Monday: Showers early, sun later, 83 degrees, ESE winds 10-20 MPH
Tuesday: Showers early, sun later, 83 degrees, E winds 10-15 MPH
LIVE SCORING
Will be available on Golfstat.com.