Boilermakers Two off the Lead at Home Invite

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue men’s golf sits in fourth place just two shots off the lead after shooting a 3-under par 281 under near-perfect conditions at the Ackerman-Allen Golf Course on Friday afternoon.
 
Purdue’s 281 is two shots off the pace set by Rutgers, which surged late in the round finishing with a 5-under par 279. No. 11-ranked Oklahoma and Wisconsin are tied for second at 4-under par 280, while Purdue is fourth and Kent State is fifth at 2-under par 282.
 
The Boilermakers played a steady round on both nines and finished strong with four birdies in its last 21 holes played to move from 1-under to 3-under par and from a fifth-place tie to fourth. The leader for most of the round, Oklahoma, came back to the pack by playing the same stretch in 3-over par, setting the stage for a tightly-contested battle on Saturday between five teams.
 
 As he has done for most of the year, Herman Sekne continued to pace the Boilermakers in round one. The junior from Oslo, Norway, shot a 2-under par 69 to sit in a fifth-place tie, four shots off the pace set by Wisconsin’s Cameron Huss. Sekne played a solid round, running into trouble just once in his round when his drive on 14 found itself inches behind a tree, resulting in a bogey.
 
It marked Sekne’s 10^th round this season in the 60s, one off the school record, and 12 of his 22 rounds this year have been even- or under-par.
 
Nick Dentino also had a strong round, posting his fourth round this year in the 60s, also posting a 2-under par 69. Dentino was 1-over par through four holes, but played the remaining 14 holes in 3-over par to sit in the top five after 18 holes.
 
Peyton Snoeberger is the third Boilermaker in the top 20, shooting a 1-under par 70, good for T-13^th after round one. Snoeberger was 1-over par after six holes, but recorded 10 pars and two birdies down the stretch for his round of 70.
 
Andrew Farraye and Nels Surtani are tied for 30^th at 2-over par 73.
 
Playing as individuals, Kentaro Nanayama is tied for 19^th at even-par 71, Andrew White is tied for 48^th at 4-over par 75, Kent Hsiao is tied for 58^th at 5-over par 76 and Luke Prall is 69^th at 7-over par 78.
 
Purdue’s counting team will tee off the second round at 9 a.m. ET, off holes four through seven. The Boilermakers will be paired with Kent State and Illinois State.
 
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