Casey Bartley • BoilerUpload @CBartleyRivals
Purdue Men’s golf advances to NCAA Championships
Purdue’s third and final day of hosting the NCAA Regionals at Kampen-Cosler started off with rain, and tee times were pushed back an hour and a half.
Purdue came into the day trailing powerhouse Vanderbilt by just one stroke after a tournament low 277 combined round on Tuesday and Purdue’s Kent Hsiao held a three shot lead on the individual field.
But tough conditions and an over powering Vanderbilt team would get the best of Purdue on day three, winning the regional at a combined (-24).
Purdue would take second place at (-11), advancing to the NCAA Championships next week in Carlsbad.
Stats provided by Golf Stat
The day started with Hsiao on top, but the junior struggled, dropping four strokes on the front nine, and losing any hope of solo contention with a double bogey on hole 12. Hsiao would finish (-1) in the tournament, six strokes behind Vanderbilt’s William Moll who won the event at (-7).
Despite coming into the day with just the third lowest score for Purdue, Herman Sekne finished at a team best (-5) for the tournament.
Sekne had high hopes to win the event but his tied for fourth finish help propel his team to the National Championship next week alongside a strong showing from junior Nels Surtani who was (-3) for the tournament.
Sekne held his own against some of the best golfers in the world. It makes sense. He’s a top-20 PGA Tour World U golfer himself, and he kept putting himself in position to go late, but he putter didn’t cooperate as he tried to build out of a double-bogey hole on #12 where his drive went long and left, bouncing past the cart path and into some of the thickest rough on the course.
The ball was barely visible and he thought he had a better lie than he did. His first swipe at the ball failed to dislodge it from the tall grass. His third would barley get it out. Then he’d hit one of the best shots of the tournament off a side hill lie to about eight feet.
But he’d push the bogey putt right and take double-bogey on the hole. It was his only blemish on the card today.
“Felt like I played pretty solid all week,” Sekne said after the round. “But definitely felt like I left a few out there just with the putter. Felt like I could have made a few more for sure. Felt like I had a really good chance to win the tournament. Little disappointed to not get the individual title, but very excited for the team. Gonna be my first national championship at Purdue.”
Sekne made a charge towards the turn, birdieing holes seven and nine, then dropping another shot on the par-5 tenth that moved him to (-6) at the time and tying for the individual lead on top the leaderboard.
But disaster struck on the 12th, and then he had to save par on the par-3 13th when his tee shot went right and he was left with a difficult downhill chip. Sekne was able to get the par putt to go, but couldn’t find enough birdies down the stretch.
He had a twelve foot putt on fourteen and an eight foot putt on 15 that he just missed before birdieing the par-five 16th.
On the two hardest holes on the course, Sekne had birdie looks again, leaving his twenty five footer two rotations short on the par-3 17th and just a rotation short on his ten foot birdie putt on eighteen.
Michigan’s Hunter Thomson finishes 27th- Ending his run in NCAA Tourney
» With a 218 (+2) total, Michigan’s Hunter Thomson tied for 27th at the NCAA West Lafayette Regional at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex. Not advancing to the NCAA Finals, U-M’s season is completed.
» With his final 70.56 scoring average, Thomson set the U-M program record for scoring in a season. He topped former All-American Kyle Mueller’s 70.76 (2017-18).
» Thomson made his first NCAA postseason appearance — becoming the fourth Wolverine and first in six years — to be extended an invitation to an NCAA Regional.
» Michigan did not compete as a team.
Indiana Golf fades on day three. Stats below
CHIP-INS
• Sixth-year senior Noah Gillard secured a team-best 14 birdies, with at least four conversions in each of the three rounds. He closed his collegiate career at 215 (74-69-72; -1) and tied for 18th.
• Gillard posted the lowest Par-3 scoring average in the event at 2.67 strokes per hole. He was 4-under on over the three rounds on Par-3 plays.
• Senior Drew Salyers tied for 28th at 218 (73-70-75; +2) with eight birdies. The Howard, Ohio, native paced the Hoosiers with 37 par conversions, tied for the 13th-most in the field of 75 players.
• Graduate Thomas Hursey played the 54 holes at 218 (75-71-72; +2) to tie for 28th. He holed out 10 birdies and played two rounds at or below par.
• Freshman Cole Starnes tied for 52nd at 224 (77-71-76; +8). He added eight birdie conversions.
• Redshirt junior Robert Bender III shot a 234 (76-77-81; +18) to finish 68th overall. The Louisville native tallied six birdies.
HOOSIERS IN THE STANDINGS
t-18. Noah Gillard – 215 (74-69-72; -1)
t-27. Drew Salyers – 218 (73-70-75; +2)
t-27. Thomas Hursey – 218 (75-71-72; +2)
t-50. Cole Starnes – 224 (77-71-76; +8)
68. Robert Bender III – 234 (76-77-81; +18)
“Obviously a phenomenal career,” Bradley said after the three day tournament. “I think he’ll be a force at the National Championship, too.”
Purdue showed that as a team it can be a force, too with three players winning events this year and all three of them shining during the NCAA Regionals.
The men will have the weekend to prepare before heading to Carlsbad, California next week where the Purdue Women’s golf team will already be competing in the women’s National Championship.
Golf Pictures from the NCAA/Purdue West Lafayette Regional
Rob Bradley was complimentary of his team’s performance all week. He had multiple players have a chance at the top of the leaderboard and his players defended their home course.
As for his star, Sekne, he believes that the NCAA Championships could be a showcase for senior.