Feb. 28, 2008

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‎ ‎RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico - The Purdue men's golf team returns to Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, to host the 2008 Puerto Rico Classic featuring college golf's finest, including three of the nation's top five teams.

This year's Classic begins Feb. 29, and will run through Sunday, March 2, with 18 holes played each day. The tournament will be held at the Rio Mar Country Club on the River Course a 6,902-yard, par-72 course.

This is the eighth year for the 54-hole tournament and this season 13 of the top 50 individual players, including three of the top five will participate. The field is led by top-ranked Rickie Fowler (Oklahoma State), No. 2 Michael Thompson (Alabama) and No. 5 Harris English (Georgia).

Thirteen of this year's 15 teams are ranked in the top 50 according to Golfweek, including top-ranked Georgia, No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 6 Georgia Tech, No. 13 Duke, No. 16 Clemson, No. 29 East Tennessee State, No. 30 Virginia Tech, No. 36 Michigan, No. 39 Kent State, No. 41 Minnesota, No. 44 N.C. State and No. 50 Texas. Rounding out the field are Northwestern and Purdue.

Last year, Georgia won the event with a score of 850 and the Bulldogs will look to defend their title. In 2007, Roberto Castro of Georgia Tech and Joseph Bramlett of Stanford tied for the individual medalist honors firing 209 each.

The Boilermakers are led by head coach Devon Brouse who will rely on four freshmen and junior Michael Randle to battle for the title.

The tournament begins Friday morning with an 8 a.m. shotgun start. Results and a recap will be posted after each round at purduesports.com.