WEST LAFAYETTE — Will Harvey lined up the biggest birdie putt of his life, facing about an 18-inch variance between extending Purdue men’s golf’s season and total catastrophe.
The cushion the Boilermakers built over the first 36 holes at last week’s Corvallis Regional had almost completely vanished. If Harvey’s putt on No. 18 missed the hole and rolled too far, his ball would likely plummet down a 25-foot embankment – and take the team’s national tournament berth along with it.
Advertisement
“Treacherous,” coach Andrew Sapp said. Harvey watched the competitor ahead of him make his putt – a seemingly small tap easing down to the hole. He followed in kind, closing with four birdies over the final five holes and securing the Boilers’ fourth-place finish.
Purdue advanced to this weekend’s NCAA National Championship in Carlsbad, California. It’s the program’s third straight trip to nationals, its longest streak since going to 19 straight from 1949-67.
Harvey became the latest entry in the Westfield-to-Purdue sports stardom pipeline. He won the IHSAA state championship a year ago, tying the event’s 36-hole record in the process. Back then he came into every golf season off a busy winter for the Shamrocks, such as when he averaged 9 points per game for an 18-4 team as a senior.
He showed up to Purdue as the best basketball player on the golf team. The competitive lessons of a freshman season – from the course to the clubhouse – helped set up that season-saving putt.
Advertisement
“Anything we do, everybody’s trying to beat each other,” Harvey said. “That’s one thing I’ve learned about college golf – you’ve got to love to compete each and every day.”
Purdue freshman golfer Will Harvey, of Westfield, enjoys his walk up the fairway.
Purdue men’s golf hones competitive fire with another little white ball
When the golf team steps off the courses at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex and into the clubhouse lounge, the real battles begin.
These guys play a lot of ping-pong, and they play to win. They snuck in some games Tuesday before departing for Midway Airport and their flight to San Diego. Sam Easterbrook, the No. 1 golfer, also holds bragging rights at the ping-pong table – though Andrew Zhu sent him off to nationals with a loss.
Advertisement
Easterbrook is a humble champion, though. He admits the reason he and Harvey are all-time teammates in pickup basketball games at the co-rec has nothing to do with friendship. Harvey is simply so much better than the rest of the Boilers he needs a handicap – in this case, an Englishman who barely played basketball growing up.
Those pickup games are played under what you could call the Harvey rules. He can only shoot mid-range 2s – no layups, no 3-pointers.
“None of us can touch him,” Easterbrook said.
Most of Harvey’s teammates – even ones from colder climates – spent their winters playing golf. When they couldn’t get down south during breaks they visited indoor facilities, heated hitting bays and golf simulators.
Advertisement
Harvey spent his winters in basketball gyms. He and Purdue All-American Braden Smith overlapped by one year at Westfield. When the fall season ended and spring was three months away, Harvey found himself longing to get back on the court.
Speaking of: Braden Smith impresses at NBA Combine ahead of draft: ‘An amazing thing to watch’
The thought of what Harvey could unlock when he committed to golf year-round intrigued Smith. Yet he also sees the byproduct of those basketball years in Harvey’s intensity and competitiveness.
“You never really know with freshmen, because it’s a huge development process,” Sapp said. “We knew he was an excellent player coming in. We knew he had the capability of winning. It was just a matter of him getting adjusted to the college game.”
Advertisement
Even a high school state champion and high-level junior golfer must acclimate to the higher level. Courses are longer, pin placements are tougher, and the competition in every foursome is significantly greater.
In the first event of his collegiate career Aug. 31, Harvey carded an eight-under 64 – the lowest round for a Purdue golfer this season. In his second event at the famed Olympia Fields Country Club outside Chicago, he finished 16 over par after three rounds.
He called it “my introduction to college golf.” From fall to spring, however, Harvey’s game matured. He learned to better manage a course on a given day and keep that competitive fire pointed in the right direction.
“I feel like most of my toughness on the golf course comes from basketball,” Harvey said. “Knowing not everything’s going to go perfect – kind of that fighting mindset when you’re down and you’ve gotta go grind on the defensive end of the court or need a bucket. That transfers into golf a little bit.”
Advertisement
Harvey’s 72.36 average in the fall ranked sixth on the team. This spring he’s averaged 71.72 – second only to Easterbrook. He owns the team’s best average on par-5s and finished in the top 20 in six of 13 events.
From fall to spring, he grew into the player Purdue could count on with its season on the line.
Purdue freshman Will Harvey, of Westfield, sank a NCAA nationals-clinching putt during the NCAA Regional.
Will Harvey’s maturing game came through for Purdue golf at NCAA Regional
For most of the regional, the Boilermakers did not expect to need closing heroics from Harvey or anyone else. They sat in second place after 36 holes, with five spots qualifying for nationals.
Advertisement
Then came the Day 3 collapse. Between holes 5 and 13, Purdue shot a collective 17-over-par. Instead of coasting to advancement, they tumbled toward a four-team fight for three spots.
Harvey felt the tension building all day. When he arrived at the No. 16 tee box, he saw grim expressions on the faces of Zhu and strength and conditioning coach Dean Eikenberg as they checked their phones for updates.
“(Eikenberg) was like, ‘Come on, we need a little bit of a push here,’” Harvey said. “I was like, ‘It must be really tight.’”
Insider: Investment into Purdue golf nets Junior PGA Championships, top amateurs like Charlie Woods
Advertisement
He birdied No. 16, then birdied No. 17. When an Oregon State golfer’s birdie on No. 18 pulled the Beavers within one shot of Purdue, Harvey knew he could not afford any mistakes. He set up that 10-foot downhill birdie putt, which if it carried 18 inches past the hole, would likely keep rolling and carry the Boilers out of the postseason.
Oklahoma’s Ryder Cowan can attest. He played bogey-free through 48 holes and remained in medalist contention when he lined up a similar putt on No. 18. He missed, ended up five-putting for a 7 on the par-4 and settled for fourth place.
That came later in the round, though, after Harvey drained his putt to stop the bleeding. Only three players in the third round birdied both Nos. 17 and 18. Thanks to Harvey, the Boilers totaled 842. With only one more stroke on their score, they would have joined San Diego and Liberty in a playoff for the final spot.
Harvey had made big shots before. He recalled one from his junior year, when he needed to make a 5-foot putt to help eventual state runner-up Westfield advance out of sectionals. He’s made a few on the basketball court, too.
Advertisement
None carried the stakes he faced on the green in Corvallis last week.
“For a freshman to finish like that is kind of unheard of, because he doesn’t have the experience,” Easterbrook said. “But it was huge. We needed it bad. We weren’t playing our best, and he came up clutch for us. It was massive.”
Nathan Baird and Sam King have the best Purdue sports coverage, and sign up for IndyStar’s Boilermakers newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How Purdue golf advanced to NCAA nationals with Will Harvey leading way
Read the full article here