On a perfect day with just wind to contend with, Purdue's five man team all looked like a team playing its home course on Monday as it played host to an NCAA Regional for a shot at the NCAA Championships next week.

Vanderbilt finished the day with a seven stroke lead at -11 and Arizona's -5 was good for second as the two teams had four of the five lowest scores from day one.

Purdue didn't have any big numbers, but that played into their strategy with four separate players shooting -1 on the day and freshman Sam Easterbrook with a team-low 72 for even par on the day.

The steady first round was good enough to put Purdue in third place after the first of three 18-hole days. Purdue is 13 strokes better than Mississippi State and Colorado State who are tied for sixth. The top five teams from the regional will advance to the NCAA Championships.

Purdue didn't have anyone go low. Wisconsin's Cameron Huss led the way at -6 on the day, but all five of Purdue's players were in the top-17 in the first day.

Herman Sekne, Big Ten Player of the Year, is one of the world's longest hitter, but on a day where the senior holed just two birdies, it was his patience that kept him in it as he struggled to capitalize on good looks early.

Purdue started off the back nine on Monday morning. That meant Sekne got to take on the 600 yard par-five tenth to start the day. His opening drive just caught the right fairway, past the lengthy trap on the right side of the fairway. It allowed him to take aim for the green in two and his long iron was safely right of the water, but fell off the green leaving him slightly short-sided but pin high.

But Sekne couldn't get his chip close from an awkward lie on the side of a hill and he would have to settle for par on the gettable par-five. He followed up the par with a perfect drive up the right side of the fairway on 11 leaving him 135 in and he knocked a wedge to six feet, but Sekne would lip out the putt and have to settle for another par.

Sekne's driver put him in some tricky spots throughout the day. On #12, his drive went just left, going into into the rough between two mounds and leaving him a difficult, blind approach from 175 yards to a back pin. With the wind in his face, Sekne hit a beautiful approach to the middle of the green where he was able to two-putt for par on one of the course's most difficult holes.

Sekne would continue hunting greens by landing the par-3 13th and missing a 15 footer for birdie and then two putting the short par-4 14th.

Then his driver got him in a lot of trouble. The 15th features a tee box pushed back against the Wabash River. There's ample room right in the fairway, but to attack the hole there is a rising mound of long grass and bunkers that if you can clear, will leave with less than 80 yards to a gettable green that feeds to its back right pin.

Sekne couldn't clear the hill, landing in the front of the bunker. It forced the senior to lay up diagonal and towards the fairway. He had another difficult approach, having to get over bunkers, and he landed at the back of the green with a tricky twenty-five footer for par. His two-putt would lead to Sekne's only bogey of the day.

Driver would get Sekne in trouble again on the par-5 16th. Sekne pushed driver into a head wind and it trailed right further, getting directly behind a large evergreen tree. Sekne would have to punch under the tree and was only able to advance the ball thirty yards to the fairway.

With wind whipping in his face, his third shot was 275 yards to the green. In what might be the shot of the day, Sekne's five-wood carried to the green right side, funneling off the green to a collection behind the green. Sekne would get up and down to avoid back to back bogeys and stay one up on the day before taking on Purdue's daunting 17th and 18th.

The 17th was playing 206 yards over water. The par-3 front tee invited aiming left and Sekne's stinger into the wind sailed straight through the wind and finished forty feet past the pin with a difficult downhill putt coming off a side slop just head of the hole. It was one of Sekne's best two-putts of the day.

On the 18th, Sekne was in the middle of the fairway, and had a good look at the back pin but the ball carried just long. Sekne would chip and get up and down again to save par.

Making the turn, Sekne would finally get his first birdie of the day on hole #1 after a drive left had him 118 yards from the green and past the trouble. He knocked a wedge to three feet and rolled in his first birdie of the round to get back to even par.

Sekne would find two more greens and two more two-putts to go to the par-fifth at even. Sekne would land left side of the fairway and from 250 yards out would land on the right side of the green. His forty foot eagle putt was left just short with a three foot look at birdie, but Sekne's putt lipped out again and for the first time Sekne showed some emotion.

But Sekne was able to get up and down from the difficult par-3 fifth where his tee shot was safely pin high right and his wedge settled a few inches from the hole.

Normally gettable for Sekne, Sekne found the fairway but with the wind playing aggressively left to right and pushing towards the bog and hazard right, laid up to wedge distance and gave himself a five footer for birdie on the monster par-5 6th. Sekne would get his second birdie of the day and move to (-1) on the day.

Sekne would find the green on the 7th after his drive caught the wasteland in the middle of the two fairways. He'd two putt for par and then scramble for par on 8 after his approach shot landed on a downslope in front of the hole and shot all the way through the green to the back rough.

Sekne would find a final fairway on nine and a final green on the back left of the green where he would knock in a five foot putt for par after leaving his first putt a little short.

Top-five individuals also advance to the NCAA Championships next week. There are three players tied for fifth at -2, just one shot ahead of Sekne who is ranked in the top-20 of college players in the country.

While Sekne played solid, boring golf, the rest of his team was having a bit more up and down to their game.

Peyton Snoeberger tied for a team high 5 birdies, but also carded the only double bogey for the team. He finished at -1 for the day. Kent Hsiao who shot out to an early -3 finished the day at -1 with 5 birdies and 4 bogeys. Nels Surtani was steady with 3 birdies and 2 bogeys. Sam Easterbrook's even featured 4 birdies and 4 bogeys.

Purdue will head into day two in great position to advance as a team and each of its players is also in contention for an individual top-five performance. Weather looks to be a little on the rainy side tomorrow.