Competing in its fourth tournament in just over two weeks time, the Valparaiso University men’s golf team opened action from the Ram Masters Invitational at Fort Collins C.C. in Fort Collins, Colo. on Monday with 36 holes of competition.

How It Happened

• The Crusaders finished the day in a tie for 12th place in the 18-team field, shooting team rounds of 299 and 291 to finish the opening 36 holes at 590. Valpo is just nine strokes back of 10th position.
• Junior Zach Cutler (O’Fallon, Mo./Timberland) and sophomore Mitchell Wittmann (Kaukauna, Wis./Kaukauna) posted matching totals of 147 to finish the day in a tie for 42nd place. Cutler shot rounds of 72 and 75, while Wittmann recorded rounds of 73 and 74.
• Freshman Ross Lazar (Okemos, Mich./Okemos) matched his season-low round of 74 in the second round of the day and posted a total of 150 through 36 holes.
• After struggling in his opening round, senior Peter Webb (Madison, Wis./James Madison Memorial) registered the best round of the day from a Crusader, carding a 68 in the second round.
• Junior Michael Doherty (Lisle, Ill./Naperville North) rounded out the Crusader team with a two-round total of 160.

Inside the Rounds

• Webb’s second-round 68 is tied for the 10th-lowest single-round score in program history. It is the eighth round of his career of 68 or better.
• Webb’s second round was highlighted by an eagle on the 556-yard, par-5 seventh hole. The senior also recorded four birdies in the round.
• Cutler tallied three birdies in his second round.
• Valpo led the field in total pars through two rounds, finishing the day with 113 pars among their five golfers. Wittmann led the tournament field on Monday with 28 pars.

Thoughts From Head Coach David Gring

“We had our struggles in the opening round with only four birdies and too many big holes. We started slow and we weren't able to get anything going on track in the first round. The guys bounced back with a better round in the afternoon, but we still didn't make enough birdies and the double-bogeys continue to hurt our team score.”

“The tournament field is solid and we certainly had to adjust to playing at 5,000 feet of elevation, versus playing at sea level last week. The guys seemed to make the adjustment to the distances well, but we need to hit more greens in regulation and get the ball closer to the hole. While our team led the field in pars, the birdie production must improve.”

“Mitchell and Zach averaged 26 pars for the first two rounds and they played steady for us. The greens were rolling fast and the two of them putted pretty well overall.”

Next Up

The Crusaders finish out the tournament in Fort Collins with the final round on Tuesday morning. Doherty will tee off first for Valpo on the 10th hole at 10:25 a.m. CT.