The Valparaiso University men’s golf team is tied for the team lead through 18 holes at the three-round Golfweek/AGT Intercollegiate, which began on Monday at the par-72, 6989-yard True Blue Golf Club in Pawleys Island, S.C. Senior Caleb VanArragon (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) had the squad’s top score of the day.

How It Happened

• As a team, the Beacons posted a 285 (-3) to share the top spot with Delaware following the first of three days in South Carolina. Valpo is part of an 18-team field this week.
• VanArragon stroked a 69 (-3), one of three participants involved in a tie for second in the field. He is one stroke behind Connecticut’s Jared Nelson in the battle for medalist honors.
• Sophomore Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield) is close behind, one stroke in back of VanArragon with a 70 (-2). He sits at t-5 in the 96-player field through one day of action.
• Golfing as an individual, Padraic Sim (Spanish Fort, Ala. / Spanish Fort [Oregon]) made his Valpo debut, carding an even par at 72 to finish the day tied for 19^th on the player leaderboard.
• Valpo also received a solid round from Yianni Kostouros (Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point [Ball State]), who stroked a 73 (+1) to sit at t-31.

Inside the Round

• The Beacons lead the tournament field in par-3 scoring at 3.00 and rank third on par 4s and fourth on par 5s.
• The Brown & Gold have drained 66 pars, tied for the most in the tournament, while producing 13 birdies.
• Sim has the best par-4 scoring average in the field at 3.75, while VanArragon is tied for the top spot in par-5 scoring at 4.40.
• Delisanti reached par on 16 occasions, tied for the tournament lead. Sim paced the squad with five birdies.

Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring

“Our scoring was consistent across the entire team, which is always important. We needed some more guys under par, but the team made a lot of pars and we hit the ball well from tee to green. Each one of our players was right around 70 percent in both hitting fairways and greens in regulation, so we were really pleased with our ball-striking.”

“We know that we left a lot of shots out there today, and we’re going to need to make more birdies tomorrow. Thirteen birdies are not enough on this course and we simply need to hit the ball closer to the hole. We made right around 33 percent of our birdie putts from five to 12 feet, so we have to take better advantage of those birdies tomorrow. I was pleased with our Par-3 scoring as we played this first round at even par.”

“The team is playing with a lot of confidence and we are excited to get after it again tomorrow.”

Up Next

Valpo will compete in Round 2 of the 54-hole event on Tuesday at True Blue GC in Pawleys Island, S.C. A link to live scoring via GolfStat is available on ValpoAthletics.com.