Valparaiso University men’s golf senior Caleb VanArragon (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) rose to the top spot on the player leaderboard by the end of play on Monday as the teams played the second round and began the third round at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate, hosted by South Alabama at the RTJ Magnolia Grove in Mobile, Ala. The teams began Round 3 to get out in front of potential inclement weather on Tuesday, golfing nine more holes and leaving nine remaining for Tuesday.

How It Happened

• VanArragon posted a 68 in Round 2 to finish the second round with a 36-hole score of 137, at that point tied for second in the 80-player field. By the time play was halted for the day, VanArragon had risen into the top spot on the player leaderboard at six strokes under par. He is two strokes ahead of Oral Roberts’ Rocco Repetto Taylor, who is second at four under.
• Thanks in part to a Round-2 score of 70, Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield) is tied for 12^th in the field at even par for the tournament. He is one stroke outside of a top-10 finish entering Tuesday’s completion of play.
• Freshman Adam Melliere (Zionsville, Ind. / Zionsville) once again turned in a countable score out of the No. 5 position in the lineup, carding a 74, third best on the team. He finished the day at four over for the tournament, tied for 26^th.
• As a team, Valpo golfed a 289 in Round 2. The Beacons finished the day at +12 for the tournament, fifth in a competitive, 14-team field. Illinois State holds the top spot at six under par.

Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring

“We had sustained 20 mile per hour winds today with gusts up to 30 mph. The entire field played in the same conditions, and we lost too many shots to the field in our second round. We struggled with the windy conditions, especially since we haven’t played or practiced in them since last fall. We knew that we were going to play in some more challenging conditions and we simply needed to execute our shots better and manage the course better. We had five double bogeys in Round 2 after making two in Round 1, and those need to be eliminated for us to be more competitive.”

“I was very pleased with our Par-3 scoring in the second round. We played all four of the Par 3s even par as a team, and that’s really strong for us. This is an area we can pick up strokes on the field, and that was a bright spot for us today. Also, Caleb played terrific for us in the second round, making five birdies and having a strong finish at the end of the front nine and the back nine. His ball-striking was better in the second round versus the first round, and he managed the windy conditions very well. He is in a great position to finish the tournament well.”

Up Next

The Beacons will finish out the event on Tuesday. A link to live scoring is available on ValpoAthletics.com.