The Valparaiso University men’s golf team is off to a stellar start to the Golfweek/AGT Intercollegiate, a three-day, 54-hole tournament being held this week at the par-72, 6940-yard True Blue Golf Course in Pawleys Island, S.C. The Beacons are atop a strong 19-team field, and Caleb VanArragon (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) is tied for the top spot individually.

How It Happened

• VanArragon enjoyed a Round-1 score of 66 (-6) and is tied with Kansas City’s Lucas Dutartre for the top spot in a 100-player field.
• Freshman Adam Melliere (Zionsville, Ind. / Zionsville) joined his fifth-year senior teammate in the top five by carding a 69 (-3). He is tied for fifth in the field.
• A trio of Beacons in the top 10 on Day 1 also featured Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield)¸ who stroked a 70 (-2). All four of the team’s countable scores were under par as Mason Bonn (Sherwood, Ore. / Sherwood) rounded out that group with a 71 (-1).
• The team posted a 276 (-12), five strokes ahead of the next closest team in a solid 19-team field. Kansas City is second at 281 (-7) and North Alabama is third at 283 (-5).

Inside the Rounds

• Melliere’s 69 tied the best round of his young collegiate career.
• VanArragon’s 66 tied for the best round by a Beacon this season.
• Valpo’s team score of 276 tied a season best from the second round of the Dorado Beach Collegiate on Feb. 26. This tied for the third best 18-hole team score in terms of overall score in modern program history, behind only the 2014 Golfweek Program Challenge (273, first round) and the 2023 Rutherford Intercollegiate (274, second round).
• In relation to par, the -12 tied for the second-best 18-hole team score in program history behind only Sept. 7, 2014, -15 in the first round of the Golfweek Program Challenge.
• The team led the tournament in par-3 scoring at 2.68 (-8) with VanArragon averaging 2.40 strokes on those holes, tying for the best mark in the event.
• VanArragon birdied seven of the 18 holes, tying for the most in the field. He helped the Beacons drain 19 birdies on the day.
• Bonn produced one of the day’s four eagles, turning the trick on the par-5 ninth hole.
• Valpo is ahead of five teams in this tournament that are ranked in the top 150 nationally. Valpo is currently ranked No. 157.

Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring

“We had a terrific start to the tournament. We still have two rounds to play, so we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. I was very pleased with our practice round yesterday and all of our preparation for the tournament. I’m not surprised that we started the three-day tourney well and the guys managed the course much like we discussed during the practice round. We still need to play the Par 5s better and get our wedge shots closer to the pin in regulation. These two areas are gradually improving for us this spring, but we still need to get better.”

“I was very pleased with our birdie production. We had 19 for the round and Caleb led the way with seven. We only had one double bogey over our five rounds. When we are able to finish around 20 birdies for a round and eliminate our doubles, the team score is going to be very solid. I was also very impressed with our Par-3 performance. The team played the five Par 3s at eight under, with eight birdies and not a single bogey. That’s a huge part of our success and led for the day, and we will need to get play those holes well the next two rounds.”

“It was a terrific team performance with all four of our players scores that counted under par. We had 10 of our birdies during the stretch of holes from 7-11. Caleb had a solid scorecard with seven birdies and one bogey. Adam also played very well for us with five birdies and two bogeys. We’re going to need to keep managing the course well tomorrow to keep the birdie production going.”

Up Next

The Beacons will play the second round of the Golfweek/AGT Intercollegiate on Tuesday. A link to live scoring via GolfStat is available on ValpoAthletics.com.