The Valparaiso University men’s golf team is very much still in the mix for both team and individual hardware with 18 holes remaining at the Golfweek/AGT Intercollegiate, which is being hosted this week at the par-72, 6940-yard True Blue Golf Course in Pawleys Island, S.C. After Tuesday’s second round, the Beacons are two shots out of the team lead and senior Caleb VanArragon (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) is one stroke off the pace on the individual leaderboard.

How It Happened

• VanArragon finished Round 2 of the three-round event in second place on a 100-player leaderboard. Richmond’s Cole Ekert surged into the top spot on Tuesday by shooting a 66 (-6) to finish the day at 136 (-8). VanArragon followed his strong opening round with a 71 (-1) on Tuesday to end the day at 137 (-7).
• VanArragon had three birdies and two bogeys in Tuesday’s round.
• Valpo has three golfers in the top 15 in this event through two rounds. Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield) stroked a 73 (+1) on Tuesday to finish the day at 143 (-1), tied for 15^th.
• Freshman Adam Melliere (Zionsville, Ind. / Zionsville) is also involved in the tie for 15^th after a 74 (+2) on Tuesday to bring his 36-hole total to 143 (-1). He birdied Holes 9, 10 and 12.
• Valpo slipped into a tie for second after a team score of 295 (+7) on Tuesday. However, the Beacons are still very much in the team title mix thanks to a strong opening round on Monday. Valpo is at 571 (-5) through 36 holes, tied with Long Island and only a stroke behind first-place Richmond on a tight team leaderboard.

Inside the Round

• Valpo has 30 birdies for the tournament, 19 of which came on Day 1.
• The team’s best scoring has been Par 3s, third in the field with a 3.06 average.
• VanArragon’s par-3 scoring average of 2.80 is tied for the best in the tournament. He is also among the tournament leaders in par-4 scoring average at 3.88.
• VanArragon has 10 birdies, tied for the second most in the event.

Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring

“For as well as we played in Round 1, today was a real struggle for us. Our shot execution and our short game were really poor today. Our wedges into the greens were not sharp and we missed a lot of short putts. We had a very slow start to the round, and we didn’t get any momentum started until the middle of the round. We were sitting at six over through eight holes and battled all the way back to even par after 12 holes. We gave seven shots back over the last six holes and were four shots over par on the Par-3 16th Hole alone.

“Despite a very poor second-round performance, we still sit one shot back of the lead. We’re going to see the level of resiliency and perseverance of the team tomorrow. The weather is going to be an added dimension for the entire field, with rain and a decent amount of wind forecasted for the round. We’re going to have to maintain poise and patience for the round and manage the course well. It will be a good test for us and we’re excited to compete.”

Up Next

The Beacons will close out the Golfweek/AGT Intercollegiate on Wednesday. A link to live scoring via GolfStat is available on ValpoAthletics.com.