Valparaiso University men’s golf junior Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield) is no stranger to epic performances. You may recall the final nine holes at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship his freshman year, or the final nine of that same event this year, or many other unforgettable rounds over the last three seasons. But even for Delisanti, nothing compares to what he did over 18 holes on Saturday in the second round of the National Golf Invitational, hosted at the par-72, 7323-yard Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz.

Delisanti shattered his own 18-hole program record and was one stroke away from matching a course record with a 62 (-10) in Round 2, climbing 14 spots and into the lead entering Sunday’s final round.

How It Happened

• Delisanti’s unbelievable round featured six birdies and two eagles. He eagled the par-5 13^th hole and the par-5 16^th hole. He was par or better on all 18 holes.
• After carding a 71 in Friday’s opening round, Delisanti holds a 36-hole score of 133 (-11) with 18 holes separating him from a national title in the 47-player field. He goes into the final day holding a two-stroke lead on Butler’s Leo Zurovac and a three-stroke lead on TCU’s Jack Beauchamp.
• Sophomore Owen Sander (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) had a solid round with a 73 (+1), owning the second-best score by a Beacon. He had four birdies to counteract three bogeys and one double. Sander’s 36-hole score of 149 is second on the squad and tied for 37^th overall.
• Third on the team was freshman Adam Melliere (Zionsville, Ind. / Zionsville) with a 77.
• As a team, Valpo improved by six strokes from Friday’s round, finishing the day at 291. The Beacons own a 36-hole score of 588, ninth in a 10-team field and just one stroke back of Long Island for eighth. The Beacons are ahead of Missouri Valley Conference foe Belmont.

Inside the Round

• Delisanti is the only player in the tournament with multiple eagles. He also has a team-high nine birdies.
• Delisanti ranks tied for third in the field in par-4 scoring average at 3.80.
• Delisanti beat his own single-round program record of 64 that was set on Sept. 27, 2022 in the third round of the Zach Johnson Invitational and matched on April 24, 2023 in the second round of the MVC Championship. In relation to par, he beat the previous record by three strokes, as the program standard of seven under was set by Jared Magoline and Nick Seitz in the 2014 Golfweek Program Challenge and tied by Delisanti in his two aforementioned rounds.
• Delisanti was one stroke away from tying a course record at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club.

Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring

"We played better in the second round today, but our birdie production was still low for both of these first two rounds. Southern Dunes is one of the Top-3 toughest courses we have played all year, and we have to minimize our mistakes off the tee and into greens. Execution will need to be more sharp tomorrow and we need to have better proximity to the hole for birdie putts. We typically don't have many big number holes and we will need to avoid those mental mistakes tomorrow also."

"Anthony was absolutely marvelous today! As coaches, we all have those games/rounds/matches where we really enjoy watching our players perform at a high level and simply play the sport that they enjoy so much. Today was one of those days where Coach Ron and I just got out of the way and let Anthony do his thing. While he fell one shot short of the course record, his course management was precise and his execution was flawless. He hit 10 fairways and 15 greens and his putting was remarkable with a total of 26. His scorecard was extremely impressive with two eagles, six birdies and no bogeys. Our entire team applauds his score and leadership today!"

Up Next

The final round of the tournament – and season – will take place on Sunday. A link to live scoring via GolfStat is available on ValpoAthletics.com.