Valparaiso University men’s golf junior Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield) finished the 2023-24 season by polishing off medalist honors at the 45-player National Golf Invitational – a postseason tournament hosted by Golfweek that is the equivalent of the NIT in basketball. He tied the program record for 54-hole score in relation to par at 201 (-15) after completing Sunday’s third and final round at the par-72, 7323-yard Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz.

How It Happened

• After his epic round that resulted in a program-record 62 (-10) on Saturday, Delisanti followed with a 68 (-4) in Sunday’s final round. He completed the 54-hole tournament in 201 strokes (-15), edging Washington State’s Sam Renner by a single stroke for medalist honors.
• After playing bogey-free golf on Saturday, Delisanti started Round 3 on Hole 10 and was par or better for each of the first 14 holes that he golfed on Sunday. A clean front nine saw Delisanti drain four birdies and hit even par on the other five holes. He birdied three straight holes – the 12^th, 13^th and 14^th – before recording his fourth birdie of the day on Hole 16. He sprinkled in a pair of birdies on his back nine – Hole 1 and Hole 7 – but did navigate two bogeys.
• Valpo’s second-best score came courtesy of Owen Sander (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) with a 71 (-1) to finish 35^th in the field at 220 (+4). Freshman Adam Melliere (Zionsville, Ind. / Zionsville) contributed a 73 (+1) to close the event at t-39.
• Senior Mason Bonn (Sherwood, Ore. / Sherwood) golfed the final round of his collegiate career on Sunday, which was his 22^nd birthday. He posted a 76 (+4).
• As a team, Valpo finished ninth of 10 at 876 (+12), but had its best round of the weekend with even par golf at 288. Washington State took the team title at 823 (-41).

Inside the Round

• Delisanti won medalist honors for the first time this season and the sixth time in his collegiate career. His last tournament win was the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Championship.
• Several of his best performances have come on the biggest stage as he won the 2022 MVC Championship, the 2023 MVC Championship and the 2024 NGI as well as the 2023 Zach Johnson Invitational, 2022 Valpo Fall Invitational and 2022 Butler Spring Invitational.
• Delisanti’s 54-hole score of 201 (-15) tied with VanArragon’s performance from the 2023 Valpo Fall Invitational for the program’s best 54-hole tournament score in program history in relation to par. In terms of overall score, his 201 this weekend is tied with VanArragon for second in program history behind Delisanti’s 200 at the 2023 MVC Championship.
• Melliere had an eagle on the par-5 third hole in Sunday’s final round, lifting the team total to three eagles in the tournament.
• Delisanti had 15 birdies for the tournament plus two eagles. He held the tournament’s second-best par-4 scoring average at 3.80.
• Delisanti finished 2023-24 with a season scoring average of 70.48. That ranks second in modern program history behind only VanArragon’s 69.62 this season.
• Delisanti enters his senior season with a career scoring average of 71.57, second in modern program history behind VanArragon (71.24).
• Delisanti’s tournament win represented his fifth top-5 finish and seventh top-10 finish this year. This was his 20^th career top-10 finish.
• Valpo completed the season with a team-scoring average of 289.13, breaking the team’s single-season scoring average record for the third straight year.
• Valpo’s team has made back-to-back postseason championship tournaments appearances in the NGI and the team has had individuals compete in NCAA Regionals in three consecutive years.

Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring

“I’m proud of the team’s efforts in this tournament. We played without our No. 1 player for the first time this year and we improved our team score every round. Also, we played better this year versus last year in the same event. The course is a tremendous test and we had a lot of good ball-striking today. There was a better level of comfort this year on the course, since half of the team had played the course last year. The tournament is very well run and it’s an awesome way to end our season.”

“We had better balance in our team scoring today and our birdie production was closer to where it needs to be. Also, the guys minimized the number of bogeys and big scores on holes. The team played patient today and they really made good course-management decisions. With better shot execution every day through the tournament, our scoring was more consistent.”

“Anthony puts so much time and effort into his practice and play and he really enjoys it! We were thrilled to see him close his season with an individual national championship - well earned! He kept playing better as the spring season progressed and his performance at the MVC Championship, especially the last round, and the three rounds here in Phoenix at Southern Dunes really showcased his talents and abilities. I can’t say enough about the quality of his ball-striking and short game this weekend. Also, his course management was on-point with his shot execution following perfectly. Our team is ecstatic about his individual victory today and it was so much fun to be a part of it!”