The Valparaiso University men’s golf team closed out the season-opening Island Resort Intercollegiate at the par-72, 7375-yard Sage Run Golf Club in Harris, Mich. on Monday. The Beacons were led by Caleb VanArragon (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine), who finalized an individual runner-up finish.

How It Happened

• After a career-low 66 in Round 2, VanArragon posted a 69 (-3) in the third and final round, finishing the event with a 54-hole score of 207 (-9). He shared runner-up honors with Toledo’s NJ Botha, trailing only Illinois State’s Valentin Peugnet (203, -13), who captured medalist honors.
• Sophomore Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield) carded an even-par 72 in Monday’s round, finishing the event at 214 (-2). His 54-hole performance helped him finish at t-11 in the 81-player field.
• Fifth-year senior Yianni Kostouros (Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point [Ball State]) posted a 77 on the final day to finish at 222 (t-34).
• As a team, the Beacons carded an 879 (+15) over the 54 holes, finishing in eighth of 13. Toledo and Illinois State tied for the team title.

Inside the Round

• VanArragon’s 207 was the best 54-hole score of his collegiate career and represented the third-best mark in modern program history. It was the best 54-hole tournament by a Valpo player since Peter Webb posted a 206 at the 2017 Hoosier Invitational, tying the program record established by Nick Seitz at the 2014 Golfweek Program Challenge.
• In relation to par, VanArragon’s score of nine under is the second-best in program history and best since Seitz went 10 under at the 2014 Golfweek Program Challenge.
• VanArragon had the best par-4 scoring average of any player in the tournament at 3.80 (-6). Delisanti posted the tournament’s second-best par-5 average at 4.42 (-7).
• The Beacons produced 41 birdies, led by VanArragon’s 13.
• After Delisanti had an eagle on Sunday, VanArragon accounted for the team’s second eagle of the tournament in Monday’s final round. He needed just three strokes on the par-5 third hole.

Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring

“Wrapping up the final round of our first tournament of the year, we had our struggles putting two quality nine-hole scores together. I was pleased with our start to today’s round, playing the front nine at two under for the four scores that we counted. We had seven birdies and an eagle and we were in good shape making the turn. We were only able to make five birdies on the back nine along with too many bogeys, doubles and a triple bogey. Our shot execution wasn’t nearly as sharp finishing the round, and that’s typically an area we can depend on."

“For the tournament, we had our challenges with finding the correct speed on the greens. There were too many 3-putt greens and missed opportunities within four to six feet of the hole. Our ball-striking was decent, but we still had some areas that we could have made better course management decisions and kept our poise. With this being our first tournament of the year and over a month since some of our players last competed, we will be able to focus our practices on those areas before our next tournament.”

“Coming off his successful season last year, Caleb told me he was going to play more tournaments this past summer and really put in some quality practice time. That hard work was clearly showcased in this weekend’s tournament. I'll be excited to see his stats, but I know that his ball-striking was excellent, his chipping and putting were sharp and he came into this tournament with a lot of confidence and momentum from his work over the summer. It was a great start to his season and our team was thrilled with his performance.”

Up Next

The program will host its annual home tournament, the Valpo Fall Invitational, beginning on Monday, Sept. 19 at Sand Creek Country Club in Chesterton. A link to live scoring via GolfStat will be available on ValpoAthletics.com.