The Valparaiso University men's golf team closed out the fall season on Friday and Saturday by participating in the Monterrey Collegiate Classic at the par-72, 7141-yard Club Campestre Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico. The tournament featured a unique format with the players golfing 27 holes per day during the two-day event.
How It Happened
- After playing even-par golf in Round 1, No. 89 Anthony Delisanti put together back-to-back rounds of 68 (-4) in Round 2 and Round 3. This vaulted him into the top 10 on the player leaderboard, finishing ninth of 73. He totaled a 208 (-8) for the 54-hole tournament.
- Sophomore Elliot Lee carded a 215 with a round-by-round line of 73-69-73, highlighted by going three under par in Round 2. He finished tied for 25th.
- Senior Sam Booth finished with a 217 (t-34), turning in a 71 in Round 1 before following with a 73 in each of the final two rounds. Sophomore Adam Melliere had a 221 for the tournament after improving his score in each round, going 76-74-71.
- Valpo finished in the middle of the pack as a team, carding a 288 in Round 1, 284 in Round 2 and 285 in Round 3 for a 54-hole total of 857 (-7), tying for sixth of 12.
- North Dakota State won the team title at 838, while Juan Luis Bethencourt of UTRGV won medalist honors at 203.
Inside the Rounds
- Delisanti stroked a team-high 14 birdies.
- Delisanti averaged a 3.83 on par-4 holes, finishing among the tournament leaders on par 3s.
- Valpo totaled 48 birdies as a team.
- The Beacons thrived on par 4s at 3.99 as a team.
- Lee eagled the par-5 14th Hole of Round 3.
- Valpo's 54-hole tournament score of 857 ranks seventh in program history and the 54-hole score of -7 ranks fifth in program history in 54-hole tournament score in relation to par.
Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring – Day 1
"This tournament offers a unique format with us playing 27 holes on the first day and 27 holes on the second day. We didn't have the grind of a full 36 holes in one day, but better balance between the two days. Our scoring today was pretty balanced with four of our players within three shots of each other. We got off to a slow start, with only six birdies and three double bogies in the first nine holes. We bounced back well in the second nine holes with 11 birdies. We finished the final nine holes with 12 birdies. It was good to see three of our players with three birdies each during that stretch."
"We might have been kicking off a little bit of rust, since we had not competed with this much golf in 16 days. We still have half the tournament ahead of us and we're going to need to continue to progress with our birdie production and hitting more fairways off the tee. Hitting the fairways in regulation continues to be a struggle for us, especially on the Par 5's."
Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring – Day 2
"I'm proud of our team and the effort put forth in this tournament and in the two weeks of preparation. The guys practiced very well leading up to this final tournament of the fall season and it showed in our performance over the past two days. We had balanced scoring, we improved our play each day of the tourney and we finished each round and the tournament strong. These are all part of our team culture and we will see the fruits of these efforts as we look ahead to the spring season."
"I was also very pleased with the improvement we showed in each 9-hole segment of the tourney. With the unique 27/27 hole format, each nine holes were distinct and our birdie and par production improved into today and the second half of the tourney. We had 11 birdies and an eagle on the front nine of our final round and we finished with nine birdies in the final nine holes. The ball striking seemed to improve every round and we still left a number of birdies out of the course."
"It was very positive to finish the fall season on a high note. We lowered our team score every tournament this fall, with this last event being our best team score. I'm happy with the progress of our team and the direction that we are heading. Our fall schedule was our most competitive in my 14 years of coaching, and our spring schedule won't get any easier. We know what we need to work on this winter and we have a lot of work ahead of us. We're already excited for our spring season and February can't come soon enough."
Up Next
Valpo will tee off the spring season at the Dorado Beach Collegiate at TPC Dorado Beach in Dorado, P.R. on Sunday, Feb. 23.
