The Valparaiso University men's golf team finished out Round 2 and played Round 3 of the Badger Invitational, hosted by Wisconsin at the par-72, 7272-yard TPC Wisconsin in Madison, Wis. on Tuesday. Senior
Owen Sander (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) carded the team's top score for the tournament.
How It Happened
- Sander posted an even-par 72 in Round 2, then was a stroke over in the third and final round. He finished tied for 29th of 88 on the player leaderboard, stroking a 219 to lead the Brown & Gold.
- Sophomore Rodrigo Garcia Teruel (Puebla, Mexico / Modern Academy) posted the best 18-hole score by a Beacon in the tournament with a career-low 71 (-1) in Round 2. He was par or better on 17 of 18 holes in that round, eventually finishing the tournament tied for 40th with a 54-hole score of 221.
- Sophomore Rob Politza (Lemont, Ill. / Lemont Township) had his best round of the tournament in the second round, carding a 74 as part of a tournament-score of 229, third on the team.
- The Beacons were 14th on the team leaderboard at 904 highlighted by a 294 in Round 2. Southern Miss won the tournament at 841, while Anthony De Schutter of Southern Illinois and Craig Long II of Northern Illinois shared medalist honors at 205.
Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring
"This was our second tournament of the fall season, and it was certainly a character builder for us. We did not play anywhere close to our standards and abilities. We had a bad combination of mental mistakes, along with poor shot execution. I acknowledge the fact that this was one of the toughest golf courses that we have ever played, but we were poor in our course management and especially with our tee shots. The course has a premium on hitting fairways, and we really struggled with that through all three rounds."
"The first two rounds were a challenge yesterday, with two rain delays and only finishing half of the second round. I thought the guys bounced back well to finish out the second round this morning. We had a hard time getting any rhythm going during the rounds. It was good to see some better scores out of our #3, #4 and #5 players, especially in the second round."
Up Next
The Beacons will golf at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic beginning on Monday, Sept. 29 at Westwood GC in Houston.
