The Valparaiso University men's golf team played the second round of the three-day, 54-hole Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, hosted by Wyoming at the par-72, 7305-yard Classic Club in Palm Desert, Calif., on Tuesday. Junior
Elliot Lee (Tillamook, Ore. / Tillamook) owned the team lead on Tuesday.
How It Happened
- Lee made a one-stroke improvement from Monday's round, turning in a 74 (+2) to own a 149 through 36 holes. He climbed nine spots on the player leaderboard and into a tie for 76th on Tuesday. He had three birdies in the round and has seven through two rounds, all coming on the front nine holes.
- Junior Adam Melliere (Zionsville, Ind. / Zionsville) is tied with Lee for the team's top tournament score through 36 holes at 149. He followed his opening-round 74 with a 3-over 75 on Tuesday.
- Valpo's team score was a 309 on Tuesday after a 294 in the opening round. The Beacons sit at 603 through 36 holes, in 21st of 23, although ahead of conference foe UNI.
- No. 46 Colorado is atop the team leaderboard at 547 and has the top individual in Jackson Rivera at -8.
Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring
"We had ideal conditions today for the second round of the tournament, so weather has not been a factor at all. We only had four birdies in our first six holes and we played two of the Par 5s in that stretch at +7. We have not been taking advantage of the Par 5s at all this spring, and that continues to hurt our team scoring. For the four scores that counted today, we played the middle six holes at +3, but we still played the Par-5 fourth hole at only -1. Our biggest disappointment was finishing the last three holes of the round at +11, which is extremely uncharacteristic for the team."
"Our only bright spot today was the entire team playing the Par 3s at +2. That is an area where we have concentration and the guys played those four holes very well. We will need to improve our tee shots tomorrow, since we have struggled in hitting the water hazards off the fairways. Our putting needs to be better tomorrow, both reading the greens and speed. The guys are staying resilient, and we look forward to a good finish to the tournament tomorrow."
Up Next
The Beacons will play the third and final round of the event on Wednesday in California. A link to live scoring via Clippd is available on ValpoAthletics.com.
