The Valparaiso University men's golf team turned in its best round of the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate, hosted by South Alabama at the par-71, 7239-yard TRJ Magnolia Grove Falls in Mobile, Ala., finishing the event on a positive note on Tuesday. Sophomore Rob Politza (Lemont, Ill. / Lemont Township) posted the team's top score of the tournament.
 
How It Happened

• Politza enjoyed his best round of the tournament on Tuesday, using a 2-under 69 to vault into the team lead. In fact, the round was the lowest of his collegiate career. His 219 (+6) tied for 45^th of 81, as he rose 12 spots on the leaderboard on Tuesday.
• Politza had four birdies in Round 3, three of which came on a four-hole stretch from Hole 5 to Hole 8. He played his final 10 holes of the day at -3.
• The team's second-best tournament score came from junior Adam Melliere (Zionsville, Ind. / Zionsville) at 220. He finished a steady tourney with a 74 on Tuesday.
• Senior Owen Sander (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) had the team's second-best score in Round 3, carding a 70 (-1), his second consecutive round under par.
• As a team, Valpo climbed into a tie for eighth in the 13-team field, using its best score of the event with a 286 in Round 3 to finish at 877 over the 54 holes.
• South Alabama (826) won its home tournament and had the individual medalist (Hugo Thyr, -14).

Up Next
The Beacons will next compete on Monday, April 13 when they begin the Bluegrass Collegiate Invitational, hosted by Kentucky at the University Club of Lexington in Lexington, Ky. A link to live scoring via Clippd will be available on ValpoAthletics.com.