Valparaiso University men's golf junior Rob Politza (Lemont, Ill. / Lemont Township) was recognized by the league office on Thursday as he was named the Missouri Valley Conference Golfer of the Week.
 
Politza continued his strong start to the season this week with a top-3 finish in an 87-player field as the Beacons played in Rice's Bayou City Collegiate Classic at the par-72, 7184-yard Westwood Golf Club in Houston. He finished Round 2 with a 68 (-4), matching his strong showing from Round 1. He turned in a clean Round-2 scorecard with four birdies and no boxed-in numbers. Politza played the third round at even par, finishing the tournament with a 54-hole total of 208 (-8).
 
Politza was one stroke away from cracking the program's all-time top-10 for 54-hole tournament in relation to par, as his round is tied for 12th. Only three players in program history have had better tournaments than the one he posted this week – Caleb VanArragon (4x), Anthony Delisanti (6x) and Nick Seitz. This was the best Valpo tournament by someone other than Delisanti and VanArragon since Seitz set a then-program record at -10 in 2014. Politza tied for third with three others, two strokes behind Texas' Sterling Hurd and Middle Tennessee's Connor Henry, who shared medalist honors at -10. 
 
Politza owns a team-best scoring average of 70.50 through six rounds this season. The Beacons will be back in action on Sunday at the Badger Invitational, hosted by the University of Wisconsin at University Ridge GC in Madison, Wis.