Freshman Tyler Samaan (Elgin, Ill. / Burlington) enjoyed his best day yet, leading the Valparaiso University men's golf team in the opening round of the Badger Invitational, hosted by Wisconsin at the par-72, 7286-yard University Ridge course in Madison, Wis.
 
How It Happened

• Samaan is in the top 10 in a 100-player field, as his opening-round score of 69 (-3) put him tied for ninth. He improved upon his previous career low of 70. After teeing off from Hole 1, Samaan went three under in the front nine with three birdies and six pars. He played even on the back nine, bogeying 18 to come back to -3.
• Junior Rob Politza (Lemont, Ill. / Lemont Township) started the tournament with a 1-over 73, tied for 39^th. He was a stroke under through a front nine that featured birdies on two of the first four holes, but doubled the 10^th before playing even over the final eight holes of the day.
• Redshirt senior Ryan Somerville (Aurora, Ontario / Aurora) is tied for 59^th at 75 (+3).
• Valpo is tied for 12^th of 19 on the team leaderboard with a 293 (+5), while Green Bay leads the field at 278 (-10). Western Carolina's Jace Butcher posted the tournament's best round of the day with a 66.

Thoughts From Head Coach Dave Gring
"We were able to start the round pretty well, playing the first six holes at -2. We played the next six holes +5, but we didn't take enough advantage of the Par-5 9th and 11th holes. We weren't able to finish the final six holes of the round well, with three 3-putts in the last two holes. This golf course demands accuracy off the tee, and we struggled most of the day with hitting enough fairways, only hitting 55% of our fairways. Our approach shots into the greens were decent for us, especially when we were able to have the ball in good position off the tee. We hit 71% of our greens, which is terrific. We're going to need to have better accuracy off the tee to produce more birdies for us in the next two rounds."
 
"Tyler played very solid for us today. He hit 8 out of 13 fairways and 16 out of 18 greens in regulation. His Strokes Gained Approach was an impressive 4.65. Tyler had a clean scorecard through the first 11 holes, with four birdies and no bogeys. His only blemishes on the scorecard for the back nine were narrowly missing getting up-and-down from the front of the green on Hole 12 and a 3-putt on Hole 18. Other Round 1 highlights include Rob hitting 14/18 greens, Ryan hitting 15/18 greens and Elliot's 29 putts."
 
Up Next
The Beacons will continue the tournament on Monday with the second round of the three-round event. A link to live scoring will be available via Clippd.