The Valparaiso University men’s golf team played the first round and the better part of Round 2 before play was halted due to darkness on Monday at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, hosted by Colorado at the par-72, 7787-yard Colorado National Golf Club. Senior Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield) completed both rounds and had a standout performance in Round 2.
 
How It Happened

• Delisanti carded a 74 (+2) in the opening round, but bounced back by trimming seven strokes off his score in Round 2. He finished the second round with a 67 (-5), putting his 36-hole score at 141 (-3) entering Tuesday’s final round. Delisanti is tied for 24^th of 104 in a competitive field.
• Senior Sam Booth (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) turned in a 70 (-2) in Round 1 to pace the Beacons during the first 18 of the day. With one hole remaining in Round 2, he is at two over for the round and even par for the tournament, tied for 47^th.
• Sophomore Elliot Lee (Tillamook, Ore. / Tillamook) finished the day at 146 (+2). He completed both rounds, golfing a 74 to begin the day before following with a 72.
• The Beacons carded a 294 as a team in Round 1 and sit at two strokes under in Round 2, bringing the team score to four over for the tournament entering Tuesday. Valpo is ahead of Air Force, Central Arkansas, Colorado School of Mines and Southern Utah, but ranks 15^th of 19 in a strong field.
• Host Colorado leads the tournament at -27, while Dylan Teeter of Texas El Paso leads all players at 134 (-10).

Inside the Rounds

• Booth (70) and Lee (72) both matched season bests, while Delisanti carded 67 or better for the fourth time this season and already has seven rounds of 70 or better.
• Valpo’s best showing came on par-3 holes at 3.18 (+7), tied for sixth in the tournament field on those holes.
• The Beacons produced 31 birdies, led by Delisanti with nine.
• Delisanti birdied four holes in a row – Holes 1-4 – in Round 2. He had six birdies and just one bogey in that round.

Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring
“I’m proud of the guys and spending over 12 hours on the golf course, working through two rounds of golf. This sport demands a lot of concentration, and when you spend the entire day on the course with no breaks in the action, these guys are really working hard out there. We improved our scoring, ball striking and birdie production, along with minimizing double bogeys in the second round. We have two players left to play one hole to finish the second round, and then we will roll right into our final round.”
 
“We had some good second round bounce back from Elliot, Sam Schmidt and Anthony today. All three guys had more birdies and improved their scoring in the second round. Anthony had a tremendous finish to his second round, making birdie on four of his last five holes. Tomorrow, we’re going to need to improve our driving accuracy, along with our Par-3 scoring and getting the ball closer to the pin in regulation for more birdie putts.”
 
Up Next
The Beacons will finish out the second round and play the third round as the tournament concludes on Tuesday. A link to live scoring via GolfStat is available on ValpoAthletics.com.