Story Links
Junior Adam Melliere (Zionsville, Ind. / Zionsville) led the Valparaiso University men’s golf team over the first 36 holes of the Purdue Fall Invitational, which began on Monday at the par-72, 7465-yard Kampen-Cosler Golf Course in West Lafayette, Ind. All five players either matched or improved their Round-1 score in the afternoon round.
How It Happened
Melliere finished the day at 148 (+4) to lead the squad, climbing 20 spots on the player leaderboard during the second round and finishing the day tied for 35th of 78. He improved from a 5-over 77 in Round 1 to a 1-under 71 in Round 2, which marked a season low. Melliere’s best stretch of golf on Monday came over his final 10 holes, when he shot five under including a red-hot burst where he birdied four of the final five holes. Melliere was at +4 five holes into Round 2 before playing bogey-free over his last 13 holes of the day.
Like Melliere, sophomore Rodrigo Garcia Teruel (Puebla, Mexico / Modern Academy) improved by six strokes from Round 1 to Round 2. He finished the day at 154 (t-62) after using 74 (+2) strokes in his second round.
Sophomore Rob Politza (Lemont, Ill. / Lemont Township) had the team’s largest improvement in Round 2, shaving seven strokes off his opening-round score with a 75 (+3). He ranks third on the team through two rounds at 157. He was at even par for the second round with five holes remaining.
The team score improved from 317 (+29) to 300 (+12) in Round 2, with the Beacons 15th on the team leaderboard (617) with 18 holes to go. The host Boilermakers lead the tournament at 559, led by Supapon Amornchaichan, who is atop the player leaderboard at 136.
In addition to the 54-hole team tournament, Purdue is hosting a separate 36-hole tournament for individuals not part of the team lineup this week. The four Beacons not playing in the team event golfed 18 holes on Monday, led by senior Owen Sander (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) with a 73 (+2). He is tied for sixth in the individual tournament.
Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring
“Our team has had struggles in a couple primary areas this fall season, and we weren’t able to shake them during either round today. The first area is with controlling the clubface during shots and we continue to have some pretty big misses on holes with water hazards, out of bounds and even from the middle of the fairway. We had the equivalent of 11 double bogeys in the first round and nine double bogeys in the second round. Those big misses and high scores are really hurting our team’s scoring. The second area is simply making more putts. We only had six birdies in the first round and we had 12 in the second round. We have to improve our proximity to the hole with our approach shots and get better at reading greens and making more putts.”
“Our bright spot today was with Adam Melliere and his finish to the 36-hole day. Adam shot +5 in the first round and he was four over after the first five holes of the second round. He persevered through the slow start to the second round, stayed resilient and played the last thirteen holes with no bogeys at five under par. He made birdie on four of his last five holes to finish the round at -1.”
Up Next
The Beacons will close out the Purdue Fall Invitational at Kampen Course in West Lafayette, Ind. with the final round on Tuesday. A link to live scoring via Clippd is available on ValpoAthletics.com.
