Bears, Fighting Irish/Crimson Tide Lead After Opening Round of 2025 Folds of Honor Collegiate
GRAND HAVEN, Mich. – The opening round of the fourth annual Folds of Honor Collegiate took place Monday at the Jack Nicklaus-designed American Dunes Golf Club. This year’s tournament features 15 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams.
In the morning window, Kentucky sophomore Anastasia Hekkonen compiled six birdies, including five of her back nine, for a bogey-free 66 (-6) to lead the Women’s Field by five strokes.
“I felt more confident as the course felt more familiar,” said the Helsinki, Finland, native. “My irons weren’t quite 100% this morning, but I feel like I adjusted really well, especially on the back nine when the weather was more like what we played in the practice round. I’ve enjoyed every single day out here and I’m so grateful I get to play such a beautiful course.”
Baylor, led by freshman Amelia Wan’s one-under 71, has a one-shot lead (292, +4) over Texas A&M after 18 holes. North Carolina (295, +7), Kentucky (295, +7), and Kansas (297, +9) are within five heading into Tuesday’s second round.
“I saw a lot of good stuff today,” said Baylor Head Coach Jay Goble. “We got a little wind going and it’s about half the temperature it is in Waco, Texas right now, but they stuck to their process and hit one shot at a time all day. We had a lot of good practices coming into this week and we’re excited to be invited to this event.”
“This is such a unique and cool place to be,” Goble continued. “To be televised with a bunch of great teams and for a great cause, we don’t take for granted that we get invited here and get to play in such a great, well run, and well sponsored event. It’s a lot of fun.”
Alabama and Notre Dame, the last two Folds of Honor Collegiate Men’s Champions, battled through a tight leaderboard all afternoon to hold a two-stroke lead after a pair of one-over 285s. All eight counting scores between the two are placed inside the top 24.
“It means a lot for me to be here,” said individual co-leader and Fighting Irish junior Rocco Salvitti. “I come from a Gold Star family, and it’s really cool to be out on property. My uncle is actually up on the Wall of Honor, so it means a lot to me to play in this event.”
Salvitti recorded five birdies during his two-under 69 to tie the individual lead with Florida A&M’s Sascha Robinson and Baylor’s Jonas Appel.
“I struck the ball well today,” Robinson, who was bogey free over his final 10 holes, said. “I hit enough greens to score better than I did, I just didn't make some putts I feel like I should’ve made. My speed on the greens kind of left me a little bit towards the end of my round, so I’ll be looking to focus on keeping the same ideas, centering the green, trying to hit the fairways, and keep building on my ball striking tomorrow.”
“This tournament is ran so well,” continued Robinson. “It’s my first time here, but it’s a great event with so many good things going for a great cause.”
Fresh off winning both of his Sunday matches for victorious Team USA at the 2025 Walker Cup at Cypress Point Club, Notre Dame junior Jacob Modleski arrived in Grand Haven at 5 am ET Monday morning for his 2:06 pm ET tee time only hours later. The Noblesville, Indiana, native is T13 after carding three birdies and a one-over 72.
“I was pretty happy with how I hit the ball,” Modleski said. “I didn’t putt it quite as well as I wanted to; didn’t see a lot of putts go in early. I stayed pretty patient out there, which I think I did a good job of (could always be a little bit better). I had to wait until 18 to get one back, and it was a good momentum booster going into tomorrow.”
“This tournament is so special,” continued Modleski. “It’s clear that it’s more than a golf tournament. There’s nothing quite like playing taps in the middle of a round of golf, to stop and think about those who’ve sacrificed a whole lot more than I could even imagine for me to be here. It’s a special place.”
“It means the world to be able to play for your country and play at the Walker Cup, and to get it done with those guys, it was just a phenomenal team to be a part of. I love every minute of it, but that being said, I love these (Notre Dame) guys a lot. This is my family and I’m happy to be back competing with them.”
The men will tee off for Round 2 of the 2025 Folds of Honor Collegiate at 7:30 a.m. ET and the women at 12:35 p.m. ET. Follow this men’s link and women’s link for live scoring and Golf Channel’s live coverage will run 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 4:30-7:30 p.m. ET.
About Folds of Honor
Folds of Honor is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of US military service members and first responders who have fallen or been disabled while serving our country and communities. Our educational scholarships support private school tuition or tutoring in grades K-12, tuition for college, technical or trade school and post-graduate work, including a master’s degree, doctorate, or professional program. Funds for a second bachelor’s degree or trade/technical program certification are also available. Since its inception in 2007, Folds of Honor has awarded nearly 62,000 scholarships totaling about $290 million in all 50 states. Among the students served, 45 percent are minorities. A total of 91 percent of expenses fund our mission of providing educational scholarships to the families of our nation’s heroes. It is rated a four-star charity by Charity Navigator and Platinum on Candid. It was founded by Lt Col Dan Rooney, the only-ever F-16 fighter pilot (with three combat tours in Iraq) and PGA Professional. He is serving as Commander of Recruiting for the Oklahoma Air Guard. For more information or to donate in support of a Folds of Honor scholarship visit foldsofhonor.org.
About American Dunes
In 2006, the Grand Haven Golf Club hosted a small golf tournament that would inspire the founding of Folds of Honor. The Grand Haven Golf Club closed in 2018 and a limited group of patriots joined together with Jack Nicklaus to create American Dunes. Nicklaus led the project by donating his design fee, a group of 18 individuals sponsored one hole each, and five private investors joined together to preserve the birthplace of Folds of Honor. The mission of American Dunes is unwavering; to raise awareness and funds for the families of fallen or disabled military service members and first responders. Since the facility opened in May 2021, over $5.5 million from profits have been donated back to Folds of Honor to provide life-changing educational scholarships.
In 2022, the annual Folds of Honor Collegiate was first contested with 18 men’s teams. In 2024, the Collegiate welcomed a women’s field to better reflect the mission at Folds of Honor.
“American Dunes represents a collaboration of countless likeminded patriots, who want this golf course to forever stand as a tribute to the birthplace of Folds of Honor, a safe haven for veterans who find rehabilitation through the recreation of the game, and a backdrop to celebrate our country and those who fought for its freedom,” Lt Col Rooney said. “A significant legacy such as this is born out of the effort of selfless individuals and companies who have donated their time and resources.”
About the Golf Coaches Association of America
Established in 1958, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) is the professional organization of men's collegiate golf coaches. The GCAA's mission is to support its member coaches from six divisions, including the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA, by creating educational opportunities, providing resources, and promoting its members with the purpose of enhancing their overall performance as coaches, mentors, and teachers. The GCAA also recognizes the excellence and achievements of its members and their student-athletes in academic, athletic and civic endeavors.