Completed Event: Men's Golf at John A. Burns Intercollegiate on February 12, 2026 , , 13th of 19
M Golf
at John A. Burns Intercollegiate
13th of 19
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, March 17
Phoenix, Ariz.
Grand Canyon
vs
GCU Invitational
Photo by: Slaven Gujic
Rally good for 3rd at GCU Invite
3/17/2018 4:04:00 PM | Men's Golf, Paul Coro
Chanen ties for fourth individually with hot back 9
FINAL RESULTS
The Grand Canyon men's golf team would rather forget what happened in Friday's first two rounds of the GCU Invitational.
So it had a players-only meeting Friday night to do so, wiping away how they had to rally from two bad starts Friday to enter Saturday in fifth place and focusing on summoning its best golf for the final round.
The Lopes shot Saturday's lowest team round, a two-under 282, and pushed to a third-place finish that came within six strokes of champion Missouri, a Top 25 team until last week.
"There was nothing we could do now about the first two rounds so we needed to move forward and pull together as a team," GCU sophomore Jake Chanen said. "We did that pretty well."
Chanen was part of a Lopes surge that even had them within three strokes of the lead at one point Saturday at GCU Golf Course. The Phoenix native birdied five of six holes in one stretch Saturday, including four birdies in a row to pull within two strokes of the individual lead. He finished three strokes behind medalist Casey Scott of Pacific, who shot six-under par.
GCU senior Vinnie Murphy birdied four of five holes almost at the same time and senior teammate Matt McClung completed a bogey-free round of two-under 69. Chanen (tied for fourth), McClung (tied for eighth) and Murphy (tied for 12th) were among the top 14 finishers of a 93-player field.
"We gave it a run," McClung said. "We just had to stay patient and keep giving ourselves opportunities and fight our way back. Even though it's our home course, you have to grind away."
The third-place team finish was quite a rally for a GCU team that spent some early portions of the 14-team tournament in the bottom five.
"I figured we were going to have a good day today," Lopes head coach Mark Mueller said. "We kept inching and inching closer. I think if we'd played 27 holes today, you never know. They had a lot of pride. They came back and played how they should play and how they're capable of playing. That was good to see."
Chanen said his run of four consecutive birdies began when he put a five-iron shot within four feet of the hole on a par-three hole.
"I saw that putt go in and that gave me confidence," Chanen said. "I made three more after that. It just felt really easy. At that point, it was really fun and I thought, 'Wow, something special could happen,' but unfortunately I cooled off a little at the end."
Murphy has been a regular top finisher for GCU this season but Chanen is closing strong after tying for 11th in the Lopes' previous tournament in Sacramento.
"He's got all the talent and firepower in the world," Mueller said. "He's turning a corner this year and trending upward. I think he's going to keep getting better for the rest of this year because he's got all the talent to do whatever he wants."
The Lopes finish the regular season with an April 13-15 tournament in El Macero, Calif., before heading to the April 23-25 WAC Championship in Hutchison, Kan. GCU finished 10 strokes ahead of WAC challenger UMKC this weekend. The Lopes played even with SEC power Missouri over the final two rounds.
"They're the real deal," McClung said. "We'll be there soon. Just got to keep working.
"It was a good test for us to try to catch somebody and see how mentally tough we are. We had three good rounds (Saturday). We just needed a fourth to put it together but I think we will have one when it counts."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
The Grand Canyon men's golf team would rather forget what happened in Friday's first two rounds of the GCU Invitational.
So it had a players-only meeting Friday night to do so, wiping away how they had to rally from two bad starts Friday to enter Saturday in fifth place and focusing on summoning its best golf for the final round.
The Lopes shot Saturday's lowest team round, a two-under 282, and pushed to a third-place finish that came within six strokes of champion Missouri, a Top 25 team until last week.
"There was nothing we could do now about the first two rounds so we needed to move forward and pull together as a team," GCU sophomore Jake Chanen said. "We did that pretty well."
Chanen was part of a Lopes surge that even had them within three strokes of the lead at one point Saturday at GCU Golf Course. The Phoenix native birdied five of six holes in one stretch Saturday, including four birdies in a row to pull within two strokes of the individual lead. He finished three strokes behind medalist Casey Scott of Pacific, who shot six-under par.
GCU senior Vinnie Murphy birdied four of five holes almost at the same time and senior teammate Matt McClung completed a bogey-free round of two-under 69. Chanen (tied for fourth), McClung (tied for eighth) and Murphy (tied for 12th) were among the top 14 finishers of a 93-player field.
"We gave it a run," McClung said. "We just had to stay patient and keep giving ourselves opportunities and fight our way back. Even though it's our home course, you have to grind away."
The third-place team finish was quite a rally for a GCU team that spent some early portions of the 14-team tournament in the bottom five.
"I figured we were going to have a good day today," Lopes head coach Mark Mueller said. "We kept inching and inching closer. I think if we'd played 27 holes today, you never know. They had a lot of pride. They came back and played how they should play and how they're capable of playing. That was good to see."
Chanen said his run of four consecutive birdies began when he put a five-iron shot within four feet of the hole on a par-three hole.
"I saw that putt go in and that gave me confidence," Chanen said. "I made three more after that. It just felt really easy. At that point, it was really fun and I thought, 'Wow, something special could happen,' but unfortunately I cooled off a little at the end."
Murphy has been a regular top finisher for GCU this season but Chanen is closing strong after tying for 11th in the Lopes' previous tournament in Sacramento.
"He's got all the talent and firepower in the world," Mueller said. "He's turning a corner this year and trending upward. I think he's going to keep getting better for the rest of this year because he's got all the talent to do whatever he wants."
The Lopes finish the regular season with an April 13-15 tournament in El Macero, Calif., before heading to the April 23-25 WAC Championship in Hutchison, Kan. GCU finished 10 strokes ahead of WAC challenger UMKC this weekend. The Lopes played even with SEC power Missouri over the final two rounds.
"They're the real deal," McClung said. "We'll be there soon. Just got to keep working.
"It was a good test for us to try to catch somebody and see how mentally tough we are. We had three good rounds (Saturday). We just needed a fourth to put it together but I think we will have one when it counts."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Players Mentioned
HALF-COURTER! It had to be green in the Melo Saint Patrick’s Day jersey 🎯🔥
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TWO grand slams. ONE game. #collegebaseball
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GCU Baseball vs. San Diego State (Game 1) - Highlights
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