The Grand Canyon name in NCAA men's golf has been established.
The Lopes have won six tournaments over the past two seasons and were ranked in the Division I top 100 each year. Every opposing conference coach picked GCU to win the WAC Championship last year, but the Lopes' rally came up four strokes short to host Kansas City.
While the external expectations could change now that two-time WAC Player of the Year Vinnie Murphy has graduated, the Lopes still are focused on winning a WAC title. GCU learned from last season and yearned for this season, which starts this weekend at the Northern Intercollegiate in Sugar Grove, Ill.
The 2018-19 season is a winding course of bends and bunkers to get to April's chance at WAC supremacy but key returnees Jake Chanen and Filip Lundell team with newcomer Michael Salazar to keep the Lopes formidable.
"New people have to step up," GCU sixth-year head coach Mark Mueller said. "We're hoping that Jake and Filip can step in right away, shoot low scores on the course and lead off the course. We're really excited to see what they can do, along with the new guys. The talent is all there to be pretty good. We just have to put it all together."
Since last season ended, Chanen won Arizona Stroke Play and Arizona Amateur championships. The junior from Phoenix shot a GCU-record 64 last season to finish runner-up at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate in Las Cruces, N.M. Lundell, a senior from Sweden, was the WAC Championship individual runner-up in April.
But when the Lopes took to eight Valley courses for their eight-round intrasquad qualifying grinder, it was Salazar who finished on top even though the junior college transfer arrived two days before classes began and had never played any of the courses.
The Midland (Texas) College product shot 16-under, four strokes off Murphy's record.
"I think we're going to do something special this year," Salazar said. "I know there's a lot of talent on this team." GCU junior Michael Salazar
Salazar, an El Paso, Texas native, committed to GCU after his freshman season at Midland and then finished fifth as a sophomore at the National Junior College Athletic Association Men's Golf Championship. His adjusted scoring average was 71.58 last season.
This summer, Salazar tied for fifth place at the Texas State Open, where he was the only amateur in the top 14. In the four-round tourney, Salazar fired a third-round score of 8-under 62.
"We have a great course to practice on to get ready for big tournaments," Salazar said of GCU Golf Course. "The coaches are incredible. They're helping me out as much as they can. That's what they told me they were going to do when I came for my visit."
The Lopes also return juniors TJ Nolan and Trevor Lampson and sophomore Max Sekulic. Junior Carson Little transferred from Division II Regis in Colorado, where his average score improved three strokes to 72.9 last season.
GCU might have impact freshmen in Nick Hedman, this summer's Phoenix City Junior Championship winner from Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton High, and Matthew Braley, a high school state champion from Broken Arrow, Okla. Mueller was impressed with their composure during qualifying.
"Their eyes weren't big," Mueller said. "They understand that they have a job to do and they want to play. I was really pleased with what they did and I'm hoping both of them can take a step up."
The Lopes will play five fall tournaments, and Mueller hopes to see the team build toward a strong finish in the spring season, which has five regular-season tournaments before the WAC Championship in Lakewood, Wash.
"What we learned last year at conference is that it's a different feeling being the top dog than it is chasing," Mueller said. "Hopefully that is something we continue to get used to. I don't know where we'll be this year. It might be the opposite. We've got to understand that, wherever we are, we've got to play without letting outside stuff affect us."
