Completed Event: Women's Golf at Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational on September 29, 2025 , , T-8th of 15
W Golf
at Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational
T-8th of 15
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, February 22
Phoenix, Ariz.
Grand Canyon
vs
GCU Invitational
Photo by: Gillian Rea
Linam, Lopes take tourney titles
2/23/2020 3:47:00 PM | Women's Golf
1-stroke win garners 1st GCU Invitational championship
The Grand Canyon women's golf team has its name on the front of the GCU Invitational and finally put its game at the front of the home tournament too.
Just like how it won the 2018 WAC Championship by one stroke, the Lopes won the 14-team event at GCU Championship Golf Course by one stroke Sunday with GCU junior Alexis Linam capturing her first individual title.
The team and individual victories were a long time coming for a program that had not won any of the previous four years' tournaments at its course, had not played in any tournament since late October and watched Linam make an incredible turnaround from sliding out of the five-player tournament lineup in the fall.
"This team was just fully prepared in every way," GCU head coach Lauren Giesecke said. "Each one of them has her own level of confidence that she needed with her swing or putting. We worked for seven weeks to get there and they did it. Over Christmas break, they all worked their tails off and it's showing. If we didn't have that kind of work ethic and discipline, this would've never happened. With all that pressure coming down to the end of the tournament, it's huge."
Linam set a tournament record with a score of 6 under par, two strokes ahead of runner-up Kimberlee Tottori of Seattle. The victory was Linam's first medalist honors after two collegiate career runner-up finishes. The Peoria (Ariz.) Liberty High School birdied three of her first eight holes on Saturday, when rain cut one of the two scheduled rounds, and birdied her second hole on Sunday.
"That just shot through the team," Giesecke said. "It bumped everybody up and they wanted to catch her and get to that level too."
Linam birdied eight times over two rounds and recovered from her final-hole drive hitting a tree to par the hole on a day when every stroke mattered for the team win.
She recaptured the form that earned her a U.S. Amateur Championship spot last summer by translating her confidence in practices to the tournament.
"It's definitely just a different mentality going into this tournament," Linam said. "Normally, I don't necessarily think, 'I can win this one.' It's more about trying my best for the team. This time, it was more like 'I know I can win this. My game is there. I'm going to win it.' "
With assistant coach Kelli Bowers by her side during the final round, Linam became the Lopes' first GCU Invitational medalist after no GCU player finished in the event's top 10 last year.
"She ended the fall a player that she didn't want to be and then she came back this spring a champion," Giesecke said. "The work she put in and self-discipline, she did this. She transformed her whole mindset and we're there for the ride. She has so much talent. I think we're going to see unreal things from her."
Lopes freshman Carmen Belmonte backed up Linam with her best tournament, finishing at 1 under par to take fifth place. Like GCU senior Carolina Sandstrom having her parents visiting from Sweden, Belmonte shined during her parents' first Phoenix visit from their home in Spain.
"I feel like I'm with a second family, especially being far away from home," Belmonte said. "They make me feel super comfortable and they make me play so good. I'm playing for a team that I like. I feel super happy for the team because of all the work we've been doing since the beginning of the year."
Belmonte played a steady tournament with her drives and chips in just her ninth and 10th rounds of collegiate competition, as she is adjusting to a new country and language.
"Carmen is amazing," Giesecke said. "She's been huge for us. Her personality has really brightened up this team. Her game is close but we haven't seen the full potential. She's going to be unstoppable."
GCU junior Siripatsorn Patchana recovered from a 4-over-par front nine with a 5-under par back nine on Saturday and finished in an 11th-place tie in the tournament Sunday at 2 over par. Sophomore teammate Payton Fehringer completed the team scoring both days, including a 1-over-par round of 73 on Sunday to finish tied for 25th. Playing as an individual, junior Alexis Jones tied for 18th in the 85-player field at 5 over par.
"I knew we were going to win this as a team because we've been working so hard together," Linam said. "We're out here practicing longer than we're supposed to be. I knew we were going to pull it together. We work well together."
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For full scoring results, click here.
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Just like how it won the 2018 WAC Championship by one stroke, the Lopes won the 14-team event at GCU Championship Golf Course by one stroke Sunday with GCU junior Alexis Linam capturing her first individual title.
The team and individual victories were a long time coming for a program that had not won any of the previous four years' tournaments at its course, had not played in any tournament since late October and watched Linam make an incredible turnaround from sliding out of the five-player tournament lineup in the fall.
"This team was just fully prepared in every way," GCU head coach Lauren Giesecke said. "Each one of them has her own level of confidence that she needed with her swing or putting. We worked for seven weeks to get there and they did it. Over Christmas break, they all worked their tails off and it's showing. If we didn't have that kind of work ethic and discipline, this would've never happened. With all that pressure coming down to the end of the tournament, it's huge."
Linam set a tournament record with a score of 6 under par, two strokes ahead of runner-up Kimberlee Tottori of Seattle. The victory was Linam's first medalist honors after two collegiate career runner-up finishes. The Peoria (Ariz.) Liberty High School birdied three of her first eight holes on Saturday, when rain cut one of the two scheduled rounds, and birdied her second hole on Sunday.
"That just shot through the team," Giesecke said. "It bumped everybody up and they wanted to catch her and get to that level too."
Linam birdied eight times over two rounds and recovered from her final-hole drive hitting a tree to par the hole on a day when every stroke mattered for the team win.
She recaptured the form that earned her a U.S. Amateur Championship spot last summer by translating her confidence in practices to the tournament.
"It's definitely just a different mentality going into this tournament," Linam said. "Normally, I don't necessarily think, 'I can win this one.' It's more about trying my best for the team. This time, it was more like 'I know I can win this. My game is there. I'm going to win it.' "
With assistant coach Kelli Bowers by her side during the final round, Linam became the Lopes' first GCU Invitational medalist after no GCU player finished in the event's top 10 last year.
"She ended the fall a player that she didn't want to be and then she came back this spring a champion," Giesecke said. "The work she put in and self-discipline, she did this. She transformed her whole mindset and we're there for the ride. She has so much talent. I think we're going to see unreal things from her."
Lopes freshman Carmen Belmonte backed up Linam with her best tournament, finishing at 1 under par to take fifth place. Like GCU senior Carolina Sandstrom having her parents visiting from Sweden, Belmonte shined during her parents' first Phoenix visit from their home in Spain.
"I feel like I'm with a second family, especially being far away from home," Belmonte said. "They make me feel super comfortable and they make me play so good. I'm playing for a team that I like. I feel super happy for the team because of all the work we've been doing since the beginning of the year."
Belmonte played a steady tournament with her drives and chips in just her ninth and 10th rounds of collegiate competition, as she is adjusting to a new country and language.
"Carmen is amazing," Giesecke said. "She's been huge for us. Her personality has really brightened up this team. Her game is close but we haven't seen the full potential. She's going to be unstoppable."
GCU junior Siripatsorn Patchana recovered from a 4-over-par front nine with a 5-under par back nine on Saturday and finished in an 11th-place tie in the tournament Sunday at 2 over par. Sophomore teammate Payton Fehringer completed the team scoring both days, including a 1-over-par round of 73 on Sunday to finish tied for 25th. Playing as an individual, junior Alexis Jones tied for 18th in the 85-player field at 5 over par.
"I knew we were going to win this as a team because we've been working so hard together," Linam said. "We're out here practicing longer than we're supposed to be. I knew we were going to pull it together. We work well together."
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For full scoring results, click here.
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Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
Head Coach Brent Nicoson Meets the Team | August 29, 2024
Friday, February 07