Fehringer, Lopes capture titles in Sedona

Saturday, March 20

Sedona, Ariz.

Grand Canyon

Red Rocks Invitational

3/21/2021 3:29:00 PM | Women's Golf

GCU junior takes medalist honors; Lopes win team title in playoff

By: Mark Oshidari

Results

SEDONA, Ariz. – After a scorecard playoff, the Grand Canyon women's golf team was crowned champion of the Red Rocks Invitational on Sunday at Oakcreek Country Club. GCU junior Payton Fehringer captured medalist honors after firing a 67 to conclude the tournament at 8 under par.

"I'm so proud of Payton and her poise throughout the event," Lopes head coach Lauren Giesecke said. "She played and held herself like a champion all three rounds, which showed in her scores. I strongly believe this is the first of many victories for Payton. I'm beyond excited for her to bring home some hardware for herself and the team."

Fehringer's six-shot victory was the fourth-best 54-hole total in school history. Her 208 has only been bested by Charlotte Jaengkit (206), Deanna Salvatori (207) and current senior Siripatsorn Patchana (207).

For the weekend, Fehringer led the field with 13 birdies while also recording an eagle during Saturday's first-round action.

"The second victory for this team feels amazing," Giesecke said. "A lot of hard work and preparation went into the event and the team competed well. This was a great experience for us to perform under pressure as the WAC Championship gets closer. I'm so proud of the entire team and how hard we have worked this semester. We will take the positives from today and work even harder toward the final tournaments of the year."

GCU and Gonzaga tied for the team championship with matching totals of 884 (20 over par), but the Lopes bested the Zags in a scorecard playoff to claim the championship. California Baptist (901), Seattle U (905) and host Northern Arizona (908) rounded out the top five.

Patchana finished third with a 217 (1 over par). She recorded 10 birdies in the tournament, which tied for the fifth most.

GCU senior Carolina Sandstrom finished in a tie for 25th place (229), while sophomore teammate Carmen Belmonte tied for 27th place (230).

Other Lopes scores included freshman Carly Strole's 231 and freshman Constanza Guerrero's 243.

The tournament victory is GCU's second of the month. The Lopes also captured the GCU Invitational on March 1-2.

Day 1 recap

GCU completed the first day of the Red Rocks Invitational with the team lead and an individual leader Saturday. Second-round action was suspended because of darkness with players completing 34 of the tournament's first 36 holes. Round two will continue Sunday at 8 a.m., with final-round action following immediately.

Fehringer fired an opening-round 68 (4 under par) and enters Sunday at 4 under par through 34 holes. She finished the day as the only under-par player in the 104-player field.

The Lopes enter the final day with a 10-shot lead over Gonzaga. After firing the best first round at 294 (6 over par), GCU also had the best second round going when play was halted. California Baptist, Seattle U and Southern Utah round out the top five.

Patchana was the only GCU player to complete 36 holes. She followed up a first-round 73 with a second-round 72 and enters the final round in third place (1 over par).

Sandstrom completed 35 holes at 5 over par and enters the final day in a tie for 10th place.

Other GCU updates include Strole in a tie for 17th place (7 over par), Belmonte tied for 36th place (11 over par) and Guerrero tied for 81st place (18 over par).