Lopes finish in top 10 at Hawai'i

Thursday, February 17

Lihue, Kaua'i, Hawaii / Hokuala

Grand Canyon

John A. Burns Intercollegiate

Photo by: Skyler Coblentz

2/17/2022 7:31:00 PM | Men's Golf

GCU ties for 7th at 18-team tournament

By: Kellie Reynolds

LIHUE, Hawai'i – The Grand Canyon men's golf team opened its spring season by finishing tied for seventh place with Fresno State and California at the 45th John Burns Intercollegiate at the Hokaula Ocean Course.

GCU junior Matthew Braley was the sole Lopes player to finish in the top 20 after shooting 6 under par in his final round at the tournament on Sunday. Braley moved up 43 spots to finish tied for 17th with a final score of 2 under par.

Finishing the John Burns Intercollegiate tied for 28th was graduate Zac Owens, who shot 2 over par in his final round and finished 1 over par in the three-round tournament.

Lopes freshman Matteo Cristoni tied for 33rd after having his worst round of the weekend in his final round. Cristoni closed at 2 over par. Fellow freshman Sam Murphy moved up 11 spots to finish tied for 58th after shooting 2 over par in his final round.

The final Lopes player at the Hokaula Ocean Course was Craig Passmore, who ended the weekend 11 over par.

Owens jumps 67 spots on Day 2

GCU moved up one spot after the second round of play and shooting 4 under par on Saturday. Two Lopes cracked the top 25 with Cristoni moving up four places to be tied for 12th. The freshman scored five birdies in his second round of place. Owens had an impressive round, jumping 67 spots with the best score of score of the day at 7-under-par 65. Owens scored one eagle and six birdies in his second round.

Passmore, the England native, scored 3 over par in his second round, tying him at 40th at 2 over after two rounds at the Ocean Course at Hokuala. Braley matched his opening round of play, shooting 2 over par for the second day in a row.

Murphy finished the second round with a score of 3 over par and making him 5 over after two rounds and putting him tied for 69th.

Cristoni tied for 17th in John Burns' 18-team field

Cristoni is the Lopes top scorer after he tied for 17th with a 2-under-par opening round. The Modena, Italy, native recovered from being 3 over par after three holes by hitting two eagles to go with four birdies.

Passmore is tied for 24th after the first round, shooting 1 under par with the help of four birdies.

Braley and Murphy are tied at 52nd at 2 over par. Braley managed to score three birdies while Murphy had two birdies. The final Lopes player at the invitational is Owens, who shot 6 over par.

The Lopes are back in action on March 5 and 6 as the compete in the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate hosted by Michigan at the Desert Mountain golf course.