Completed Event: Men's Golf at William H. Tucker Invitational on September 19, 2025 , , 7th of 18
M Golf
at William H. Tucker Invitational
7th of 18
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Monday, March 14
Phoenix, Ariz.
Grand Canyon
vs
GCU Invitational
GCU Invitational title stays home for 1st time
3/15/2022 5:10:00 PM | Men's Golf, Paul Coro
Lopes tie tournament record in 2nd round, place 3 players in top 8
Not winning its home tournament in the event's first four years was frustrating for Grand Canyon men's golf, but it could also be an unfair bar of expectation.
When it finished third in last year's GCU Invitational, it did not lose its home event. It beat 13 of 16 teams. When the Lopes took second in the inaugural tourney, they outplayed 14 of 16 teams.
GCU made success undeniable this year, capturing the GCU Invitational title in a 23-team field Tuesday at GCU Golf Course. The Lopes tied Duke's 2017 record for best tournament round with a 15-under second round that shot the Lopes to the lead and led to a showering for GCU head coach Mark Mueller after the final round.
Topping the tournament's largest field ever was a remarkable about-face for the Lopes after finishing last in the 15-team Desert Mountain Collegiate just nine days earlier. Powered by junior Matthew Braley (tied for third) and sophomores Craig Passmore (tied for fifth) and Nicky Kling (tied for seventh), GCU ended the delayed second round Tuesday with the lineup delivering three birdies and an eagle at No. 18 to spring momentum into the third round.
The Lopes closed the tournament at 18 under par, four strokes ahead of runner-up Fresno State.
"After how we played last tournament, to come back to a field with 23 teams and win makes me really, really happy for them," Mueller said after Lopes golfers Tommaso Zarzetto and Tim Nielsen dumped a cooler of ice water on him. "I thought we had a good chance with how we finished the second round in the morning.
The boys just kept it going after that. It was fun. I couldn't be happier for them with how they bounced back and played in front of their families.
"I hope they can use this as momentum, but the one thing they'll have is that they're the first ones to win our tournament."
As impressive as the team turnaround was from the last event, Braley made a more remarkable one. He shook off a career-worst finish, second to last in the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate, to be in the medalist hunt Tuesday before finishing three strokes behind winner Kyle Cox of UT Arlington.
Braley was 5 under par on the final five holes of the second round, which were spread over a birdie in the dark to finish Monday and an eagle from the bunker and a 40-foot birdie to start Tuesday.
"I didn't have my best stuff this afternoon, but I kept looking at the leaderboard for myself and more importantly the team," Braley said. "As long as I could contribute and we could get the job as a team, that's all I really cared about. It's been four years of waiting for a trophy and we finally got it done. I've wanted to feel this for a while."
Braley, Passmore and Kling were among this tournament's top eight after none of them finished in the top 30 of last year's GCU Invitational.
Passmore, a native of England, enjoyed a run of three birdies over four holes late in Tuesday's final round to finish with a 3-under 68 that backed up his 4-under second round. His clutchest score was a par save at No. 8, where his tee shot missed left but he flopped and stopped a pitch by a hole that was tucked left Tuesday.
"I feel like my game has finally come to where I want it to be," Passmore said. "A little bit of touches here and there, I feel like we'll be good.
"The hardest part (of his U.S. college transition) was playing 36 holes straight, especially with the heat. It was a big adjustment coming from cold, horrible rain to sunshine every day, but I feel like I'm getting the hang of it."
The team win provides momentum for GCU heading into its strongest field of the season at Oregon's Duck Invitational on March 21-22. And it was a team win, with freshmen Matteo Cristoni of Italy and Sam Murphy of Ireland each shooting rounds that counted toward the victory.
The Lopes claimed individual champions in the GCU Invitational in 2017 and 2021, but the first team title was a meaningful one for the Mueller family with Mark coaching, his brother Jesse as the course's PGA Director of Golf and Lopes volunteer assistant and their father, Brian, as the GCU president who led the dramatic transformation of GCU Golf Course.
"To have my dad come out and watch and us win, it gives me a sense of pride with everything he has done for us and this golf course," the coach said.
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When it finished third in last year's GCU Invitational, it did not lose its home event. It beat 13 of 16 teams. When the Lopes took second in the inaugural tourney, they outplayed 14 of 16 teams.
GCU made success undeniable this year, capturing the GCU Invitational title in a 23-team field Tuesday at GCU Golf Course. The Lopes tied Duke's 2017 record for best tournament round with a 15-under second round that shot the Lopes to the lead and led to a showering for GCU head coach Mark Mueller after the final round.
Topping the tournament's largest field ever was a remarkable about-face for the Lopes after finishing last in the 15-team Desert Mountain Collegiate just nine days earlier. Powered by junior Matthew Braley (tied for third) and sophomores Craig Passmore (tied for fifth) and Nicky Kling (tied for seventh), GCU ended the delayed second round Tuesday with the lineup delivering three birdies and an eagle at No. 18 to spring momentum into the third round.
The Lopes closed the tournament at 18 under par, four strokes ahead of runner-up Fresno State.
"After how we played last tournament, to come back to a field with 23 teams and win makes me really, really happy for them," Mueller said after Lopes golfers Tommaso Zarzetto and Tim Nielsen dumped a cooler of ice water on him. "I thought we had a good chance with how we finished the second round in the morning.
The boys just kept it going after that. It was fun. I couldn't be happier for them with how they bounced back and played in front of their families.
"I hope they can use this as momentum, but the one thing they'll have is that they're the first ones to win our tournament."
As impressive as the team turnaround was from the last event, Braley made a more remarkable one. He shook off a career-worst finish, second to last in the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate, to be in the medalist hunt Tuesday before finishing three strokes behind winner Kyle Cox of UT Arlington.
Braley was 5 under par on the final five holes of the second round, which were spread over a birdie in the dark to finish Monday and an eagle from the bunker and a 40-foot birdie to start Tuesday."I didn't have my best stuff this afternoon, but I kept looking at the leaderboard for myself and more importantly the team," Braley said. "As long as I could contribute and we could get the job as a team, that's all I really cared about. It's been four years of waiting for a trophy and we finally got it done. I've wanted to feel this for a while."
Braley, Passmore and Kling were among this tournament's top eight after none of them finished in the top 30 of last year's GCU Invitational.
Passmore, a native of England, enjoyed a run of three birdies over four holes late in Tuesday's final round to finish with a 3-under 68 that backed up his 4-under second round. His clutchest score was a par save at No. 8, where his tee shot missed left but he flopped and stopped a pitch by a hole that was tucked left Tuesday.
"I feel like my game has finally come to where I want it to be," Passmore said. "A little bit of touches here and there, I feel like we'll be good.
"The hardest part (of his U.S. college transition) was playing 36 holes straight, especially with the heat. It was a big adjustment coming from cold, horrible rain to sunshine every day, but I feel like I'm getting the hang of it."
The team win provides momentum for GCU heading into its strongest field of the season at Oregon's Duck Invitational on March 21-22. And it was a team win, with freshmen Matteo Cristoni of Italy and Sam Murphy of Ireland each shooting rounds that counted toward the victory.
The Lopes claimed individual champions in the GCU Invitational in 2017 and 2021, but the first team title was a meaningful one for the Mueller family with Mark coaching, his brother Jesse as the course's PGA Director of Golf and Lopes volunteer assistant and their father, Brian, as the GCU president who led the dramatic transformation of GCU Golf Course.
"To have my dad come out and watch and us win, it gives me a sense of pride with everything he has done for us and this golf course," the coach said.
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Players Mentioned
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