Trio places in top 10 at Nick Watney Invitational

Monday, September 26

Kingsburg, Calif. | Kings River Country Club

Grand Canyon

Nick Watney Invitational

9/26/2022 7:43:00 PM | Men's Golf

LEADERBOARD

GCU finishes 4th out of 16 schools in 2nd tournament of season

By: Nick Macdonald

KINGSBURG, Calif. – Grand Canyon junior Nicky Kling entered Tuesday's final round of the Nick Watney Invitational as a medal contender and kept that same position after 54 holes, placing third with a 13-under-par scorecard after a 4-under Tuesday that featured an eagle and two birdies.

GCU placed fourth out of 16 schools with a 21-under total. It finished one stroke behind host school Fresno State for third place and was seven strokes better than fifth-place Seattle, a WAC foe.

Kling kept his momentum going after an excellent 36-hole Monday. The Scottsdale Chaparral High School product ended Monday at 9 under, which featured a 6-under first round. Kling's combined 36-hole score of 133 was fourth all-time in the GCU school record book.

Kling wasn't alone in the top 10, as sophomore teammate Josh McCabe surged Tuesday to a ninth-place tie. McCabe jumped 26 spots Tuesday with a 6-under final round that included seven birdies, including three over his final four holes. GCU senior Matthew Braley entered the final round in the top 10 and stayed there, tying McCabe for ninth after an even-par final round.

Fifth-year senior Parker Reddig finished 4 over and in a tie for 48th, while freshman Aaron Williams carded a 1-under final round and tied for 52nd at 5 over.

It is the second consecutive tournament that GCU finished in the top five and the first time it has done so since Oct. 7-14, 2019.

The Lopes continue their play on Monday at the Mark Simpson Invitational, hosted by Colorado at Boulder Country Club.

Day 1 recap

Kling paced the Grand Canyon men's golf team through Monday's first two rounds at the Nick Watney Invitational, carding a 6-under first round and a 3-under second round to sit in sole possession of second place out of 93 golfers.

The Lopes head into the final round Tuesday morning in fourth place, carding a two-round total of 10-under 558. GCU is two strokes back of third place and five strokes back of second place.

Kling's 9-under day (65-68) started with back-to-back birdies on the sixth and seventh holes. After nine straight pars, the Paradise Valley, Arizona, native birdied four of his final seven holes to finish 6 under and in the top five after 18 holes. Kling's second round consisted of four bogeys, but it was supplemented with seven birdies to go 3 under. His 133, 36-hole score finished fourth all-time in the GCU record books.

Braley recorded a top-10 placement of 4 under with back-to-back 2-under rounds, tying him for eighth. McCabe's GCU debut started at 2 over in the first round before a second-round, even-par 71 put him into a tie for 35th. Reddig is tied for 42nd at 3 over while Williams is tied for 63rd at 6 over.

The Lopes search for their second consecutive top-three finish, as the final round of the Nick Watney Invitational begins Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m.