Pair of Lopes place in top 10; GCU ties for 4th in New Mexico

Friday, September 20

UNM Championship Course | Albuquerque, N.M.

Grand Canyon

William H. Tucker Invitational

Pair of Lopes place in top 10; GCU ties for 4th in New Mexico

9/21/2024 1:32:00 PM | Men's Golf

Results

Freshman duo of Diehl, Lauritzen follow up stellar debuts strongly

By: Nick Macdonald

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Grand Canyon men's golf team earned its second consecutive top-five finish of the season, placing fifth Saturday at the William H. Tucker Invitational at UNM Championship Course.

The Lopes finished 2 over par, tying for fourth in a 17-team field for pars (165) and birdies (47).

While GCU entered Saturday's third round in second place, the final round proved to be the toughest. The Lopes shot 13 over, making them one of 15 teams to shoot over par on the tournament's final day.

Colorado jumped two spots to win the tournament at 12 under, one stroke better than host New Mexico.

GCU freshman Nixon Lauritzen finished his second collegiate tournament with another top-10 showing, tying for sixth at 3 under. Lauritzen shot 1 over in the third round with four birdies, putting him tied for first on the squad with 12 birdies in total with graduate Tommaso Zorzetto.

Freshman Matthew Diehl carded a 1-under tournament score for his first top-10 finish of his career. Diehl tied for ninth with a 4-over final round.

Zorzetto, graduate Kiko Coelho and sophomore Gavin O'Neill each shot 4 over on Saturday. The trio all finished in the top 50, as Zorzetto tied for 26th at 4 over, Coelho tied for 39th at 6 over, and O'Neill tied for 44th at 7 over.

GCU takes three weeks off before its next tournament at the Visit Stockton Invitational in Stockton, California. The Lopes are the two-time defending champions of that tournament, which runs Oct. 14-16.