Lopes cruise to 1st place at GCU Invitational

Tuesday, March 11

Phoenix, Ariz.

Grand Canyon

GCU Invitational

Photo by: Jayden Todd

3/12/2025 4:50:00 PM | Men's Golf

Results

Lopes' Zorzetto named co-champion after 6-hole playoff

By: Nick Macdonald

Grand Canyon entered Wednesday's final round of the GCU Invitational at GCU Golf Course with a six-stroke lead and doubled that to be the only team to finish under par and claim the team title.

GCU shot 12 under over two days, 13 strokes better than second-place New Mexico State. Four of the five Lopes starters finished even par or better Wednesday, with graduate Tommaso Zorzetto putting on a show in front of the gallery on the 18th green to advance to a playoff.

Zorzetto's 18th-hole birdie sent him to 9 under for the tournament and 5 under for the day, carding a 66 with six birdies with four of them on the back nine. The defending GCU Invitational champion trailed by one heading into the par-5 18th hole and sank a 10-foot putt for his second straight birdie to put him in a playoff with CSU Fullerton's Tegan Andrews.,

Zorzetto and Andrews matched shot for shot throughout the playoff, so much so that it took six playoff holes before a consensus tie was reached to claim co-medalists.

GCU filled up the individual leaderboard, placing five of the 13 golfers who tied for 10th or better. Lopes senior Josh McCabe, an individual entry, was one of two players in the 99-player field to shoot under par in each round, joining Zorzetto. McCabe tied for fourth at 4 under with a 1-under final round.

GCU freshman Matthew Diehl finished one shot back of McCabe at 3 under. Diehl, who took first place in the Desert Mountain Outlaw on Sunday, finishes his week with two-top 10 finishes. Diehl had 14 birdies for the tournament, one shy of Zorzetto's 15, which tied for most among all players.

Lopes freshman Nixon Lauritzen joined his classmate in a tie for sixth at 3 under par as an individual entry, while GCU senior Kiko Coelho tied for 10th at even par. New Mexico State was the only other school to have more than one player finish in the top 10, whereas GCU had three of its starting five.

Campbell Kerr, another Lopes freshman playing as an individual, tied for 14th with junior teammate Antonio Bulgheroni at 3 over and tied for 24th. GCU sophomore Gavin O'Neill (tied for 32nd, 4 over) and junior Sam Murphy (tied for 55th, 9 over) rounded out the Lopes who competed over the past two days.

After two tournaments in five days, GCU will take a week and a half off before heading to Eugene, Oregon, for the Duck Invitational. GCU has three regular-season tournaments remaining before it takes on its WAC Championship three-peat quest on April 25-27 in Payson, Arizona.