Upcoming Event: Men's Golf at William H. Tucker Intercollegiate on September 19, 2025
M Golf
at William H. Tucker Intercollegiate
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Nick Macdonald
Surge puts Lopes in final-day mix for national spot
5/13/2025 9:21:00 PM | Men's Golf, Paul Coro
Diehl moves into tie for 2nd place; O'Neill boosts GCU's 4-place jump
RENO, Nev. – The NCAA Reno Regional drew the desert dwellars from Grand Canyon into a seemingly unfitting setting.
After GCU golfers faced Monday's gusty winds, Tuesday brought morning frost with snow blowing off nearby Mount Rose and afternoon drizzle and near-freezing temperatures as they wrapped a 25-hole day.
All the Lopes did with the elements was rise as temperatures dropped.
GCU jumped four spots to seventh place, putting the Lopes just three strokes outside of the top five teams that will secure NCAA Championships berths at the end of Wednesday's play at Montreux Golf and Country Club.
Finishing the first round and playing 15 second-round holes until 8 p.m. dusk, the Lopes will carry the second round's third-lowest score and have freshman Matthew Diehl tied for second individually when play resumes at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
"This afternoon was a lot of fun," GCU head coach Mark Mueller said. "This is where these guys want to be, playing in this moment. After the first round, they knew that if they were going to get back in this thing, they had to play well.
"Our goal this morning was to leave the golf course in a position to be in a position for the last day. These guys did an unbelievable job. Tomorrow, it's about one really good day."
When GCU finished its first round Tuesday, the Lopes were in 11th place. The rally past No. 16 Alabama, No. 21 Duke and No. 45 Santa Clara was led by Diehl going bogey free so far in his 4-under second round, and sophomore Gavin O'Neill catching fire amid his 3-under second round.
In his highest-stakes tournament, Diehl is remaining steady at 5,500-feet elevation on an undulating, 7,550-yard course. His 4-under play through 15 holes of the second round puts his tournament score at 3 under, which is tied for second and three strokes behind leader Paul Chang of Virginia.
The Reno Regional's highest-placing player not on a tournament qualifying team will earn an NCAA Championship individual spot.
"In the first round, I knew I was hitting it good," Diehl said. "I had a few really weird swings, but I knew that wouldn't happen any more the rest of the day. I started to bring it back slowly in the second round and just kept hitting the shot I wanted on almost every hole."
Several Diehl putts were on the cusp of lowering his score even more, but he said he would have been ecstatic with a 4-under score before the second round, given the difficult circumstances.
"For Matt to be doing what he's doing right now is pretty bigtime," Mueller said. "If he has a strong finish, he'll be right in it too."
The second-round turnaround was spurred by O'Neill's putting turnaround, which led to five birdies on a seven-hole stretch Tuesday.
The long-driving Irishman said the mentally and physically demanding day was one of the toughest, coldest days he has experienced on a golf course.
"My putter was as bad as it has been this morning, but this afternoon I hit a nice putt on the first hole and that got it rolling," said O'Neill, who made a 15-foot birdie on No. 4 and a 20-foot birdie on No. 18. "From then on, I had the feeling that every putt was going to go in."
The rest of GCU's lineup remains factors for the Lopes' final second-round score with freshman Nixon Lauritzen and senior Kiko Coelho at 1 over and graduate Tommaso Zorzetto at 2 over.
"The most important thing is finishing this round very strongly," Mueller said. "If we can keep pushing and make up ground in that hours, we can go into the final round with a shot to go to the final tournament."
At 9 over, California is in that fifth-place spot that would be for the final NCAA team berth with San Diego in sixth place at 12 over, just one stroke ahead of GCU. BYU leads the tournament at 5 under.
"I know we're all hoping it's our time, and I think we'll be able to show it tomorrow (Wednesday)," Diehl said.
After GCU golfers faced Monday's gusty winds, Tuesday brought morning frost with snow blowing off nearby Mount Rose and afternoon drizzle and near-freezing temperatures as they wrapped a 25-hole day.
All the Lopes did with the elements was rise as temperatures dropped.
GCU jumped four spots to seventh place, putting the Lopes just three strokes outside of the top five teams that will secure NCAA Championships berths at the end of Wednesday's play at Montreux Golf and Country Club.
Finishing the first round and playing 15 second-round holes until 8 p.m. dusk, the Lopes will carry the second round's third-lowest score and have freshman Matthew Diehl tied for second individually when play resumes at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday."This afternoon was a lot of fun," GCU head coach Mark Mueller said. "This is where these guys want to be, playing in this moment. After the first round, they knew that if they were going to get back in this thing, they had to play well.
"Our goal this morning was to leave the golf course in a position to be in a position for the last day. These guys did an unbelievable job. Tomorrow, it's about one really good day."
When GCU finished its first round Tuesday, the Lopes were in 11th place. The rally past No. 16 Alabama, No. 21 Duke and No. 45 Santa Clara was led by Diehl going bogey free so far in his 4-under second round, and sophomore Gavin O'Neill catching fire amid his 3-under second round.
In his highest-stakes tournament, Diehl is remaining steady at 5,500-feet elevation on an undulating, 7,550-yard course. His 4-under play through 15 holes of the second round puts his tournament score at 3 under, which is tied for second and three strokes behind leader Paul Chang of Virginia.
The Reno Regional's highest-placing player not on a tournament qualifying team will earn an NCAA Championship individual spot.
"In the first round, I knew I was hitting it good," Diehl said. "I had a few really weird swings, but I knew that wouldn't happen any more the rest of the day. I started to bring it back slowly in the second round and just kept hitting the shot I wanted on almost every hole."
Several Diehl putts were on the cusp of lowering his score even more, but he said he would have been ecstatic with a 4-under score before the second round, given the difficult circumstances.
"For Matt to be doing what he's doing right now is pretty bigtime," Mueller said. "If he has a strong finish, he'll be right in it too."
The second-round turnaround was spurred by O'Neill's putting turnaround, which led to five birdies on a seven-hole stretch Tuesday.The long-driving Irishman said the mentally and physically demanding day was one of the toughest, coldest days he has experienced on a golf course.
"My putter was as bad as it has been this morning, but this afternoon I hit a nice putt on the first hole and that got it rolling," said O'Neill, who made a 15-foot birdie on No. 4 and a 20-foot birdie on No. 18. "From then on, I had the feeling that every putt was going to go in."
The rest of GCU's lineup remains factors for the Lopes' final second-round score with freshman Nixon Lauritzen and senior Kiko Coelho at 1 over and graduate Tommaso Zorzetto at 2 over.
"The most important thing is finishing this round very strongly," Mueller said. "If we can keep pushing and make up ground in that hours, we can go into the final round with a shot to go to the final tournament."
At 9 over, California is in that fifth-place spot that would be for the final NCAA team berth with San Diego in sixth place at 12 over, just one stroke ahead of GCU. BYU leads the tournament at 5 under.
"I know we're all hoping it's our time, and I think we'll be able to show it tomorrow (Wednesday)," Diehl said.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
GCU Athletics 2025-26 Welcome Back
Tuesday, September 16
Kendra Potts Post Match Press Conference | GCU vs NAU 9.7.25
Monday, September 08
"Your Life Arizona" Featuring Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs
Friday, September 05
Kaleb Smith | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04