Program status can rise more this season

Nearly three-fourths of the nation's Division I men's golf teams do not get to wish they had played better at NCAA regionals last season because they were not there.

Only 41 other D-I programs besides Grand Canyon has qualified for an NCAA regional in each of the past three seasons.

GCU's threshold for expectations has risen with the program's stature to where a Lopes team that returns three of last season's five regional competitors will not move the target.

When GCU opens the season Friday at the William H. Intercollegiate in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Lopes will keep the same goals and hope for even better results on a bigger stage.

GCU is entering its first season as a Mountain West member and learned last season how a much a regular-season resume that starts this weekend can mean. The Lopes reached their third consecutive NCAA regional with an at-large berth and entered the final Reno Regional round just four strokes behind the regional's final NCAA Championships qualifying spot.

"It's an amazing accomplishment, and they want to keep getting there," GCU 13th-year head coach Mark Mueller said. "They're eager to get going and want to put in the work to do it. They really enjoyed being in that moment and know we were right there. But we don't want to skip any steps. We want to get back to the regional and then we'll see what we can do from there."

The Lopes bring back three all-conference players – sophomores Matt Diehl and Nixon Lauritzen (first team) and junior Gavin O'Neill (second team). After eight qualifying rounds, Diehl and Lauritzen took the top starting spots and will be joined in the first GCU lineup by sophomore returnee Campbell Kerr, Norwegian freshman Daniel Nilsson and Swedish sophomore Erik Rengardt.

Diehl finished his freshman season ranked 107th nationally with a 70.7 scoring average and medalist honors at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate. He continued that momentum into qualifying for the U.S. Open Amateur Championship this summer and carded the lowest score for GCU's qualifying gauntlet this month.

"Our goal is to constantly be the hardest-working team," said Diehl, who is from Redlands, California. "We have a really group of guys who can do that. The competition is going to be higher because we moved to the Mountain West, but it's only making us work harder."

Diehl and Lauritzen said their first college season taught them about course preparation and that their second season will benefit from "The Cage," the team's short-game facility at GCU Golf Course that they say is among college golf's best.

That showed during team qualifying when Diehl shot a round of 67 at The Rim Golf Club in Payson and a 66 at Desert Mountain Club's Outlaw Golf Course in Scottsdale.

Diel's and Lauritzen's arrivals helped elevate GCU last season, when the Lopes finished with a No. 58 national ranking that started with an important strong opening performance that helped secure an at-large NCAA berth.

Lauritzen, who is from Canyon Lakes, California, contributed to that by tying a GCU record with a round of 63 at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in his collegiate debut last September. He said the Lopes' rise and fall at regionals made the returnees more committed to meeting program standards all season long.

"Golf is a big part of our lives, but there's a lot more to it," Lauritzen said. "When I play from that standpoint, I'm a lot more calm and it helps me get through the rounds peacefully.

"If we are not playing well, you have to do whatever you possibly can. That comes with experience. I learned a lot that first year about how to get back into that space after you're not playing good."

O'Neill is one of only three golfers in GCU history to play in two NCAA regionals and is back to captain a run at a third regional appearance. With his summer at home in Ireland, O'Neill played in six European tournaments and took seventh at the Dutch International Junior Open.

"It doesn't seem so long ago that it was me asking for help, and now I'm the one giving it," said O'Neill, who leads the team with senior Antonio Bulgheroni. "It's a little different, but I'm loving it just as much.

"The deepest thing I've got from playing at GCU is that it just has to mean more than what it is for yourself. Any decision you have to make, you think of the bigger picture and what is best for the team."

The Lopes have added sophomore Måns Boje of Sweden (Stetson transfer), redshirt freshman Trey Moore of Scottsdale (Utah transfer), Nilsson and Rengardt (South Carolina Beaufort transfer who chose GCU over Auburn).

Nilsson and Rengardt will be the first of the newcomers to crack the Lopes lineup at the 18-team William H. Tucker Invitational this weekend at UNM Championship Golf Course. He was recommended to the Lopes staff by Mikkel Bjerch-Andresen, who coached PGA star Ludvig Aberg at Texas Tech.

"Daniel has got the important foundation of a good ball-striker," GCU associate head coach Mike Schaloum said. "He's just putting the pieces together in terms of course management and short game, but he's come long way this summer with his short game, and it showed in the qualifier."

Kerr, who is from Brisbane, Australia, is on the travel team for the first time this week, but he did fare well as a GCU Invitational individual entry last season with a 14th-place finish. Mueller and Schaloum said they were proud to see the growth that came from his diligent offseason work.

"He worked really hard, and we're happy to see him in the lineup and look forward to seeing how he can contribute to the team," Mueller said.

Mons will play in Albuquerque as an individual entry by virtue of taking sixth in intrasquad qualifying, which was played at some of Arizona's best courses – Troon North Golf Club, Desert Forest Golf Club, Phoenix Country Club, Scottsdale National Golf Club, Desert Mountain Club's Outlaw Golf Course, Silverleaf Country Club, Paradise Valley Country Club and The Rim Golf Club.

"The overall attitude and vibe of the team is really high," Mueller said. "They all like being around each other, and they really competed in qualifying. Everybody's been working hard at it, so the coaches really appreciate that."

The Lopes will open the season with three tournaments over an 11-day span that starts Friday. GCU also is in The Tindall in Bremerton, Washington, (Sept. 22-23) and the Jim DeLapa Collegiate (Sept. 28-29) in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

"This is the best schedule we've ever had," Mueller said. "The guys are really looking forward to playing some great golf courses against great competition, and we'll see if we can keep building on what the previous guys have built. We'll just keeping raising the bar a little bit each and every year."

Mueller appreciates the team behind the team, with how much support the program receives from GCU executives, GCU Athletics administrators and GCU Golf Course staff.

It is all to help the Lopes succeed in their eight-month path to their first entry in the Mountain West Championship, which will be played May 3-5 at Omni Tucson National Resort. GCU will head to Tucson to play a regular-season tourney at Omni in January.

"It's a step up conference-wise, so we know we have to take a step up, but we're looking forward to the challenge," Mueller said. "They're really excited to get going."

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Antonio Bulgheroni

Campbell Kerr

Nixon Lauritzen

Trey Moore

Daniel Nilsson

Gavin O'Neill

Erik Rengardt

Grand Canyon University Athletics