GCU duo reaches top 10 after 2 rounds in Michigan

GCU competes in the Jim DeLapa Collegiate in Benton Harbor, Michigan, at Point O'Woods CC - First Round

Photo by: Adam Mackey

9/28/2025 5:32:00 PM | Men's Golf

Lopes enter Monday's final round in 7th but only 6 strokes off lead

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Grand Canyon's hot start to the Jim DeLepa Collegiate is keeping the Lopes in contention for the 13-team tournament's final round on Monday.

GCU sophomore Matthew Diehl (tied for fifth) and freshman teammate Daniel Nilsson (tied for eighth) cracked the top 10 after Sunday's first two rounds on the par-72, 7,005-yard course at Point O'Woods Golf and Country Club.

The Lopes were tied for third place after Sunday's first round, when Nilsson shared the individual lead at 6 under par with San José State's Keshav Mungali.

Nilsson, who is from Oslo, Norway, recorded seven birdies in the first round but did not have consecutive birdies until the course's first and second holes (his round finshed at the fouth hole).

Nilsson's 2-over second round held onto top-10 position while Diehl continued his strong, consistent play to climb into a fifth-place tie.

In the first round, Diehl birded three of his first six holes and maintained for a 2-under score Sunday. He was playing 1 over in the second round before playing his final nine holes of the day at 4 under. Diehl is 3 under on par-5 holes for the tournament, with only two of the other 74 tournament players faring better.

With the help of GCU sophomore Nixon Lauritzen's three consecutive birdies late in his even-par first round, the Lopes were 6 under and tied for third place with Princeton after the first round. GCU ended the two-round Sunday with the tournament's most pars (118).

Lauritzen (3 over, tied for 37th), junior Gavin O'Neill (5 over, tied for 47th) and sophomore Erik Rengardt (7 over, tied for 57th) complete the Lopes' tournament scoring lineup, but GCU sophomore Måns Boje is faring well as an individual entry. Boje, who is from Ronneby, Sweden, shot a 1-under second round to move into a tie for 26th place at 1 over for the tourney. Like Diehl, Boje played Sunday's four par-5 holes at 3 under.

GCU was one of seven teams to shoot under par Sunday and is only one stroke behind Pacific and three strokes behind a trio of teams tied for third place. Cincinnati enters Monday's final round as the tournament's team leader at 7 under, which is six strokes ahead of the Lopes. Michigan's Dean Muritore holds the individual lead at 10 under, five strokes ahead of Diehl.