TUCSON – In a highly touted field that includes three top-50 teams in Clippd Scoreboard Rankings, Grand Canyon men’s golf finished Sunday near the top of the Mountain West Championship leaderboard with a 10-under first round.
LEADERBOARD
GCU is fourth among 12 conference teams and sits one shot ahead of No. 43 UNLV and just five shots back of the leader, No. 39 San Diego State.
The three-day Mountain West Championship, GCU’s first as a member, is being held at the Omni Tucson National Resort and Spa’s par-72, 7,194-yard Catalina Course.
The Lopes began play at 8 a.m. on Hole 1 with San José State and Nevada, both of whom finished in the top six. While chasing San Diego State’s 14-under score through nine holes, GCU stayed the course and fought its way near the top, eventually tying for second with San José State.
GCU sophomores Måns Boje and Nixon Lauritzen each carded 5-under scorecards and are tied for second place, two shots back of San Diego State’s Tyler Kowack. The Lopes are one of two teams with two golfers in the top five, joining Wyoming, which also has two competitors at 5 under.
Boje’s day started off exactly how he wanted. A first-hole par led to an eagle on the par-5 second hole, followed by a birdie on Hold 3. Boje had five birdies for his day, with three coming on the back nine as he finished par-par-birdie-par down the stretch.
Lauritzen is blemish-free through his first 18 holes. After four straight pars, he notched one of his five birdies on the par-4 fifth hole. Lauritzen’s back nine was the most impressive, recording three birdies over a four-hole stretch between Holes 12-15.
Another GCU sophomore, Erik Rengardt, sank three birdies and carded a 1-under opening round. Playing in his first conference championship for GCU along with fellow Sweden native Boje, Rengardt set the pace with a 1-under front nine. He is tied for 21st in the field.
Lopes junior Gavin O’Neill, who is competing in his third conference championship at GCU, totaled a 1-over score with five birdies. O’Niell is tied for 43rd, while sophomore Matthew Diehl tallied four birdies and is tied for 51st at 3 over.
GCU’s 22-birdie count is fourth most among the 12 teams. All but one team went under par on par-5 holes, with the Lopes going 11 under on such holes to rank fourth best.
Round 2 begins Monday at 7 a.m. as GCU will pair up with UNLV and Nevada on the first tee.The tournament will conclude with the third round Tuesday.