Diehl takes 2nd with 12-under score in New Mexico

Friday, September 19

UNM Championship Course | Albuquerque, N.M.

Grand Canyon

William H. Tucker Invitational

Phoenix, AZ August 28, 2025 : The Lopes take part in a qualifying round at Troon North Golf Club. . David Kadlubowski/GCU

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

9/20/2025 1:28:00 PM | Men's Golf

Results

Lopes finish 7th out of 18 schools in 1st tournament of 2025-26

By: Nick Macdonald

ALBUQUERQUE – It was business as usual for Grand Canyon sophomore golfer Matthew Diehl. Coming off a record-breaking season in which he set the GCU record for single-season scoring average, the native of Redlands, California, carded a 12-under score at the William H. Tucker Invitational at UNM Championship Course to finish one shot back of first place in a 100-player field Saturday.

News and notes

Grand Canyon placed seventh out of 18 schools in a stacked field that had eight teams ranked in the top 70 of last seaosn's final Clippd Scoreboard Rankings. GCU shot 9 under, including 3 over on the final day.
Diehl placed second, one stroke behind medalist Emil Albers of New Mexico, an individual entry who shot 13 under. Diehl fired a 4-under round Saturday with five birdies, three of which came over his final four holes.
GCU sophomore Nixon Lauritzen jumped 20 spots to 28th place with a 1-under third round to finish 1 under for the tournament.
The Lopes carded 59 birdies for the tournament, fourth most and five back of host New Mexico.

Tied for fourth with two other schools after Friday's 36-hole opening day, GCU began Saturday between holes 4-7 and got off to a slow start with 11 bogeys through holes 4-11. But as GCU has done so well over the past few seasons en route to multiple conference championships, its ability to bounce back under pressure came through.

Four of the five scoring Lopes birdied the par-5 14th hole, and another three birdied the par-5 18th hole to put GCU back into top 5 with a few holes to play.

After four bogeys over his first six holes, Lauritzen was bogey free the rest of the way with three birdies. Sophomore teammate Erik Rengardt improved from Day 1 with a 2-over third round, tallying five birdies over his final 11 holes.

Individual entry Mans Boje was bogey free Saturday, shooting a 69 (3 under) to jump 26 spots to 48th in his first tournament as a Lope.

GCU freshman Daniel Nilsson placed 55th at 2 over, followed by sophomore teammate Campbell Kerr at 7 over for 79th.

Diehl concluded the tournament with 17 birdies, tied for the most with UTEP's Dylan Teeter. Boje had 39 pars, second most out of the 100-player field. GCU shot 30 under on par 5s to be sixth best for the weekend.

"Today was not the day we were hoping for, but we still have a lot of great things to take away from this tournament," Lopes head coach Mark Mueller said. "Nixon battled all week, Daniel played great the first day, and Mans went under par today, so a lot of great things to draw from this first tournament. Matt had a terrific week and very happy for him and the way he played consistently throughout the weekend. We have a quick turnaround to Washington, and I know the guys are excited and looking forward to playing soon after today."

GCU resumes play Monday morning in The Tindall at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Washington.