Courtesy of Grand Canyon Athletics
MARICOPA, Ariz. – On Oct. 22, an active Grand Canyon Lope will play among some of the PGA Tour’s best in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in Southhampton, Bermuda.
That’s because GCU sophomore Nixon Lauritzen earned an exemption to the event Sunday by winning the National Golf Invitational on Sunday at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club. By playing the Maricopa course at 18 under par over three days, Lauritzen can say he will play on tour.
Lauritzen carded a 7-under 65 for the second straight day and forced a playoff with Wyoming’s Brody Leid, who shot a final-day 68. It took just one playoff hole on the par-4 18th, as Lauritzen sunk a 3-foot par putt to earn the title and cement one of the best tournaments in recent GCU seasons.
The Lopes won the team title at 52 under, defeating second-place Missouri by 14 strokes, after a 15-under Sunday followed up their 20-under Saturday score with 31 birdies.
Sunday’s best was on full display for all five Lopes, who sunk 30 birdies and finished with a tournament-high 84, 15 more than the next team. All five Lopes finished in the top 10 and signed off on a season that concluded with their fourth straight postseason appearance.
While GCU Golf Course is home, Lauritzen’s second stay surely is Ak-Chin Southern Dunes. Coming off a high school senior season where he was named 2024 IE Varsity Golfer of the Year, the California native shot a 63 in his first-ever round at the course in September 2024, tying the program’s single-round low.
Sunday’s round was just shy of that record, but the final tap-in felt much sweeter. Lauritzen birdied his first three holes with just one blemish, a bogey on the par-4 fifth hole. After that, he locked in for birdies on Nos. 5 and 9 to conclude a 4-under front nine. He birdied Nos. 13 and 14 and needed at least one birdie over his final three holes to catch Leid at the 18-under mark.
Attempting to reach the green in two shots on the par-5 16th, Lauritzen overshot the green into the far side bunker. But with a favorable lie, he placed it 10 feet from the pin for a birdie chance, which he made to no surprise among the spectators.
Lauritzen nearly birdied the par-3 17th, as a 30-foot putt attempt grazed by the right lip of the hole. He then stared down the 18th fairway, a hole that gave him fits a day prior. A double bogey to end Saturday’s second round was the only “bad hole” for the sophomore, but his growing confidence from earlier holes Sunday made for a calm, collected player who parred the final hole.
Lauritzen greeted his teammates, signed his card and headed back to the tee box, where he pushed a drive that went right into a patch of dead grass. That approach landed 15 feet from the pin. He two-putted and was showered with water that his teammates poured from bottles.
“I want to thank everyone who helped put on this amazing event this weekend,” Lauritzen said. “This is a special event that myself and our team could compete in. I want to shout out my teammates. I am so thankful for them, and I am glad we ended the season winning the team title.”
Those teammates fed off each other all week, beginning Friday with junior Gavin O’Neill’s first-round 64 tying for the lead. O’Neill finished 11 under for the tournament and 1 under Sunday, placing fourth.
GCU sophomore Matthew Diehl climbed the leaderboard more than any player Sunday, moving 13 spots to tie for sixth at 9 under. Diehl bogeyed two of his first five holes but shot 6 under over his final 13 holes, rallying for four birdies over Holes 10-14.
The Lopes sophomore duo of Mans Boje and Erik Rengardt tied for ninth at 8 under par, combining or 12 birdies Sunday to each shoot 2 under.
GCU’s season concludes with a team title that marked its fourth top-five tournament finish, including three over its last four tournaments.
