ALBUQUERQUE, NM – University of New Mexico freshman golfer Samuel Kim, the runner up of the 2016 San Diego Classic presented by Lamkin, has been named the Mountain West men’s golfer of the week.
Tournament finishes tallied between March 14-19 are taken into consideration for reception of this weekly honor. This is Kim’s first career MW golfer of the week/month award.
The second place finish at the San Diego Classic at the San Diego Calif. in Chula Vista was Kim’s highest collegiate finish in his young career.
Kim, a native of Irvine, California, earned a second place finish after posting a 6-under 210 (75-69-66) for the 54 holes of competition. The 6-under 66 posted in the final round was the lowest tournament round of the week, and tied for Kim’s lowest career collegiate score.
Kim was able to play the first three holes of his final round in 3-under fashion; his day included two eagles and birdies on the final two holes. For the week, Kim lead the San Diego Classic’s field in total eagles and also placed second in cumulative par-4 scoring, carrying an average of 3.93.
Head Coach Glen Millican spoke at length about the team’s second conference honor on the year,
“It’s great recognition for our program. Sam had a great event in San Diego. Finishing 2nd this week is a great performance and I am happy for him to have such a good showing. He displayed great patience after being +4 late in round 1, but finishing the 54 holes at -6, including a tournament-low 66. He gained some quality experience that will help him continue to play better. He’s doing a really good job for us and it is nice to see him recognized by the conference for a good week of golf” said Millican.
This is the first time that the team has had two separate players earn conference player of the week honors back-to-back. In Lobo program history, there was only two other seasons that a UNM player laid claim to MW player of the week/month honors on multiple occasions (Spencer Levin Sep.-Oct. 2004 and James Erkenbeck Oct. 2012, Feb. 2013).
This honor helps to bolster the tournament resume of the UNM squad, who are on their way to another great season. On the year, the Lobos now have a tournament title, two individual medalists and two separate conference players of the week.
Samuel Kim Captures MW Honor
