TUCSON, AZ – After battling blustery conditions all day the University of New Mexico men’s golf team was able to shoot one of only two under-par team scores. As a result, UNM is now in sole possession of the lead of the MW Championships at 11-under 565 (280-285), two shots clear of UNLV.
Head Coach Glen Millican saw the day as a solid performance all around,
“It was a very good round by our team today. We played in breeze all day and it got really windy on the back nine, our guys did an excellent job today” said Millican.
The team was led on the day by the strong performance of freshman Samuel Kim. In his second round Kim posted a 4-under par 68, the second lowest competitive round on the day. Kim was able to tally seven birdies, including a bogey free homeward nine when the windy conditions were at their worst. For the tournament Kim is in lone second place at 7-under 137 (69-68), and the only competitor to shoot in the sixties both days.
Next up is a trio of Lobos at 1-under T17, the list includes Gustavo Morantes (72-71), Andrej Bevins (68-75) and Andre Garcia (71-72). Morantes’ day was once again an exemplar of consistency with only two bogeys in his second round on his way to posting a 1-under par 71. Andrej Bevins was unable to keep the same momentum displayed throughout Day 1, eventually posting a 3-over 75 after today’s action. Rounding out the trio, Garcia was able to keep mistakes to a minimum and eventually finished the day with an even-par 72.
Sean Carlon rounds out UNM’s golfers, he finds himself at 2-over 146 and T28 overall. Carlon was able to get off to yet another quick start, however the winds proved costly in the closing stretch of his afternoon. On the day, Carlon shot a 2-over 74 following up yesterday’s even par effort. Carlon has been able to find success on the par-5’s this week, playing the holes in 5-under fashion and carrying a scoring average of 4.38.
Overall Millican believes that “what we posted is a very good score in the conditions; we’re still in a good position heading into tomorrow.”
The Lobos are within the top-5 in every measured statistical category, including leading the field in par-5 scoring average (4.50), par-4 scoring (4.05) and total birdies (40). Individual statistical averages include Samuel Kim in second place overall in par-4 scoring (3.80) and Andre Garcia leading the field in par-5 scoring average (4.25).
UNLV was the only other squad able to piece together an under-par outing. The Runnin’ Rebels sit alone in second at 9-under 567 (286-281). The team has two players inside the top-10 in John Oda (T6) and Shintaro Ban (T8). Fresno State struggled giving eight strokes back to the field, and eventually finishing in third place a 5-under 571 (275-296). Defending champion San Diego State sits in fourth place overall after falling two spots down the leaderboard. The Aztecs now sit at 4-under 572 (280-292). Colorado State and Nevada round out the top-5, both teams are tied at 3-under 573.
Corey Eddings continues to lead the tournament individually at 8-under 136 (65-71), one shot clear of UNM’s Samuel Kim.
Play opens at 8 a.m. MT tomorrow morning UNM’s tee times are set to begin at 9:40a.m, with the last Lobo going off at 10:12 a.m.
Final round live scoring will be provided here.