Sept. 8, 2006
UNM Women’s Golf Weekly in PDF Format
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico women’s golf is scheduled to host the 28th Annual Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational on Sept. 11-12 at the UNM Championship Golf Course. The Lobos will be looking for their fourth title in the past six years. UNM made its 14th NCAA appearance last May and returns all five golfers for this year. The Invitational will have a shotgun start on both days of the event. Monday will feature 36 holes of action, while the final round of 18 will be played Tuesday morning.
UNM head coach Jackie Booth enters her 10th season in charge of the women’s golf program. Booth has the Lobos ranked No. 22 according to the preseason Golf World poll. Anyone interested in contacting or interviewing Booth or members of the women’s golf team should contact Chris Deal at (505) 925-5523 or by e-mail at cdeal@unm.edu. For more information about Lobo athletics visit www.GoLobos.com.
Weekly Notes:
LOBOS HOST DICK McGUIRE INVITATIONAL: The University of New Mexico hosts one of the premier collegiate women’s golf tournaments in the country – the 28th annual Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational – Sept. 11-12 at the UNM Championship Course. The tournament features 17 teams. Live stats of the entire tournament will be available at www.GolfStat.com.
THE FIELD: The field features several top teams from around the country, including Arizona State, BYU, Florida, Hawai’i, UNLV, New Mexico State, North Carolina-Wilmington, Oregon, San Diego State, San Francisco, South Carolina, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UTEP.
LAST YEAR’S McGUIRE: Pepperdine took both the team and individual titles in 2005. Eileen Vargas shot a 5-under 68 to lead 3rd-ranked Pepperdine to the championship of the 27th Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational. As a team, the Waves also fired a final round 5-under (287) to finish at 3-under 873, edging Texas A&M by two shots. New Mexico, ranked 22rd in the Golf World preseason poll, finished third at 6-over 882 last year.
NEW MEXICO AND THE McGUIRE: New Mexico will be shooting for its fourth Dick McGuire championship in the past six years and seventh overall. The Lobos became the first school in McGuire history to win three straight titles from 2001-03. In 2003, the Lobos shot a course-record 295-281-295–871 for the 54 holes.
McGUIRE HISTORY: The 2006 season marks the 28th anniversary of the Dick McGuire Golf Invitational. From its beginning in 1979, the McGuire Invite annually showcases the best that women’s college golf has to offer.
The origin of the McGuire dates back much earlier than 1979. From 1956 to 1978 the top women’s teams in the nation competed with men’s teams at the William H. Tucker Invitational. The combined tournament each fall was the premier college golf event of its time. This event grew in such magnitude for both the men and the women that each side needed its own separate tournament. So in 1979 the women’s field branched off to the McGuire Invitational, while the men still play the Tucker. Both tournaments remain staples on the respective schedules of all the top college golf programs in the country today. In the 24 previous tournaments, the team champion from the McGuire has gone on to capture the NCAA Division I Golf Championship seven times. Branch Law Firm in Albuquerque became the title tournament sponsor of the Dick McGuire Invitational in 2003-04.
LOBO LINEUP: Head coach Jackie Booth will send out Mikaela Backstedt, Giselle Claux, Py Bengttson, Jodi Ewart and Alexandra Phelps. Sophomore Morgan Grantham and freshman Britney Choy will play as an individual.
McGUIRE FIELD: The Lobo women’s golf team will be looking for their fourth title in six years at the 28th annual Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational Sept. 11-12 (Monday-Tuesday) at the UNM Championship Golf Course. The field features several top teams from around the country, including Arizona State, BYU, Florida, Hawai’i, Nevada-Las Vegas, New Mexico State, North Carolina-Wilmington, Oregon, San Diego State, San Francisco, South Carolina, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UTEP.
TAKING HOME THE HARDWARE: The Lobos are gunning for their 13th team title since 2001.
UPCOMING GOLF CLINIC: The Don Chalmers “Golf Clinics for Women” series is one of the opportunities the Lobos have to give service to a very generous community. This fall’s clinics, which are free and held at the UNM Championship Course, will be Saturday, Sept. 16 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 17 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m., and Saturday, Sept. 23 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Since the program’s inception, the Lobo players and coaches have taught over 400 of Albuquerque’s growing community of women golfers. Don’t miss your chance to participate in this year’s clinics! For more information contact the UNM women’s golf office at 505-277-4527.
NCAAs AT UNM IN 2008:
The NCAA announced last fall that the 2008 Division I Women’s Golf Championships will be played at The Championship Course. The event, scheduled for May 20-23, 2008, marks the fifth time that the NCAA Championships will be held in Albuquerque.
The UNM Championship Course, which was recently named one of the top 10 collegiate courses in the nation by Golfweek magazine, is no stranger to major tournaments. It was the site of the 1976, 1992 and 1998 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships as well as the 1991, 1995 and 2002 NCAA West Regionals. In 1987, the course hosted the NCAA Women’s Championships, and was also the site of the 1994 NCAA Women’s West Regional. The home course advantage helped the Lobos in 1987, as Caroline Keggi claimed UNM’s only individual national title in golf.
“This is really exciting for our program,” said New Mexico women’s golf coach Jackie Booth. “This will definitely help in recruiting our future classes, knowing that they will be able to play the site of the NCAA Championships every day.”
Booth has experience coaching and hosting the NCAA Championships. When she was the head coach at New Mexico State, the Aggies hosted the 1988 NCAA Championships in Las Cruces.
“It was a great experience at New Mexico State – they really rolled out the red carpet for the event, and I’m expecting the university and the city will do everything they can in making this a first-class event for all the participants from across the country,” Booth said. “It will be a lot of fun to have the biggest tournament of the season right in our back yard.
“It’s an honor for our course to be considered an NCAA site,” said Booth. “I always felt like it was one of the top collegiate courses in the country. When I’m recruiting, I know that if they can play well on our course, they can play well anywhere. The size of the greens and the length of the course presents an immense challenge for any player.”
NCAA Events at the Championship Course
1976 Men’s NCAA Championships
1987 Women’s NCAA Championships
1991 Men’s NCAA West Regional
1992 Men’s NCAA Championships
1994 Women’s NCAA West Regional
1995 Men’s NCAA West Regional
1998 Men’s NCAA Championships
2002 Men’s NCAA West Regional
2005-06 SEASON REVIEW:
YOUNG LOBOS FINISH YEAR 25TH IN THE NATION,
MAKE 14TH STRAIGHT NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE
Playing its last eight tournaments with three freshmen and a pair of sophomores, the University of New Mexico women’s golf team finished the 2005-06 season ranked 25th in the nation in the final Golfweek magazine poll.
UNM advanced to NCAA postseason for the 14th consecutive year, making it to regional competition, but fell short in its bid to play in the NCAA Championships. New Mexico finished 14th at the NCAA West Regional. The Lobos needed to place in the top eight to advance.
New Mexico made its 20th NCAA postseason appearance – all since 1982 – when it qualified for the West Regional in suburban Seattle. The only years the Lobos have failed to qualify since 1982 were 1986, `89, `90, `91 and `92.
Regional play was introduced by the NCAA in 1993 and UNM has qualified every year, a string of 14 straight appearances.
New Mexico has advanced to the finals 12 times, including six times (1993, `95, `96, `98, `01 and `04) in 14 tries since regionals were adopted.
Mikaela Backstedt was named honorable mention All-America by Golfweek magazine and she shared Mountain West Conference co-Freshman of the Year honors with UNLV’s Da Sol Chung.
Backstedt and fellow UNM freshman Py Bengtsson were each named to the all-conference team after tying Chung for first place at the MWC Championships in St. George, Utah. Chung won the title in a 1-hole playoff. It’s the first time two Lobo freshmen have been represented on the all-conference squad in the same season.
Jackie Booth has completed nine years as the Lobos’ head coach. New Mexico has qualified for NCAA postseason competition every year since Booth took over in 1998. The Lobos have advanced to the NCAA Championships three times under Booth: 1998, 2001 and 2004.
Arguably one of the top newcomers in women’s collegiate golf, Backstedt turned in a debut that was nothing short of stunning. First and foremost was her scoring average of 73.40, a school record. The previous mark was 73.91 by Kailin Downs during her junior season of 2003-04.
Backstedt finished her first season ranked 35th in the nation by Golfweek with a rating of 72.93. She was the No. 2 golfer in the Mountain West and was named MWC Golfer of the Month for September and October, her first two months as a collegian.