March 17, 2009
The University of New Mexico men’s golf team shot an even-par 360 Tuesday, finishing with an 11-under 1069 for the tournament and in third place at the Barona Collegiate Cup in Lakeside, Calif. Steve Saunders highlighted the Lobos’ effort, shooting a 4-under 68 in the third round to take second place. The Lobo senior finished three strokes behind champion Dustin Morris from Colorado State.
UNM, after shooting a 12-under 348 in the second round to move to second place, was unable to make up any ground on tournament host San Diego State or eventual tournament champion Colorado State. The Rams posted a scorching 20-under 340 to finish with a 29-under 1051 for the tournament and capture the team title, while the Aztecs never budged from their second-round score of 23-under, finishing with a 1057.
Saunders started Tuesday’s final round tied for fourth place at 6-under. He birdied two of his last three holes en route to a 4-under 68 in the third round. Saunders finished the tournament having shot a total of 206. The second-place finish is Saunders highest this season and best since tying for first place at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate in 2007. Saunders’ 11-under for the tournament was his best of the 2008-09 season by five strokes.
“I had a pretty solid day,” said Saunders, “But I didn’t quite hole enough putts. It is nice to finish second.”
Jon Sauer posted a 3-under 213 to finish in ninth place for the Lobos, having birdied four of his last nine holes to finish with an even-par 72 for the third round. It’s Sauer’s third top-10 finish of the season and fifth as a Lobo.
“Steve (Saunders) and Jon (Sauer) really provided great senior leadership for us today,” said UNM head coach Glen Millican. “Steve has three rounds in the 60s and had a real chance to win it all, while Jon was really clutch for us in the back nine today. His four birdies helped boost our team score to allow us to lock in third place and gave him another top-10 finish.”
James Erkenbeck and Tom Carlson each posted 2-over 218s to finish tied for 25th place, while Nick Geyer shot a 3-over 219 to tie for 27th place and Jacob Lestishen posted an 8-over 224 to tie for 42nd place.
The third-place finish is New Mexico’s second straight tournament to finish in the top three. The Lobos now head to the National Invitational Tournament at the Tucson Golf Club on March 22-23.