April 29, 2009
MWC Championship Tournament Notes 
THE SAUNDERS FILE
Who: Steve Saunders
Year: Senior
Height/Weight: 6-feet, 160 pounds
Hometown: Albuquerque
High School: La Cueva High
Parents: Dave Saunders & Debbie Longwill
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
Steve Saunders might be the best-known Lobo golfer ever. But not that many people realize that they know who he is.
Confused? Well, if you are a golfer and you have ever visited GolfMart near Wyoming and Montgomery, you know exactly who Steve Saunders is.
He is that rug rat you had to step over about 20 years ago when you were trying to check out the new golfing gear in the corner.
He is that teenager you saw carrying out the trash or maybe doing a little sweeping up a few years back.
He is the young man you might have handed your credit card over to a couple of months ago for the purchase of that special, over-sized driver.
Saunders is one of those athletes who almost had no choice but to go into a certain sport.
His father, Dave Saunders, has owned GolfMart for more than 20 years. Dave also played golf for New Mexico State. Steve’s mother, Debbie Longwill, is a low-handicap golfer. Steve had two uncles who played golf for the University of New Mexico: Jack Saunders and Jeff Fulwiler.
“I’ve had a club in my hand every since I could hold one,” said the Lobo senior. “Every person in my family pretty much plays golf. I’ve been hanging around the store from before I can remember doing everything from taking out the trash to working the cash register.”
The store helped bring Saunders into the game of golf, but it also showed him which side of the counter he wants to stand on – the green side.
“I’ve seen the retail end of it and it gave me some perspective that I’d rather be playing golf,” he said. “I guess I want to be involved in golf in some way for my whole life, but I’m not sure I want to work in a golf store.”
Yeah, taking out the trash can do that to a kid. One thing is for sure: Lobo coach Glen Millican is happy that Saunders is on the green side of the counter, especially this week when Millican needs his senior to help lead the Lobos into the Mountain West Conference Championships.
The 54-hole MWC tourney will be held Thursday through Saturday in Tucson at the Omni Tucson National Golf Club. Millican says Saunders not only has been the most consistent Lobo player this season, but his calm leadership is like an extra club in the bag for UNM.
“I think the guys have learned from Steve’s attitude on the course,” said Millican. “The strongest aspect of his success just might be the way he approaches his round of golf and how he approaches each individual shot. He is so mentally strong out there.
“He had a run this year where he had five consecutive top ten finishes and he did some impressive things during that run. He just has such a positive attitude and believes in what he can do on the course. An attitude like that pays off for you after a while.”
Saunder’s big payday came at the Arizona State Invitational where he fired a final-day, 3-under-par 68 to tie for individual honors. Saunders started the day tied for 11th place, five shots off the lead.
“I’ve learned how to grind things out and let things that have happened stay in the past, especially when things aren’t going the way you want them to,” he said. “I try to let go of a bad shot about halfway to my next shot.
“If you don’t think about it a little bit, you end up carrying it with you for a while. I’m not going to pretend I don’t care or that it doesn’t bother me. You have to want that intensity and that fire in order to be really good. You just can’t carry things down the road in a negative way.”
Saunders said growing up in Albuquerque and playing golf at La Cueva High made it easy for him to become a Lobo.
“I’ve always wanted to be a Lobo,” he said. “This was the first place I looked at as a cool place to go play golf. My day kept saying, `You sure you don’t want to go to Las Cruces?’ But he was just kidding me.”
Saunders said he thinks the Lobos have a good chance to make a run for the 2009 MWC title and have good knowledge of the Tucson National course.
“I’ve played this course a lot of times and I have a pretty solid game plan in how I approach this course. If I can execute and make some putts, I’ll be in pretty good shape.
“We haven’t won a league title since I was a freshman and we want get that title and get back to the NCAA tournament.”
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