Feb. 19, 2011
KAHUKU, O’ahu — The University of New Mexico men’s golf team shot a record-setting 20-under-par 268 in Friday’s final round at the John Burns Intercollegiate. The score is the lowest in team history for 18 holes, and moved New Mexico four spots up the leaderboard to finish fourth at 12-under.
Also, shooting 20-under is the lowest under par a golf team at New Mexico has ever shot in a single team round. Each of the six Lobos competing shot under par Friday.
New Mexico rallied back from 11th place after the first day to beat every team in the field except for 23rd-ranked California, 10th-ranked Texas A&M and 17th-ranked Virginia. The Bears won the team title at 30-under, with the Aggies following at 24-under and Cavaliers at 18-under.
New Mexico sunk 23 birdies and two eagles Friday. Senior Travis Ross accounted for seven of those birdies, completing a bogey-free round to card a 7-under 65 – which ties for the ninth-lowest individual round in Lobo history with six others.
“We all got off to a great start on the back nine and were able to take advantage of the very scorable Fazio course,” Ross said. “It was a great way for us to finish off the tournament.”
Ross finished the tournament at in a three-way tie for 14th with fellow senior Lobo Tom Carlson. Both leave the Burns having carded 4-under 212s.
With the tie for 14th, Carlson’s streak of top-10 finishes comes to an end at three straight. He’s notched top 10 finishes in 4 of the last seven events New Mexico has participated in.
“This was a great way to finish for our team,” Carlson said. “We jumped seven teams in the final two days, but what all of us will really take from today is that we posted the lowest team score ever shot in UNM history.”
Lobo head coach Glen Millican couldn’t agree more.
“Anytime you break one of our program’s records, it is a great accomplishment,” Millican said. “For today’s round to be the lowest in both categories in the history of Lobo golf is something these guys should be very proud of. Everyone did a great job today and it was great to see them all play so well.”
Sophomore John Catlin carded a 5-under 67, his lowest round of the season by three strokes. He finished tied for 22nd, notching his third top-25 finish of the season.
Fellow sophomore Ryan Gay also climbed into the top 30 by carding a 6-under 66, highlighted by 7-under 29 on the front nine. Gay Opened his round with an eagle on the 10th and birdied five of the next seven holes. Gay’s 66 is the lowest round he’s recorded as a Lobo.
Senior Sam Chavez and freshman Sam Saunders each shot 1-under 71s, finishing tied for 46th.
Next up for the Lobos is a trip to Palm Desert, Calif. for the Cowboy Desert Intercollegiate Feb. 26-27.