New Mexico Lobos Women’s Golf – At 2015 Mountain West Championships
Where: Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club – Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Second-Round Team Results: 1- San Jose State 293-296=589. 1 (tie)- San Diego State 288-301=589. 3- Nevada – 299-296=595. 4- UNLV 299-298=597. 5- Boise State 301-301=602. 6- New Mexico 303-300=603. 6 (tie)- Colorado State 304-299=603. 8- Fresno State 312-300=612. 9- Wyoming 312-325=637.
Top Four Individuals: 1- Milagros Chaves, SDSU, 66-74=140 (+2). 2- Manon Molle, New Mexico, 72-71=143. 2 (tie). 2 (tie)- Dana Finkelstein, UNLV, 74-69=143. 4- Celyn Khoo, Nevada, 74-71=145.
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
For the New Mexico Lobos, the interesting race is the one for the individual crown. Can sophomore Manon Molle continue her charge up the leaderboard?
And will UNLV’s Dana Finkelstein, probably the best golfer in the Mountain West, continue her charge? Or will San Diego State’s Milagros Chavez, the individual leader after 18 and 36 holes, hold off a charging pack?
Molle turned in a 71 Tuesday in the second round of the Mountain West Championships and pulled to within three shots of Chaves, who has cards of 66 and 74.
Finkelstein, a two-time MW Golfer of the Year, went low on Tuesday with a 69 and is tied with Molle for the No. 2 hole. Nevada’s Celyn Khoo is two shots behind Molle and Finkelstein and five shots away from Chaves.
You would expect the 2015 MW individual champion to come out of that foursome unless somebody in the nearby pack can go really low in the final round. The final 18 holes will be played Wednesday at Dinah Shore Tournament Course at the Mission Hills Country Club.
“Mimo (Molle) was solid and steady all day,” said Lobo Coach Jill Trujillo. “She had a three-putt and a bogey coming out of the sand, but she was hitting it near the flag all day.”
Molle, who did not play in the fall due to a broken bone in her foot, still battles pain during a round. She almost played painless golf on Tuesday with 13 pars, three birdies and two bogeys. Finkelstein got hot with five birdies against two bogeys to post the low round of the day.
As a team, the Lobos are in sixth place with Colorado State at 603, but 14 shots behind the front-running pace of 589 set by San Jose State and San Diego State. Nevada is in third place at 595 and the pre-tournament favorite, UNLV, is in fourth place at 597 – eight strokes off the pace.
Coach Trujillo isn’t ready to throw in the towel, but a realistic approach for the final 18 holes would be to work up the leaderboard and try to pass a few teams.
“When you go out and try too hard, you usually don’t play good golf,” said Trujillo. “You just go out thinking about making good shots. You worry about the shot facing you. We’re just going to go out and try to hit good shots, play our game, and try to finish strong.”
The Lobos shot their best team score of the season on Tuesday with a four-person total of 300. It was only four shots off Tuesday’s best round of 296 posted by San Jose State and Nevada. The Lobos still have not cracked 300 on the season, so that also would be a goal for Wednesday’s final round.
“We played better and the conditions were tougher,” said Trujillo. “The wind was blowing pretty good most of the day and a little rain came in.”
Three of Trujillo’s Lobos improved their score from Monday’s first round. Molle went 72-71, Ingrid Gutierrez went 78-75 and Eva Saulnier went 81-77. Gutierrez and Alexandra Moisand are tied for the No. 21 spot.
The only two teams that have won a MW title are New Mexico and UNLV. That will change if San Jose State or San Diego State hold off the pack. The Aztecs might have an ace in the hole as they have yet to count the card of their No. 2 golfer, Sirene Blair, who has rounds of 84 and 81.
| T6 | New Mexico | 303 | 300 | 603 |
| T2 | Manon Molle (1) | 72 | 71 | 143 |
| T21 | Alexandra Moisand (2) | 76 | 77 | 153 |
| T21 | Ingrid Gutierrez (4) | 78 | 75 | 153 |
| T30 | Katerina Jaeger (5) | 77 | 79 | 156 |
| T35 | Eva Saulnier (3) | 81 | 77 | 158 |