University of New Mexico Men’s Golf
Mountain West Championship
Team Standings: 1. UNLV 273-276=549, -19. T2. Nevada 280-278=557, -17. 3, San Diego State 280-280=560, -8. 4. New Mexico 282-286=568, E. 5. Colorado State 287-287=574, +6. 6. Boise State 295-286=581, +13, 7. San José 293-289=582, +14. 8. Wyoming 295-288=583, +15. 9. Air Force 296-291=587, +19. 10. Utah State 295-298=593, +25. 11. Fresno State 293-301=594, +26.
Individual Leaders: 1. Kurt Kitayama, UNLV 65-65=130, -12. 2. Corey Eddings, Nevada 66-68, -8. T3 Nahum Mendoza III, SDSU 67-69=136, -6. T4, Xander Schauffele, SDSU 67-70=137, Grant Booth, Nevada 67-70-137, Nick Fuller, Nevada 70-67=137, -5.
Lobo Scorers: T9. Sean Romero 68-71=139, -3. T11. Gustavo Morantes 71-69=140, -2. T20 Andrej Bevins 73-72=145, +3. T28. Sam Saunders 70-77=147, Gavin Green 72-75=147, +5.
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com
In Tucson, the 23rd-ranked University of New Mexico men’s golf team isn’t playing horribly, but it’s not playing great, either, and it faces a formidable climb in Sunday’s final round if it wants to defend its Mountain West Championship.
The Lobos shot a 2-over 286 Saturday to finish with an even-par 568 (282-286) to stay in fourth place after 36 holes of the championship event on the Catalina Course at Omni Tucson National Resort.
But front-runner and No. 24 UNLV shot and 8-under 276 to widen its lead to 19 strokes over UNM. The Rebels are at 19-under 549 (273-276). Compounding the Lobos’ problem in rallying for a third consecutive conference title is that both Nevada (280-277=557, -11) and No. 35 San Diego State (280-280=560, -8) are ahead of them.
“We haven’t played terribly,” UNM coach Glen Millican said. “But we haven’t played well enough to keep up with the top three. We can’t worry about what they do (Sunday). We just have to go out with the mindset that we’re going to play a great round and see what happens.”
The good news for the Lobos is the play of their lower seeds. No. 5 seed and senior Sean Romero rallied from a 2-over front nine to finish the second round with a par 71 and is tied for seventh place at 3-under 139 (68-71). Freshman and third seed Gustavo Morantes shot UNM’s low round with a 2-under 69 and is tied for ninth at 2-under 140 (71-69).
“It’s great to see those guys playing well,” Millican said. “Moving forward, we’re going to need more of that.”
UNLV’s Kurt Kitayama matched his opening-round 65 on Saturday and leads the event with a 12-under 130. Nevada’s Corey Eddings is second with an 8-under 134 (66-68). San Diego State’s Nahum Mendoza III is third at 6-under 136 (67-69).
The Lobos’ fourth-seeded sophomore, Andrej Bevins, has been consistent with a 1-over 72 on Saturday for a 3-over 145 after 36 holes and is tied for 20th.
The Lobos figure to advance to an NCAA Regional no matter their MW Championship finish, and they’ll need their lower-seeded players to keep up their strong play if the team wants to qualify for the NCAA Championships in Bradenton, Fla., at the end of the month.
But UNM’s top two seeds and senior players, No. 1 Gavin Green and No. 2 Sam Saunders, struggled on Saturday. Green shot a 3-over 74 while Saunders shot a 6-over 77. Both are tied for 28th in the 55-player event at 5-over 147.
“Sam struggled a little bit today,” Millican said. “Gavin is just a little off. Sometimes, he’s so hard on himself that he tries to make things happen instead of let things happen. That might’ve been the case today. But he’s aware of it, and he’s capable of bouncing back.
“The good thing is because of the year this team has had, we still have more golf left after this week. So we’re still trying to get better, and we’re still going to try to play great tomorrow.”