Albuquerque, N.M. – The University of New Mexico men’s golf team is set to kickoff the first tournament of their Fall campaign this coming weekend. Once again, the Lobos are set to open their season’s competition at the Gopher Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota.
Last season the Lobos finished T11 lead by top-30 performances by Senior Joseph Abella (T17) and then-Freshman Samuel Kim (T29).
New Mexico will open their season once again at the Gopher Invitational, this season marks UNM’s fifth appearance in the Gopher Invite, and the twelfth event in the tournament’s history.
This season’s Lobo squad features a handful of returners in Andrej Bevins, Andre Garcia, Gustavo Morantes, Sean Carlon, Sam Kim, and Ben Tolsma. Infused with that group is the collection of Freshman newcomers in Sam Dickey, Marco Lahmar, and Ross Sinclair.
This is the fourth time in tournament history that Windsong Farm Golf Club will play host to the Gopher Invitational. The course, which recently underwent a facelift in an attempt to change the overall playability, is looking to present a different type of challenge to the players. The par is set for 71 with an overall length of 7,152 yards.
Longtime head coach Glen Millican, the four-time Mountain West Coach of the Year, will look to guide his UNM squad to a NCAA Championship appearance for an unprecedented seventh time.
Millican gave his outlook for the Fall season opener beginning with;
“We are all looking forward to the start of our season this weekend. Minnesota and Their staff do a great job putting on a first class event and we are very fortunate to continue starting our season at such a wonderful venue against a great field of teams.”
This year’s Gopher Invitational Field includes: Arkansas, California,Charlotte, Iowa, Kent State, Michigan State, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pepperdine, San Diego State, SMU, St. John’s (Minn.), as well as Washington.
“It’s a great course and will be a good test of golf to start our 2016-17 season. I am excited to get back on the road with the team and get Coach Massoletti’s coaching career at UNM started.” concluded Millican.
A noticeable absence is last year’s team champion Oklahoma, as well has last season’s medalist Max McGreevy, also a Sooner.
This year’s competition is different from pervious seasons. The installment now includes both a team Invitational and Individual competition, with each event taking place on a different course.
As per the norm, the team portion of this year’s competition will take place on the Windsong Farm Golf Club located in Independence, Minnesota. Whereas the individual portion of the competition will take place at the Pioneer Creek Golf Course in Maple Plain, Minnesota. The Pioneer Creek Golf Course is set to play with a par of 72 and measures 6,953 yards.
The Gopher Invitational will be the team’s only action before their annual home tournament, the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate which is slated for Sept. 23 and 24 at the UNM Championship course.