LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The University of New Mexico men’s golf team is set to gather with some of the best teams in the nation Mar. 6-8 as it competes in the Southern Highlands Intercollegiate hosted by UNLV.
UNM head coach Glen Millican has high praises for this week’s tournament, “UNLV and the staff do an excellent job with the Southern Highlands Collegiate. It’s a great event and you won’t find a better setup for college golf.”
Southern Highlands Golf Club is a prestigious private golf club located on the outskirts of Las Vegas. It is one of only four in the world that was designed by the father-son tandem of Robert Trent Jones, Sr. — one of the most legendary and prolific course designers in history — and his son Robert Trent Jones, Jr.
The course is set on 225 acres of mountain terrain, and includes elevation changes, numerous water hazards, deep-faced bunkers and undulated bent grass greens. This week the course is set to play at 7,510 yards and with a par of 72.
The 2017 edition of the Southern Highlands Intercollegiate includes six of the nation’s top-10 teams according to Golfweek and 10 of the country’s top 25.
Participating teams include No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Illinois, no. 7 USC, No. 9 Texas Tech, No. 10 Stanford, No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 17 UNLV, No. 23 San Diego State, No. 25 Arizona State, California, New Mexico, Pepperdine, SMU, and TCU.
Host UNLV has been crowned champion in seven of the last 12 years. Last year however, USC was crowned champion (292-280-297=869, +5). On the individual side, last year’s medalist was Sam Horsfield of Florida (69-70-70=209, -7).
“The course was in fantastic condition today during the practice round and we are looking forward to the next three days and kicking off a good week of Lobo Athletics here in Las Vegas” concluded Millican.
The 54-hole tournament will be played over three days, with tee times beginning at 9 a.m. each morning off the No. 1 and No. 10 holes.
Live scoring of the Southern Highlands Collegiate will be available on the internet courtesy of Golfstat here.