ALBUQUERQUE, NM — The University of New Mexico men’s golf team is headed to Tucson in order to compete in the 2017 installment of the 2017 Mountain West Men’s Golf Championship.
The MW Golfing Championship will once again take place April 21-23 on the par 72, 7,194-yard Catalina Course at Omni Tucson National Resort in Tucson, Arizona. All 11 Mountain West teams will participate in the three-day, 54-hole tournament.
Eighteen holes will be played each day with tee times beginning at 8 a.m. MT.
UNM is set to begin its title hunt in the Group 2 pairings, set to go off between 8:40-9:12 a.m. MT. The Lobos will be paired with the Rams of Colorado State throughout day 1.
Last season, UNM secured its third second-place finish in school history. The Lobos shot a 4-under 284 in the third round and finished the tournament at 15-under 849 (280-285-284), three shots short of 2016 champion UNLV.
The team was led by Samuel Kim who opened up play with back-to-back rounds in the 60s the first two days. After 54 holes he finished in a three-way tie for third at 6-under 210. He opened last year’s competition with consecutive rounds in the 60s.
Three other Lobos finished inside the top 15 in 2016. Andrej Bevins and Andre Garcia finished as two of the four golfers at 3-under 213, a mark that landed them tied for 11th. Rounding out the list of Lobos inside the top 15 was Gustavo Morantes, who finished at 2-under 214 in a five-way tie for 15th.
Sean Carlon’s freshman Mountain West campaign finished with a tie for 33rd place finish at 5-over 221.
The Lobos are looking to claim their first MW crown since winning back-to-back championships in 2013 and 2014.
UNM is the most decorated golfing program in the conference with six conference championships to their credit, including a four-peat from 2003-06. The program also has three second-place finishes to its credit and five other top-5 performances since the championship’s inception in 1999.
In addition, the squad holds the record for largest margin of victory, four strokes and the lowest single round score, a 64. Both records are held by Steve Saunders and came in the 2009 campaign.
The Mountain West will provide live hole-by-hole scoring and post-round highlights and interviews at the 2017 Men’s Golf Championship. Live scores and all video can be tracked on the tournament central page located here.
Lobos Return To Tucson For MW Championship
