Men's Golf Wins Seventh Mountain West Championship
FINAL RESULTS
ROUND TWO RESULTS | ROUND TWO RECAP
ROUND ONE RESULTS | ROUND ONE RECAP
TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of New Mexico men’s golf team clinched the Mountain West Championship title on Sunday as the team posted its best score of the tournament in round three to finish 33-under, 831. The win marks New Mexico’s seventh Mountain West title overall and first since 2014. Senior Sean Carlon and sophomore Galven Green were the top two finishers at the competition as the two Lobos tied for first individually at 13-under, 203. Carlon and Green went on to play three sudden death playoff holes to decide the individual champion and it was Green who claimed the individual crown with a five-foot putt.
The tournament win automatically qualifies the Lobos to compete in a NCAA Regional Tournament taking place on May 13-15. UNM will be one of eighty-one teams and 45 individuals that will compete at one of six regional championship sites with the low five teams and the low individual at each regional advancing to the NCAA Championship. The Lobos will officially find out where they are headed to on May 1 at 7 p.m. (MT) as the NCAA men’s golf selection show is set to air at that time on the Golf Channel.
New Mexico last competed at the regional tournament in 2017 as it earned an at-large bid to compete before making its way to the NCAA Championship where the Lobos finished tied for 26th.
On Sunday, Green shot a third-round score of 67 (-5) with the help of six birdies to bring his three-round birdie total to a tournament-high of 18. The sophomore jumped up to second place in round two as he recorded his best score of the tournament at six-under, 66 before moving into first place in round three to sit even with his teammate Carlon.
Carlon led the competition in each round as he shot outstanding scores of 67 (-5) in round one followed by 68 (-4) in both round two and round three. The senior registered one eagle, 15 birdies and 35 pars across his three rounds, and he finished the competition tied for first in par-5 scoring at 4.17 (-10). Both Green and Carlon averaged 2.92 (-1) in par-3 scoring to tie for second overall in the category.
Freshman Sam Choi registered his best score of the tournament in round three as his 66 (-6) jumped him up 16 spots on the leaderboard to sit tied for 14th with a combined score of 210 (-6). Choi registered an eagle in round three, coming to him on the eighth hole, and posted a tournament-best six birdies on the day.
Freshman Roy Choi finished the tournament with a three-round total of one-over, 217 to tie for 35th. Coming in four strokes behind was freshman Ignacio Arcaya who shot a one over, 73 in round three to bring him to a 221 (+5), tying him for 42nd. Arcaya led the competition in pars in each round and finished up with a tournament-high 44.
As a team, the Lobos shot scores of 279 (-9), 278 (-10) and 274 (-14) in each round, respectively, to finish with a team total of 831 (-14). The squad led the competition in par-3 scoring with an even 3.00 average and registered the most pars across the field with 181. UNM also finished third in par-4 scoring with a 3.99 (-2) average and its 57 birdies was the third most in the tournament.
The competition was close throughout its course as the Lobos tied for first with Colorado State in round one and finished round two in third, falling three strokes behind CSU and one stroke behind UNLV. The Rams fell to second place in round three as they finished with a score of 834 (-30) while Fresno State took home third as it shot 838 (-26).
The Lobos will be back in action on May 13-15 as they go NCAA dancing at the regional tournament.
NOTES: The title was New Mexico’s fourth of the 2018-19 academic year, joining women’s soccer (regular season), women’s cross country and men’s tennis (regular season). The four titles equals UNM’s total from the past three seasons (2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18) … it marked the second straight time that UNM won the title with a member of the Green family winning medalist honors, as the 2014 team was led by Galven’s older brother Gavin, who won medalist honors … Galven is the sixth Lobo to win the individual title …