Two Lobos in Top Three at N.I.T. in Tucson; Lobos Third Through Two
TUCSON, Ariz. — The 18-team field failed to finish two rounds (36 holes) on Saturday in day one of competition at the N.I.T. hosted by Arizona. The University of New Mexico men’s golf team was one of eight squads to complete both rounds and the Lobos sit in third place (-23) with a pair of Lobos in the top three overall.
Junior Brandon Shong is second through two rounds followed immediately by junior Sam Choi who is in third. All five Lobos competing in the lineup finished even or better on the day.
The Lobos are six strokes behind first-place No. 8 Oklahoma State (547, -29) and three strokes behind second-place No. 2 Oklahoma (550, -26) with a score of 553.
UNM demonstrated a strong showing in the first two rounds on the course that will ultimately be the host of the 2021 Mountain West Tournament in May.
The Lobos got off to a great start in round one finishing -11 through the first 18. Shong turned in a season-low 67 in round one to lead UNM tied for third overall, followed by Choi who shot a 68 in the first round (-4).
Through both rounds, Shong, who averages 76.50 strokes per round on the season, is in second after carding a 67 in both rounds to finish -10 on the day. He is just one stroke out of first place and is followed on the overall leaderboard by Choi who is tied for third with scores of 68 and 67 (-9). The pair trail Illinois’ Adrien Dumont de Chassart who is in first with a score of -11.
Another Lobo highlight of the day was a round-one eagle from sophomore Albert Boneta. He registered a three on the par-5 hole eight for the only Lobo eagle on the day.
Freshman Bastien Amat is tied for 27th overall with a two-under 142 after shooting a score of 71 in both rounds, followed by junior Ignacio Arcaya (143, -1) and Boneta (144, E).
Redshirt-senior Ross Sinclair, who is competing as an individual, is tied for 57th overall with a score of +1.
UNM is one of six Mountain West squads competing in the tournament including San Diego State (7th, -16), Wyoming (12th, +1), Nevada (15th, +5), UNLV (16th, +9) and Colorado State (17th, +11).
The remaining teams that still need to finish round two will begin at 7 a.m. PT (8 a.m. MT) on Sunday while UNM and the rest of the squads that completed round two will tee off at 8 a.m. PT (9 a.m. MT).