PROVO, Utah — The University of New Mexico men’s golf team finished in fourth place at the PING Cougar Classic on Saturday, the final tune up opportunity before the Lobos head to the Mountain West Tournament to defend their title May 1-2.
The Lobos finished the third round of the PING Cougar Classic -7 after freshman Bastien Amat turned in a career performance with a score of 66 (-6). Amat posted seven birdies in his final round including five on the back nine.
No. 29 New Mexico entered Saturday’s competition six strokes behind No. 28 San Francisco, but the Dons shot 21 under in round three to take a commanding lead and claim the victory with a final score of 823 (-41).
Boise State came in second at 836 (-28) followed closely by BYU (838, -26) and then New Mexico (843, -21). The Lobos finished just five strokes out of third and seven out of second.
Amat was the top finisher for the Lobos with a final score of 207 (-9) to tie for fifth place out of 104 competitors. He carded scores of 72, 69 and 66.
Sophomore Albert Boneta was the second Lobo to finish in the top 20 as he tied for 12th with his score of 210 (-6).
Four strokes behind was freshman Matthew Watkins who tied for 32nd with a score of 214 (-2) while junior Brandon Shong finished tied for 48th, carding a 217 (+1).
Junior Sam Choi finished +2 overall after his first-round 75 was his highest round score. He shaved off four strokes in round two (71) and finished round three with a 72.
As a team, the Lobos finished second in par-4 scoring (3.94, -9) and third in pars (173). Individually, Watkins tied for second in par-5 scoring (4.25, -9) while Choi tied for second in pars (41).
New Mexico is set to return to action on May 1-2 when the team travels to Tucson, Ariz. for the 2021 Mountain West Tournament at the Omni Tucson National Golf Course. The Lobos look to defend their title from 2019 (the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19).