ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — After claiming the 2021 Mountain West Championship, The University of New Mexico is set to enter NCAA Regional Competition on its home course in a 54-hole tournament starting Monday, May 17 through Wednesday, May 19. The Lobos are the fifth-seeded team in the region and are ranked No. 29 in the nation.
The Lobos will host the 2021 NCAA Albuquerque Regional at the 7,555-yard, par-72 UNM Championship Course. The top five teams will advance past the regional along with the highest-scoring individual not on those five teams.
Fans are allowed at the course but must follow COVID-19 protocols at the course.
The stacked field will consist of the No. 1 ranked team in the nation by Golfstat, Oklahoma, as well as No. 12 Arizona State, No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 22 Texas Tech, No. 29 New Mexico, No. 31 Stanford, Oregon State, Boise State, South Carolina, Nevada, San Diego, New Mexico State, Oakland and Prairie View A&M, along with individuals from Fresno State, Colorado, St. Mary’s and LMU.
The New Mexico lineup will consist of junior Sam Choi, who is currently ranked No. 23 in the nation as an individual, sophomore Albert Boneta, 2021 MW Freshman of the Year Bastien Amat, freshman Matthew Watkins and junior Brandon Shong. Junior Ignacio Arcaya is the Lobos’ alternate competitor.
Choi, named All-Mountain West this season, has helped lead the Lobos in five out of seven tournaments in 2021. He finished tied for first at the 2021 MW Championship and leads UNM with a 70.52 scoring average and a low round of 66 on the season.
Boneta, also named All-Mountain West this season, had a standout season as he claimed his first collegiate victory at the Thunderbird Collegiate in April. He tied for first overall coming in at 12-under par. Boneta led UNM in two tournaments this season after tying Choi for fifth at the Lobos’ opening tournament in Arizona. The sophomore ranks second on the team in scoring average, 71.33, and has posted a team-low round of 65 twice this season.
Amat boasts the highest counted-round percentage on the team at 94.44 percent (17/18) and averages 72.50 strokes per round on the season, fourth on the squad. He has posted one top-10 finish, tied for fifth at the PING Cougar Classic, before finishing 11th at the Mountain West Championships. Amat registered his first three-round score under par at the PING Cougar Classic (-9) and has done so since with his score of -4 at the conference tournament.
Watkins, despite competing in just the last three tournaments (9 rounds), has the third-best stroke average on the team at 71.56 while Shong has competed in 18 rounds for a 73.56 stroke average on the season, fifth on the squad.
New Mexico is scheduled to tee off at 8 a.m. MT on Monday on hole 10.