Amat Tied for Second; Lobos Tied for Sixth Through Two Rounds at NCAA Regional
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Mountain West Freshman of the Year, Bastien Amat, is tied for second overall on Tuesday as he leads the University of New Mexico men’s golf team through two rounds at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional.
The Lobos are just three strokes from qualifying to advance to nationals as they are nipping at the heels of fourth and fifth place (South Carolina & Texas A&M) in a tie for sixth. UNM (571, -5) is also just seven strokes behind third-place Arizona State (-12).
No. 41 Oregon State leads the field with a score of 556 (-20) after a -13 showing Tuesday, followed by No. 22 Texas Tech (561, -15) and No. 12 Arizona State (564, -12).
The top five teams in regional advance to nationals, along with the top individual not affiliated with those teams.
Amat currently sits just one stroke behind the tournament leader, Oregon State’s Spencer Tibbits, with a total of 136 (-8) through a pair of rounds. The freshman tied his career-best total of 66 (-6) in round two after registering a team-most six birdies.
Amat sits in a three-way tie for second and if competition was complete as of Tuesday, he would be tied with Oklahoma’s Jonathan Brightwell to advance to nationals as the top individual.
UNM junior Sam Choi is +1 through two rounds after scoring three strokes higher than his round-one total. He carded a 74 (+2) on Tuesday to drop to 35th overall.
Choi is tied with freshman Matthew Watkins who shot a 70 in round one, tying for the Lobo lead. In round two, Watkins carded a 75 (+3) to drop to +1 overall.
Junior Brandon Shong demonstrated consistency across the first two rounds, shooting a 73 in both, followed by sophomore Albert Boneta who was one stroke better Tuesday (75, 74). He is now +5 overall.
As a team, the Lobos lead the field in par-3 scoring (3.08, +3) and in pars (113). Amat ranks tied for second among individuals with 25 total pars and posts UNM’s only birdie.
New Mexico is in the hunt for a trip to nationals and will wrap up the third and final round of the 2021 Albuquerque Regional on Wednesday. The Lobos will tee off of hole 10 beginning at 8 a.m. MT.